Wealdway: Tonbridge to Stone Cross

The Wealdway passes through three AONBs and connects the Thames Estuary with the English Channel, via the Weald of Kent and Sussex. Much of the route is quiet and remote, with only the occasional tiny village to interrupt a varied succession of woodland, arable field, riverbank, heath, orchard and downland pasture. This section leaves Tonbridge along the River Medway before dropping south and climbing. It then goes up and over a succession of ridges, all the while heading southwest to avoid the spreading tentacles of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

The Wealdway continues through the castle grounds beside the River Medway with the high castle wall to the right. The Norman castle was built on a prominent artificial mound, strategically placed to guard a ford over the river. It was constructed from local sandstone, but dismantled, like so many English castles, during the Civil War. The solid 13th-century gatehouse is still reasonably intact. After 250yds (225m), turn left over a footbridge, signposted as the Eden Valley Walk, and then right past a miniature railway and a car park, a useful alternative starting point for walkers arriving by car (grid ref. TQ 588 468). The Eden Valley Walk, distinctively waymarked, runs beside the Medway and its
tributary, the Eden, for 15 miles (24.1km) between Tonbridge and Edenbridge, and for Wealdway walkers it is a useful means of visiting Penshurst Place.

The two long-distance routes remain together for 2 miles (3.2km), past playing fields, under the railway, left over two footbridges and on beside the Medway for 0.5 miles (800m).

Cross the river by the second bridge and bear right and left past a wood. Beyond the railway, bear left and left again, out to a road. Go ahead through Lower Haysden. At Manor Farm, the Wealdway is waymarked across a field, under the A21, left for a few yards, and then right beside a hedge to a lane.

The path opposite marks the start of a gentle but steady climb out of the Medway Valley. Cross a field to join a track. After another 0.5 mile, a steeper climb through woodland brings you to the B2176. A bus service along this road links Tunbridge Wells and Penshurst.

The Wealdway now follows the road for 0.5 miles (800m), with magnificent views northward across the Medway valley to the greensand ridge and the North Downs beyond. Look out for a narrow path on the left, signposted to Bidborough Church. (For The Kentish Hare restaurant and bar, carry on along the road.)

The small sandstone church at Bidborough occupies a superb site on high ground with views towards Speldhurst, the next objective. The Wealdway passes through the churchyard and descends a flight of steps to the lychgate. Turn sharply back to the left, down Spring Lane and onwards through a quiet and secluded valley. After a steep climb, a woodland path cuts through a sandstone outcrop, a characteristic feature of the area, and then crosses high ground before dropping down into another quiet valley. The route now bears right along the edge of Southborough Common, an area of heath, criss-crossed by paths.

If time permits, the spa town of Tunbridge Wells deserves a detour. The resort was developed and became fashionable after the discovery of a chalybeate (iron-bearing) stream in the 17th century. The Pantiles, a colonnade of shops and houses built beside the springs in about 1690, remains an elegant and carefully preserved pedestrian precinct.

At the bottom of the hill, the Wealdway joins a lane and climbs steeply. After 0.5 miles (800m), an inconspicuous kissing-gate on the left marks the start of a field path, which soon bears right in front of a garden and rejoins the lane 0.5 mile further on.

The next path starts a few yards to the right, through the gateway to Forge House, and drops down steeply across pasture. Walk past a disused mill, where the rusting water wheel is still in place. Shortly turn right and climb the hill to Speldhurst. The Wealdway, as it did at Bidborough, picks a route through the churchyard. The George and Dragon, nearby, is a fine old pub that has been carefully restored. The Wealdway follows the Penshurst road. A wrought-iron gate on the left marks the start of a path through to Bullingstone Lane at grid ref. TQ 545 411.

The next path, a few yards to the right along the lane, starts beside two picturesque 15th-century cottages and descends, forking right, into Avery’s Wood. The stream crossing within the wood is a delectable spot, perfect for a picnic. A clear path leads to a road and on for 0.75 miles (1.25km) into the village of Fordcombe, all on the tarmac except for one short linking field path. Fordcombe is a pleasant village with a pub, The Chafford Arms, serving real ales, and a village green.

The Wealdway continues beside the cricket ground and along a headland path across high ground for 0.75 miles (1.25km) to the A264 at Stone Cross.