A hearty hike in the country
Country walks outside London
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Edited by Maggie Davis, Jessica Eveleigh and Kate Riordan
Updated: Mon Jul 28 2008 -
Dust down your boots and dig out your backpack - here are ten of the best country walks outside the capital
Hastings circular, East Sussex
Best for coastal views
Length 9.5 km (5.9 miles).
Duration Two hours 40 minutes.
Start and finish Hastings Station.
Getting there Two trains per hour (one on Sundays) run to Hastings from Charing Cross (journey time: one hour 31-42 minutes). For those driving, park centrally in Hastings.
Walk notes This rewarding walk begins with a stroll through Hastings Old Town and along the seafront at Rock-A-Nore, with the striking, tall black net huts away to your right. Following this is a fine cliff-top coastal walk with some steep climbs along the way. You’re now inside the boundaries of the Hastings Country Park, with the East Hill funicular railway to your right. Keep an eye out for the Park’s clearly visible wooden posts – for this shorter walk you will diverge from the coastal path at the eighth post, where a signpost points ahead towards Fairlight Glen (lower), Warren Glen, Firehills and Fairlight Glen (upper). Go towards ‘Fairlight picnic site 1 mile, North’s Seat 1.25 miles’. Turn left. After passing through shaded woodland along shingle paths, on your left you will reach the house of Titus Oates, the notorious fraudster. In 1678 he claimed to have discovered a Popish plot to kill Charles II and replace him with his Catholic brother James; 80 people were rounded up and several executed before Oates admitted he’d made the whole thing up. A little further on you’ll come to the entrance to St Clements Caves, also on your left. Further on, at the top of the West Cliff railway is the West Cliff Café, which is well placed for a break. From here it’s not far to the ruined and atmospheric Hastings Castle (www.visithastings.com).
OS Landranger Maps 189 and 199.
OS Explorer Maps 124 and 125. Feature continuesAdvertisement
Hurst Green to Oxted, Surrey/Kent
Best autumn stroll
Length 8km (4.7 miles).
Duration Three hours.
Start Hurst Green Station.
Finish Oxted Station.
Getting there Two trains per hour (one on Sunday) run from London Victoria to Hurst Green (journey time: 39 minutes – 49 minutes on Sunday). Trains from Oxted also run to Victoria. Drivers should park at Hurst Green and get the train back there from Oxted, one stop down the line.
Walk notes This is the short version of a satisfying and reasonably gentle walk along the hills of north Kent and Surrey, much of it passing through woodland along the Greensand Way. This walk is especially attractive in autumn, offering a beautiful show of russets, browns and yellows when the leaves turn; the bluebell woods are also spectacular in late April and early May. Wolf Woods and pretty cottages (one – Pastens Cottage – with an inscription to Sergey Kravchinsky Stepniak, the nineteenth-century Russian revolutionary, on the side of it) mark the route until you reach your stop for a well-deserved lunch, the Carpenters Arms (01883 722 209). Back on the road you pass through woods and along bridleways until you reach another welcome refreshment stop, conveniently next to the station, at Robertson’s tearoom (01883 712 777).
OS Landranger Maps 187 and 188.
OS Explorer Map 146.
Saunderton via West Wycombe circular, Buckinghamshire
Best for fit families
Length 16km (10 miles).
Duration Five hours.
Start and finish Saunderton Station.
Getting there Trains run hourly between Marylebone and Saunderton (journey time: 42-51 minutes). For
those driving, Saunderton Station
car park is free.
Walk notes This walk combines an easy stroll in the Chilterns through a mixture of woodland and sloping meadows. The route heads south east over the Chiltern Hills to Bradenham (where a diversion off the main route allows you to cut the walk short by some 6km/3.75 miles) and continues through Naphill Common and Flagmore Wood to Hughenden Manor (01494 755 565/www.nationaltrust.org.uk). The stretch from Hughenden heads west across Downley Common to West Wycombe Caves (01494 533 739/www.hellfirecaves.co.uk), take this opportunity for a tea stop at the café. After a brisk climb from the caves up to Dashwood Mausoleum, purportedly the site of the notorious Hellfire secret society meetings, it is then an easy, level stroll back into Saunderton. For lunch, the George & Dragon Hotel (01494 464 414) on West Wycombe High Street is 5km (3 miles) from the start.
OS Landranger Map 165.
OS Explorer Map 172.- Add your comment to this feature
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13 comments
Where can I get more detailed walking directions for the first one (Hastings circular)? Up until the country park seems fairly obvious, but the inland return is maybe not that clear.
So back to talking about the actual walking. Me and my GF just finished the Lewes circle ( last on the list) it took us a while and we were exhausted by the end, but we have just had a great day. Stopped at the rams pub which was ok ( nothing spesh) but the views were simply amazing and we definitely feel good for it ( would definitely recommend for the fitter members. Train ticket £ 20 return on the day, and some snacks and pint during and after about £30-£40 for the day in total. So even me on my less than impressive salary could cope. Thanks Timeout!
Amazing that with white people making up 92% of the overall population that some feel the need to complain "there are too many white people doing things in this country". If you are disappointed by this, there are many fantastic places around the world where you can enjoy the diversity you seek, South Africa offers many fine walks, a first world infrastructure(but no cheap trains!) and population diversity, however they are far more positive and upbeat than yourself so I doubt they would welcome your condescending manner. If you cannot afford rail prices by booking in advance to make the most of super saver rates I suggest exploring your local area or riding a bicycle. Its not perfect but either way there is ALWAYS an option to enjoy what you seek in this fine land.
Ah...walking, the pastime of the sharp elbowed middle classes.
To those people complaining about the cost of...walking:
We can't have just 'anybody' bothering the mostly white nuclear families that can afford this activity. No, that would be bad.
We must keep the cost of rail and driving and parking high, or people from the low socio economic classes might start travelling around the country and horror of horrors: we might actually integrate as a society!
Can't be having that now can we? Nah, keep society separate and stupid, that's the way UK, that's the way.
It really puts you off when you hear the reality of doing anything in the UK as it costs an absolute fortune. From overpriced cafe's and pubs and pay carparks to the worst offender - rail fares that are multiple times more expensive they they ever should be.
I stay now at home. It costs too much to travel anywhere. Depressing country to live in .
We were going to hastings but on a sunday morning at 8am we desided to check the prices of going that moring by train, we went to southeastern website, and found that what appered to be the cheapest single outbound was £26.60 and the return was £15.90. A person would need a MPs salary to be able to afford these prices. Yes I understand persons will write in and say if you booked a few days weeks months in advance you might have got a better deal. But what good is a special deal if you cannot use it.
We did the Guildford to Chilworth stretch both ways and it was picturesque. The view from Pewley Hill was amazing. Thanks "TIMEOUT" for such a wonderful getaway idea.
We did the Pluckley Circular and it was a fantastic walk on a hot summer afternoon. All the pubs had friendly staff and were reasonably priced. The Dering Arms however is quite pricey but when we were served we could see why - great grub.
If you like having lunch and a pint at each pub this walk will probably take you five and half hours.
We did the Hurst Green to Oxted walk on a cold January day, and stopped for lunch at the Carpenters Arms. They let us order food even though we were just at the edge of serving time, and were generally friendly and lovely, as were the customers. We'd recommend the walk and the pub.
Thanks for making this available online - we lent our walking book to friends but will now be going walking anyway, great feature!
If you cannot find a parking space at Coulsdon South Station, there is a large Pay And Display carpark behind the Post Office in Coulsdon (Lion Green Road) which is a three minute walk from the station.
We went on the Hever to Leigh walk last Sunday. We opted for the cafe in Chiddingston and it too was overpriced with some miserable staff....the soup of the day had so many options that it must have come from a supermarket! Afternoon tea a bit further down the track was however fabulous.
Went on a walk from Vol 2 - Hever to Leigh in Kent - and had the misfortune to stop of at the recommended lunch stop, The Kings Arms in Chiddingstone. In the walk description the food is described a "a bit pricey". I suggest this is changed to "ludicrously over priced" - they charge £6.95 for a basic baked potato + 1 simple filling (beans etc). Avoiding lunch our group opted for the beer and were charged £12.90 for 4 badly pulled, underfilled pints of bitter!. The greeting on entering said hosteltry from a surly barnam was lest than welcoming - "You'll be wanting to drink in the garden then" - ie he didn't want any nasty walkers messing up his nice saloon bar - this on a dry, summer day and no mud whatsover on our boots. We were then served 5/10 minutes later !
I suggest this establishment is removed from the list of lunch stops as I have been on many of the walks in your 2 books and have never come across a more walker unfriendly, overpriced and generally snooty,nose in the air place in my life.