WALKING GROUP

Walks take place on Tuesdays and alternate between mornings and afternoons. Everyone is welcome, including dogs, so if you would like to come along then we will be delighted to see you. 

WALKING GROUP DATES 2024 (Further details of walks will be provided closer to the dates)

(4th Tuesday of the month)

The next walk will be on Tuesday 22nd October 2pm and the next after that will be on Tuesday 26th November 10am followed by lunch.

Tuesday 22nd October 2pm

Our October walk starts at 2pm on Tuesday 22nd September at The Poacher and Partridge Pub, Hartlake Road, Tudeley TN11 0PH. Plenty of parking is available in the pub car park. This a circular walk of 2.5 miles (4km) and is generally flat, so a nice easy stroll. Heading east we will visit the famous Tudeley Church and pass through the surrounding fields and orchards within the beautiful Kent countryside.

All Saints’ Tudeley is the only church in the world to have all its twelve windows decorated by the artist Marc Chagall born in Vitebsk/Vitsebsk, now in Belarus, then in the Russian Empire. They are magnificent and a must to see on our walk. It also has very close links with Mereworth church in that Mereworth and Tudeley had the same vicar back in the early 19th century, check for the name Stapleton on the list of vicars. County Archives have a handwritten book of the sermons of Miles Stapleton from the 1820s, possibly the same words were preached in both parishes each Sunday. There’s also an ancient Fane memorial in the chancel which is the same family that built our church and castle.

Our November walk is the last of the season, and will end at the Kings Arms Offham for lunch. Please let us know if you would like to have lunch so that we can book you in. The walk starts at 10am on Tuesday 26^th November from the small car park by Offham playing field, at the junction of Pepingstraw Close and Teston Road. We shall take a footpath through Moorlands Wood to the picturesque Aldon Lane and its old rectory. From Aldon Lane we shall use the footpath next to the railway line, crossing underneath the line to Church Farm and Offham Church. Following a footpath east for about 60 metres past Godwelll Farm we shall then take the zig-zag footpath across the fields south to Offham village and its unusual quintain on the green. After this, those who wish to do so can retire to the Kings Arms for lunch.

Offham is about 10 minutes’ drive north from Mereworth. The best route is via the A228 Malling Road taking the roundabout exit to West Malling and then turning left into Teston Road. The walk is about 4km with an opportunity to visit Offham church if required. There will be some road walking on quiet lanes, but most of the walk will be on the flat. Some paths, however, will be uneven and muddy, so good walking boots are advisable. Dogs will need a lead on the roads and where there is farm traffic. In one section of the walk there are likely to be horses grazing.