Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk - complete at last!

A couple of Friday’s ago I finally finished the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk, a task that took far longer than it should have done. For the uninitiated, the TWCW is a cross-country walk which, as its name suggests, is a route around the rural periphery of Tunbridge Wells. The route passes through the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and allows walkers to enjoy the undulating countryside of the High Weald, a landscape of patchwork fields, broad-leaved woodland, and parkland. On the way, it takes in the villages of Southborough, Pembury, Frant, Groombridge and Speldhurst. – a 27½ mile rural walk around the periphery of the former spa town of Tunbridge Wells.

I’d been aware of the TWCW for some time after a conversation with my friend Eric, who had completed the walk with his brother-in-law, some years previously. I had also walked parts of the trail myself, in the company of other friends/CAMRA members, on a number of different pub outings. That was the extent of my interest until a visit to Larkin’s Alehouse in Cranbrook in February 2022 , and there, on sale behind the bar, was a guidebook to the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk .

I purchased a copy with the intention of walking this footpath myself, but before doing so, I needed to complete the North Downs Way. I’d been walking this long-distance-footpath, in stages, since the summer of 2017, and finally completed at the beginning of February 2023. This was almost a year to the day since buying that TWCW Guidebook, and during that time I’d been studying the route with interest. The book divides the walk into four, manageable sections, moving in a clockwise around Tunbridge Wells, leaving users the choice of four different starting points.

Later that month I began the walk in earnest, starting with the Southborough to Pembury section. As this is the longest stretch of the TW Circular, I completed it in two halves, due mainly to time constraints. February wasn’t the best month to be starting a cross-country walk, and conditions underfoot were wet and quite muddy in places. I also took a wrong turn as I approached Tonbridge, a mistake I only realised when I reached the railway line, instead of the A21 main road.  I ended up walking that missing last half mile or so, a few weeks later, for the sake of completeness.

It was halfway through May that I finally finished Tonbridge to Pembury section, following one of the wettest March and Aprils I can recall. The first part of the walk, up through the grounds of Somerhill House was a familiar one, as it forms part of a walk to Capel and the Dovecote Inn, but as the trail climbed up towards the area known as Dislingbury, it became much harder to follow.

I eventually found my way to the grounds of St Peter’s Old Church, the original place of worship for the settlement of Pippenbury, before the village was re-named and re-sited. A bench, in the tranquil setting of the old churchyard, formed the perfect place for me to sit and enjoy my packed lunch, before heading off, past the waterworks, to the A228 road. Snipe Wood, to the south of Pippin’s Farm, was the ideal place to get lost and completely throw me off course, but eventually I found my way out of the wood and into Pembury village itself. The King Wiliam IV, on the Old Hastings Road, provided a couple of welcoming pints, as reward for finally finishing this section.

The fine weather continued throughout May, so I felt confident in tackling the next stage of the circular walk, from Pembury to Frant. My objective was to follow the footpath as far as the village of Frant, which lies to the south of Tunbridge Wells, enjoy a pint, and possibly a bite to eat at the George Inn, before catching a couple of buses home. This particular stage was a very doable 5 miles, so I was confident of arriving at the George in time for lunch. I perhaps, should have known better, as a poorly signposted route through woodland, took me off course, not just once, but twice.

Fortunately, memories from a previous walk came to my assistance, and I emerged onto close to the rather prestigious Nevill Golf Club. Whilst passing the clubhouse, I asked a couple of golfers if I was heading in the right direction. I was, but this wasn’t quite the end of the walk.  

 After crossing the busy Bayham Road, I followed a track past a farm and then up into Chase Wood. I had walked the steep path through this wood previously, and in both directions, so I knew it was quite a climb. Eventually I emerged from the trees into the first of two fields that took me into Frant. I arrived at the attractive looking George Inn at a quarter to three, and fortunately for me, the pub was open all afternoon. Not so fortunate was missing the last orders for food by 15 minutes, but I was much more in need of liquid, rather than solid refreshment

It was February 2024, when I next set foot on the trail, this time with the aim of walking from Frant to Eridge. This equated to roughly half of the section detailed in the guidebook, which runs all the way to Groombridge. It had been the best part of eight months since I last set foot on the TWCW, a combination of poor weather, plus other commitments had dampened my enthusiasm, but with two weeks of dry and relatively warm weather, I was determined to do something about it.

I took the bus to Frant, and following a quick pint at Abergavenny Arms, set off to find the spot where the TWCW branches off from the main A267 road, and descends into Eridge Park. The drop down into the park was every bit as steep as I recalled from a walk 3½ years previously and was slippery as well. It also featured umpteen trip hazards, in the form of exposed tree roots. Worse was to come, in the form of mud, so my initial optimism that it might be reasonably dry underfoot, soon vanished. The muddy conditions made for slow going, meaning that a walk which should only have taken an hour, ended up taking nearly two because of the constant need to make my way around the worst of the muddy areas.

After passing a series of ornamental lakes at the bottom of the valley it was time to climb back up to higher ground, where I encountered another place where the path deviated from what seemed like the most logical route. With the end in sight, there were two fields filled with sheep to pass through, but unfortunately, they weren’t “friendly” sheep, and seemed determined to harass this person who had invaded their territory. You can read more about my ovine encounter here, and I’m pleased to report I reached the end of the path, unscathed. The Nevill Crest & Gun pub, just a few minutes’ walk away, provided one of the best pints of Harvey’s that I’d had in a long time, and with the bus stop just a short distance away, the ideal place to finish my walk.

Poor weather again intervened leaving a two-month gap before conditions improved sufficiently for me to resume the TWCW. So, in mid-April I picked from where I left off back at the start of February, by taking the No. 29 bus to Eridge Green.  My aim was to walk the three and a half miles from Eridge to Groombridge, passing on the way the impressive rocky outcrops that make up Harrison’s Rocks. Despite a much-needed dry spell at the start of April, the weather again took a turn for the worse, with several heavy downpours, mid-afternoon, that caught me out, right in the middle of a ploughed field. I’d more or less dried out by the time I’d reached the aforementioned Harrison’s Rocks, which are quite impressive and surprisingly high in places.

The Rocks are popular with both novice rock scramblers, and more experienced mountaineers, and form a backdrop to the Spa Valley Railway, whose line follows the valley floor in its run between Eridge and Groombridge stations. There was no welcoming pint at the end of the walk, at least not at Groombridge, but this was due to bus timings rather than anything else, so I called in at Fuggles Beer Cafe instead, when I got back to Tunbridge Wells.

10 days ago, I finally finished the Tunbridge Wells circular, by walking the entire section between Groombridge and Southborough. The guidebook claims this section is just over six miles in length, but they must be “country miles” as the walk seemed considerably longer, especially after I stopped for a rest and a well-earned pint at the George & Dragon in Speldhurst. The guidebook delivered this time around, and more than proved its worth on several occasions.

The Harvey’s at the G&D was in top form, which was just as well, as I found the stretch between Speldhurst and Southborough quite challenging. I was very relieved then when I arrived at Southborough Common, and after passing the long-closed, but sadly missed Beehive pub, at Modest Corner, was soon traversing the cricket ground from where the bus home awaited me.

Despite its modest 27½ mile length, the TWCW is still quite a challenge, in terms of terrain, quality of footpaths - especially the absence of waymarks from where they perhaps should be, and the availability of public transport to convey walkers to and from the various section start and end points. It also “belongs” to this area, as do other localised walks in their own unique setting. What I’m trying to say here is, because it is circular, rather than linear it doesn’t form part of any longer footpaths or indeed any networks of walks. There is still a sense of achievement for having completed it, but it’s not the same as a long-distance, linear walk such as the North or South Downs.

So, what next? Well, Kent Ramblers have published a guide to “Three River Valley Walks in West Kent”, and these are Darent Valley Path, Eden Valley Walk and Medway Valley Walk. The guide follows the same format TWCW, with descriptions of the routes and full-colour mapping. The walks are divided into convenient sections that connect with rail stations, or local buses, meaning they are readily accessible so you can leave the car at home. The only question is, which of these three walks will I attempt first?