We’re a friendly bunch who get together for a walk on the third Sunday of each month, taking on low-risk but high-impact maintenance tasks, and reporting any issues to Kent County Council.
For the May walk, the Group gathered at Mowshurst car park (Four Elms Road, TN8 6LP) and set off half an hour earlier than the usual 10am start. This gave us time for a mid-walk treat at the Garden Café in Four Elms—a very civilised twist on the standard ramble. (Pic1)
From the car park, we headed to the far-left corner, through the gate, and turned left onto SR620, passing Nomads Football Club on the right. Continuing through a field and into a gap in the hedge, we entered Edenbridge Millennium Wood. Sticking to the left-hand path, we turned left to stay on SR620, passed a pond on the right, and walked straight on through a small copse.
A kissing gate led us into a field (Pic2) where we kept the hedge on the left and walked parallel to the railway line, crossing to two closely-planted oak trees. We went through another kissing gate to the right of the oaks, kept left, and aimed for a v-gate (Pic3) opposite. From there, we crossed diagonally right across the next field and passed through two more v-gates to reach Prettymans Lane (SR622).
We turned right along the lane and crossed the railway line, then turned left along the unmade road SR563. A short distance later, we turned left onto SR559A, continued over the railway again, and walked through fields (Pic4) to Five Fields Lane. After turning right briefly along the road, we carefully crossed (a bit dicey!) to a fingerpost and joined SR557 to reach Bough Beech Road. (Pic5) Turning right, we strolled past St Paul’s Church (Pic6), and then reached our reward – delicious coffee and cake!
Suitably refuelled, we returned to Five Fields Lane and crossed straight over to SR560. A pleasant path led us through gates to a large field. We turned right along the edge, then left, continuing on until a railway embankment where we encountered a curious sight – a wooden pillar with a hand carved sculpture of a badger, to mark the site of a landslip that closed the railway in 2024. The timber came from one of the trees felled on the site.
We passed under the railway line and continued ahead to another field, then turned right and eventually rejoined SR563, before retracing our steps all the way back to Mowshurst.
For more details on our group, please get in touch with Ginny Baldock on 07979 813300.
– Submitted by: Lindsey Eaton
