Hamstreet, Kent - Portrait of a Village

[Transcript of original web page. Last updated Nov 2024]

LATEST NEWS: 

War memorial completed

Footpath from Ashford Road to the Pippins now open

Village has three vacant shop units

Proposals for 140 houses on Cotton Hill being reviewed

New online parish magazine free to view

Introduction to the Village

"Hamstreet is 'interesting' and retains the characteristics of a traditional and proud working village, something that is increasingly rare," - Kent Life Magazine.

This Kentish village is affectionately known as ‘the gateway to the marsh’, being located six miles south of Ashford where the ridge of clay hills meets the flat expanses of Romney Marsh, an area once awash with smuggling. The village was bypassed in 1994, but remains an important junction and is twinned with the little town of Therouanne in France. Therouanne was once a city with a cathedral which was sacked by the troops of Henry V. The stone cannonball near the flagpole in Hamstreet was a gift from the mayor of the twin town, presented with the words 'You can have your cannonball back!' More local history can be perused on the Forge Gardens noticeboard and at the station.

Traditional weather-board buildings and a generally unspoilt appearance make the place well worth a detour from the beaten track. Three long distance footpaths pass through the village; the Royal Military Canal Path follows the peaceful banks of a 28-mile waterway - the UK's third longest defensive structure, and the Saxon Shore Way and Greensand Way pass through the expansive deciduous woodland of Hamstreet Woods. In fact, the Greensand Way begins its 110-mile course to Haslemere at the village crossroads. A walk incorporating both the canal and Hamstreet Woods was featured in the 'Top 50 best summer walks in Britain' in the Independent newspaper. A second area of public woodland is located northwest of the village at Orlestone Forest.

To get a reasonably accurate population for the village as a socio-economic entity, add together the populations of Orlestone and Warehorne, for the boundary runs through Hamstreet itself. This amounts to 1,988 people (2021 census). Orlestone is the original location of the village - now just a hamlet, a mile to the north, centred around the eleventh century parish church of St Mary. The Church of the Good Shepherd is a more modern place of worship in the village's High Street and the ancient church of St Augustine's in Snave also comes under Hamstreet and holds one service annually at harvest festival. The church in Warehorne is dedicated to St Matthew. The area is great to explore on foot or by bike.

Hamstreet's Claims to Fame

H E Bates who wrote 'The Darling Buds of May' would have known the village well, and the writer Joseph Conrad resided at Capel House (one mile north of the village) from June 1910 to March 1919. The modern generation will perhaps be most familiar with the film 'Apocalypse Now' which was heavily influenced by his book 'Heart of Darkness.' In the late 1990s, the village pub was briefly managed by Patrick Murray who played Mickey Pearce in TV's 'Only Fools and Horses.' Many celebrities have lived within the wider local area including Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Paul O'Grady, Noel Coward, Julian Clary, Alan Carr, the actress Jan Francis and international golfer, Peter Mitchell. Hamstreet has also been featured in futuristic writings by Sir Peter Hall and David Boyle. But what of the village itself?

Mountain Farm in Hamstreet once featured in BBC TV's 'Blue Peter' as a base camp for an expedition up the 'Marsh Mountain’. Romney Marsh is of course completely flat, so this humorous concept involved presenters turning a map of the area upside down and crawling along the road!

Hamstreet had its real moment of fame in the early 1990's, with maps of the village appearing on postage stamps all over the UK. John Craven even did a 'Countryfile' special on the village. This was to mark 200 years of the Ordnance Survey. Hamstreet was chosen because the area was the first to be mapped as part of a nationwide survey and the changes to the village over the years showed up very well on a series of stamps.

The village was featured on BBC South East Today's 'On The Map' feature in May 2021. Hamstreet was also on the route of the Tour of Britain cycle race which passed through in September 2006, and the Olympic Torch relay passed through the village en route to London for the 2012 Olympic Games. Search for 'Olympic Torch Hamstreet' on YouTube to view the relay and watch TV clips of the village here.

Business

Until 2013 there were five pubs within three miles of the village cross. At present there are three - the Duke's Head in Hamstreet itself, the Woolpack Inn in Warehorne and the White Horse in Bilsington. The Blue Anchor (Ruckinge) and World's Wonder (Warehorne) have sadly been allowed to disappear.

In the High Street there is a post office / general store, fish and chip shop, the Old Schoolhouse Indian restaurant, a curtain / blind shop, the 'Saw Joinery' DIY/joinery centre, Lilly's Ink tattoo studio, the Cosy Kettle cafe, Early Birds renovations, Smart Dogs grooming centre and Star Beauty (now in a private house). The Woodville unit will soon be vacant.

Marsh Road has Annings Motors garage and Hamstreet Garden Centre which also has a cafe. There is currently an empty shop unit near the garage. Hamstreet Primary Academy (the school) is located in Ashford Road.

In Warehorne Road there is a dental clinic and Angela Hirst estate agency. There is currently an empty unit where the hairdresser’s used to be. Travel just out of the village and you'll find a vineyard, the mild climate of this part of Kent being particularly good for wine production.

Meanwhile, Ruckinge Road is the location of Joanne Fuller Beauty and Hamstreet Surgery, as well as the Nexus Programme office. A little further out of the village on Ruckinge Road is Meadow View Industrial Estate which contains several businesses.

Fun and Festivals

The village has a games area/tennis courts and a bowling green, as well as many clubs and associations too numerous to list. These include the Ruckinge and Hamstreet Scouts and Guides (HQ in Ruckinge), the Royal British Legion and the football club. Activities from coffee mornings to Zumba take place around the village at locations such as Victory Hall, Cosy Kettle cafe, primary school and Church of the Good Shepherd (which has its own hall attached). 

The Pound Leas pavilion has its own bar area, augmenting the flood-lit 'multi-use games area' and football field, all of which are the result of many years of fundraising. The Festival of Transport which used to take place every June was featured in a Live TV (satellite) documentary programme in 2009. Sadly this event folded in 2016 but the village does have a community day each summer in its place. There are however regular 'bikejumble' events on the fair field for petrol heads. 

Also look out for posters for Hamstreet bonfire and fireworks on Pound Leas each November (although this won't take place in 2024) and the music festival in Warehorne village hall which usually takes place in July. For those wishing to stay locally, accommodation is available at the Woolpack Inn, a pleasant stroll across fields on the Saxon Shore Way. The sign outside the Dukes Head also displays accommodation. More info from the pub.

Transport facts

As well as daytime bus services to Ashford, New Romney and Lydd (Mon to Sat), Hamstreet has a railway station on the Ashford to Hastings line - one of only two remaining diesel lines in the provincial Southeast. Trains run direct to Eastbourne as well as Ashford for connections to London.

The village is well signed on the A2070 trunk road between Ashford's Southern Orbital Road and Brenzett, and between Aldington and Woodchurch on the B2067. The village used to be signed comprehensively in Tenterden and also from New Romney, Lympne and Appledore Heath. In spite of past campaigns for a return to better signage on grounds of being a junction point on a trunk road and a hub for local services, the village remains signed at the most basic level. Interestingly, there is a memorial at the southern exit for Hamstreet on the A2070 in honour of Liuetenant Johnson, a USA pilot who lost his life here during World War II after allowing his crew to parachute to safety. 

Details of useful cycle routes can be found in the 'Royal Military Canal and Associated Routes' blog, and circular walking routes can be found in the 'Smugglers and Saxon Shore Walks' blog. The A2070 and B2067 also have narrative blogs on this site detailing features along these routes, and the 'Ashford and Shepway Roads Database' blog details routes around the wider area.

Nostalgia 

The house on the corner of Ashford Road and Warehorne Road is believed to be the oldest in the village. It was a bakery until the 1980s, and a post office too until 1970, when a new post office was built at Bridgewell (now a private house in the one-way street). In the 80s the post office moved to the Mace store (now an office), finally settling at its current location in the Morrisons store, which itself was previously an independent store, then VG, Costcutter and McColl's. Hamstreet was briefly graced with a baker's shop again when the Chocoloate Box newsagency closed in 2012. There was a second newsagency (Harden's) located at Old Stores House in The Street until the 1990s.

Prior to use for beauty purposes, the shop at Woodville was an antiques shop, and before this a butcher's store. When the butchery closed in the 1980s, a butcher's counter was positioned at the rear of the VG store (now Morrisons) for a number of years. Villagers had a choice of garages, both with filling stations, at the time too. The second of these, Tippen's, was located where the small housing development between the former Chocolate Box and the church now stands.

Until the 1990s Hamstreet had a police house in Warehorne Road. The Indian restaurant was the original site of Hamstreet School until the current school was built in 1882. Prior to its current use the Old Schoolhouse was an antique shop, a photocopier centre, a tea room and the Masters restaurant.

The shopping area in Warehorne Road housed a greengrocer and a wool shop in the 1980s. It is also believed that when Viaduct Terrace was constructed in the 19th century, there were plans for the southernmost end of the terrace to be a pub. The Duke's Head is in fact a rebuild; the original pub opened its front door directly onto The Street and was originally named 'The George', 'The Three Mariners' and then 'The Duke of Cumberland'. The twin pub of the current Duke's Head was the former Stonebridge Inn at Woodchurch. Hamstreet also had a twin station building, at Winchelsea in East Sussex. 

Meanwhile, the former World's Wonder in Warehorne was one of five Kentish pubs which were built to the same design. The others were the now-bulldozed Ship at Lade (Romney Marsh), the former Bell Inn at Coxheath, The Redstart Inn at Barming and The Papermaker's Arms at Hawley (Dartford).

Hamstreet exchange phone numbers consisted of four figures prior to standardisation of the 01233 Ashford area code. The telephone exchange is still located next to the railway station. The old exchange is located at the top of a flight of steps to the south of the railway bridge in Ashford Road.

Development names for recent estates were Orchard View (Bankside), Saxon Woods (Lancaster Close), Brook Gate (Orlestone View), The Pippins (Ingoldsby Lane, etc.) and Nightingale View (Brimstone Road, etc.).

Campaigning

There are three vacant shop units in the village centre which the creator of this blog hopes will be filled to keep the village centre buoyant.

Two large new housing developments are being completed, with a third very prominent development being considered. The focus on expensive four and five-bedroom houses within new developments has been an issue, while the further fragmenting of the village across a third parish would see most of the benefits of extra council tax going to neighbouring villages rather than Hamstreet. It would make sense for any new developments to be entirely within the parish of Orlestone to create cohesion.

In 2008 Pumpkin TV produced a DVD for geography students which used Hamstreet as a case study for challenges that affect many English villages. It has sometimes been very frustrating to see a minority fighting plans for new business when so many outlets have been lost over the years. Beginning in the late 1990s the author of this site has attempted to challenge the status quo. 

This began by escalating complaints when the village's railway station ticket office was closed for a period of over six months in the late 1990s, and continued with expressing support for the Indian restaurant to be allowed to provide a takeaway service, for the doctor's surgery to expand, for a fish and chip shop to be allowed, for a new cafe to be allowed and for changes to the Woolpack Inn which ultimately enabled this popular pub to reopen in 2015. A plan to upgrade the canal towpath as a proposed cycle link between Hamstreet and Appledore has sadly gone quiet in recent years.

The truth is that one person cannot change a village, and I would personally encourage villagers to use the 'search' and 'comment' facility on Ashford Borough Council's planning website to support new amenities and object to further losses of business space whenever such proposals arise. I hope that the quote from 'Kent Life' magazine which began this post will be as true in years to come as it is at the time of writing.

Credits and links

This page has been put together by Adam Colton, a local author of UK travel, music reviews and psychological fiction. Please visit the author page on the Amazon website, Smashwords, iBooks, etc. for details of available books. Adam is also one half of the musical duo Adam Colton & Teresa Colton. Check out their songs on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes and other music sites. Also, please search for the names of any of the businesses, clubs, amenities or venues mentioned on this page that aren't listed below.

The twin village of Therouanne (link here) in France. 

Hamstreet Woods national nature reserve

BBC news report on the 2012 Olympic Torch relay here

Old Schoolhouse Indian Restaurant (The Street)

Early Birds Renovations (The Street)

Star Beauty School (Private house off The Street)

Morrisons Store (The Street)

Dog grooming centre (The Street)

Annings Race & Restoration (Marsh Road)

Hamstreet Garden Centre (Marsh Road)

Joanne Fuller Beauty  (Ruckinge Road)

Nexus Programme Office (Ruckinge Road)

Doctor’s surgery (Ruckinge Road) 

Dental Clinic (Warehorne Road)

Angela Hirst Estate Agency (Warehorne Road)

Hamstreet Wines (Warehorne Road)

Warehorne Vineyard (Warehorne Road)

School (Ashford Road)

White Horse (Bilsington)

Woolpack Inn (Warehorne)

Scout and Guide Associations (shared with Ruckinge)

The Victory Hall committee

Link to 'bikejumble' events 

Visit by Train Website

The parish council's site is here

Hamstreet, Villagenet

Hamstreet Pictorial History

There is now a sister-page on this blog about the nearest town of Ashford

Hamstreet, Kent - Saxon Shore Walking Routes

[Transcript from original web page. Last updated Nov 2024]

The information on this page may be freely copied for use on walks.

The village of Hamstreet is surrounded by public woodland including Hamstreet woods, an area of special scientific interest renowned for the presence of wild service trees and nightingales. 

The routes in this guide explore the contrasting elements of the local area, including Romney Marsh and the banks of the Royal Military Canal. 

Hamstreet is a great base for walkers because of its railway station, coffee shops in both the High Street and garden centre,  fish and chip shop, Indian restaurant, shops and Duke's Head pub. Note: wordings highlighted in bold are reference points that appear in different walks.

Hamstreet Village Circumnavigation (2½ miles)

From the crossroads head west along Warehorne Road. After 200 yards, you will notice a public footpath on your left running between two houses. The path is channelled around a couple of bends and across a bridge, eventually coming out onto a drive. Turn right to follow the drive around the left-hand bend and out to the High Street.

Cross the main road using the traffic island and turn right. When you are nearing the village sign (pause to read the plaque), look for a passageway on your left. Take this footpath around the back of the houses and cross Cock Lane, continuing straight ahead along the edge of the playing field and across the loop of Fairfield Terrace housing estate. The path continues directly onward up the driveway and into the field, right over the top of Cotton Hill and down the other side. Don’t forget to enjoy the views both ways at the summit.

The path goes through the gate to the right of the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill and after the stile, turns diagonally left to emerge onto the B2067 via a stile beneath a tree. Turn left to head back towards the village along the road, climbing the hill, taking great care. Just beyond the brow of the hill, you will notice a track-way on your right, signed ‘Orlestone Rise’. Wander up this track and at the end on your left you will find the entrance to Hamstreet Woods.

Follow the path (known as School Ride) into the woods, descending steeply. The path crosses Main Ride and descends some more, gradually curving right to end at a T-junction with ‘Stickles Path’; turn left to descend and cross the bridge, exiting the woods onto Bourne Lane. Pass through the swing-gate to your right and then another swing-gate immediately left. The path now heads along the left-hand field-edge. You will pass through a housing development and then climb a slope to the station. Use the steps or lift to cross the footbridge and walk down the car park on the opposite side of the station.

Turn right onto the opposite pavement along Ashford Road and then left up a steep gravel track. Where the track bends sharply to the right follow the surfaced path ahead, eventually descending across the field. Take the left-hand fork where the path splits and upon reaching Warehorne Road, turn left to follow the B2067 back to the village centre. Use the crossing beneath the railway bridge to change sides.

Ruckinge Loop (5 miles) 

A variation on this route was featured in the 'Top 50 best summer walks in Britain' in the Independent newspaper.

Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from the village crossroads and take the second turning left onto Bourne Lane. At the end of the lane, bear right, through the gate into Hamstreet Woods. 

As you enter the woods the Saxon Shore Way bridges a stream and bears sharp left. Then after around a hundred yards it forks right. Stay on the wide surfaced trail which runs right through the middle of the woods, gradually climbing for around a mile until it reaches a gate at the top of the woods. Go through the gate and continue up to the T-junction with Gill Lane byway. 

Bear left and climb out of the woods along the byway. The Saxon Shore Way then exits right along a farm track, while we continue ahead on Gill Lane (Greensand Way). 300 yards later you will reach a junction; turn right taking great care as this lane is narrow and bounded by hedges.

Several hundred yards later, you will reach another junction with a gravel surfaced byway leading straight ahead. Follow this all the way into the woods, around the sharp bend and on for around a mile descending to meet the B2067 near Herne Farm.

Turn right, walking westward along the road for a quarter of a mile to Ruckinge village. This is a historic settlement because of its smuggling connections; it is believed that the notorious Ransley brothers were hanged at Penenden Heath, Maidstone and buried in Ruckinge churchyard (St Mary Magdalene). 

Our route turns left at the T-junction after the former Blue Anchor pub to pass the former chapel. Feel free to take an optional detour along the B2067 for 300 yards to visit the parish church (if you enter the churchyard, look for the footpath on the left-hand-side of the church and follow this roughly due southeast down to the lane). 

Cross the bridge on the lane over the Royal Military Canal. It is now just a simple matter of turning right to follow the canal path back to Hamstreet. When you reach Hamstreet Bridge around a mile and a half later, turn right, and follow the road past the garden centre (including coffee shop) back into the village. Just after passing Mountain Farm on your right, there is a footpath on your left, which runs parallel to the road behind the hedge as you enter the village – a quiet alternative across a field and Pound Leas recreation ground to the car park in The Street, beyond which you will pass the Victorian 'Church of the Good Shepherd' (former chapel).

Bilsington Loop (7 miles) 

Follow the route of the ‘Ruckinge Loop’ as far as Herne Farm, Ruckinge. (If you wish to try an alternative route into the woods, head south from Hamstreet Crossroads and turn left down the alleyway opposite the church. Follow this over the little bridge, past the bowling green and straight over the road to pass the duck-pond and climb through a housing estate. Turn left when you reach a T-junction of estate roads, and when the road reaches a dead end, turn left into the woods. This narrow path curves right and soon becomes wider and dead-straight (Main Ride). Follow this all the way to the end where it meets Gill Farm Track. Turn right to continue the Ruckinge Loop up to the gate at the top of the woods and on as instructed above).

When you reach Herne Farm, turn left along the B2067 and walk very carefully until the sharp left-hand bend. Take the public footpath ahead and slightly left across the field (use the left-hand edge if blocked), passing the house at the top of the hill on your left. Head for the corner next to the road as you descend. Cross the stile into the next field and continue along the left-hand-side. At the bottom of this field, cross the bridge over the ditch and continue along the left-hand-side of the next field, emerging onto the B2067 via the gate.

Turn right, following the road up the hill into Bilsington village, taking great care. Here, the pub is the White Horse and the church is dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. The obelisk is a monument, built in 1835, to honour a local landowner, Sir William Richard Cosway, who was famed for his generosity towards his workers but tragically died in a coaching accident. Bilsington was voted the fifth best postcode area in the UK to live in in 2006.

Turning right at the crossroads, follow the lane down the hill past the cricket field on your right, with an optional detour up the track on the left to visit the church of St Peter and St Paul (if you go through the gate opposite the church door and over the stile, you can rejoin the road at the bottom of the hill via the footpath roughly due southwest across the field). 

Take the footpath on the right just before the canal bridge to follow the north bank to Ruckinge Bridge and then swap to the south bank to continue to Hamstreet Bridge, turning right to follow the road past the garden centre back into the village.

Orlestone Loop (2 miles)

Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from the village crossroads and take the second turning left onto Bourne Lane. At the end of the lane, pass through the swing-gate and continue straight ahead. Heading north along the left-hand edge of the field, you will soon reach the railway embankment, climb this and cross the line carefully. This Ashford to Hastings line is one of only two remaining diesel lines in the provincial South-East.

Descend the embankment to a modern housing development. Follow the footpath roughly northward (it may be chanelled around the edge during construction works). You will climb to pass underneath the bypass, opened in 1994.  Bear right after the underpass and continue along the left-hand side of the next field. Continue as you pass a house and tennis courts on your left. Next you will pass a pond behind St Mary's Church where the path bears slightly left to continue across the field.

You will soon reach a crossroads of footpaths. Turn sharp left at the post to take the path which is slightly diagonal across the field to reach the lane. Our walk continues straight across, but those wishing to explore the church can detour left at this point. This hamlet, centred around St Mary’s church was once the centre of population. When the flat-lands of Romney Marsh were drained, the population decamped to the more southerly location of Hamstreet, then known merely as ‘Ham’. It was the coming of the railway in 1851 that ultimately led to the growth of this village.

Our footpath crosses a lawn and passes to the left of a pond to descend across the next field to the old Ashford Road. Turn left and return to the village centre down the hill on the pavement, passing the school and railway station. If ever the final fields are blocked, the lane from St Mary's Church also meets the old Ashford Road where a left turn can be taken back to Hamstreet. 

Capel Road Loop (4 miles)

Follow the route of the ‘Orlestone Loop’ on the first leaflet as far as the crossroads of footpaths just after passing behind Orlestone Church. For this route, continue straight ahead, briefly passing through woodland and emerging into a large field. The path soon bears diagonally right across the field out to Capel Road where you turn right. If you are unable to cross the field, continue ahead and slightly left past the two trees in the middle of the field and look for the hole in the hedge to emerge onto the road and turn right to walk along it.

Walk along the road until you see a small public footpath on your right (note this is around 300 yards beyond the wide entrance to the woods). This path leads into Packing Wood, which was estranged from the rest of Hamstreet Woods when the bypass sliced through the middle in 1994.

Upon reaching a wide grassy ‘ride’, turn right to follow this through the coniferous forest for half a mile. At a staggered junction of paths turn right onto a grassy public footpath and then right again a hundred yards later to head back into the trees. Continue on this public footpath for the next half a mile, out of the woods and on across the field, back to a familiar crossroads of paths, where you will be able to continue onward and slightly left to the lane at Orlestone to complete the ‘Orlestone loop’ back to Hamstreet.

Warehorne Loop (3 miles)

Head towards Tenterden along the B2067 from the village crossroads. Use the crossing beneath the arched railway bridge and continue to the road bridge (there is a path parallel to the road along Waylett Crescent and back down to the B2067). After the bridge, climb the steps on your left. A short distance along this stony path, there is a stile to your right. Climb over and follow the Saxon Shore Way in a straight line towards the church tower across the fields. Passing through a number of swing-gates, the route descends into a dip and climbs again to reach a stile surrounded by bushes at the top right corner of the final field. Cross the stile and turn right when you reach the lane.

The sixteenth century Woolpack Inn is connected to the church of St Matthew by an underground tunnel. This was built and used for smuggling, a common activity in this area in centuries past.

Take the path, left, via the churchyard and walk around the west side of the building. If you imagine a straight line right through the church bearing slightly left, this is roughly the route of the footpath down to the lane via the bushes to the left of the house at the bottom. When you emerge, cross the level crossing and continue down to Warehorne Canal Bridge. The Royal Military Canal was built as a line of defence against a feared invasion from Napoleon. A footpath follows its banks for the full 28 miles from Cliff End (near Hastings) to Seabrook (near Folkestone). 

To return to Hamstreet, cross the first stile on your left just before the bridge and head diagonally left to take the footpath due northeast across the fields. [If the path is blocked, an alternative route is to follow the canal path eastward, crossing the A2070 and turning left when reaching the bridge near Hamstreet Garden Centre.] After a while the path passes through a swing-gate on your right to continue northeast. Look carefully for the bridges across the dykes. The telegraph pole in the middle of the distant sloping field is a good reference point to check you are on course although you will have to deviate around the marshy vegetation at times. You will eventually reach the Hamstreet bypass; cross this and continue. Please be warned that the sections running beside the bypass can often be very brambly. The path then crosses another field and descends to the village, passing a farmhouse to the left and bridging a dyke and narrowly passing a Southern Water compound to reach a short lane back out to the High Street.

Kenardington Loop (5 miles) 

Use the previous route to get to Warehorne, but continue along the lane past the church and Woolpack Inn. Take the drive to a farm on the left, and almost immediately take the Saxon Shore Way through the swing-gate on the right, across the field. As you descend across the middle of the sloping second field, head for the right-hand-side of the row of trees at the bottom. Pass through the swing-gate and head southwest, diagonally across the field towards Kenardington church, lining yourself up with the bridges that cross the dykes. At this low point, it is easy to realise why the Saxon Shore Way is so called, for these fields would have been covered by water many centuries ago.

It is a gentle climb to St Mary’s, which occupies the site of a Saxon camp that was stormed by the Danes in the ninth century. Follow the pathway that bears right from the church door, and as you leave the churchyard, you will notice a footpath on your right. Follow this along the fence and eventually you will descend via a series of steps to a lane. Turn right, continuing around the corner and on for several hundred yards until reaching a T-junction.

Turn right and walk along this lane up the hill. Just before you reach the junction with the B2067, there is a path / alleyway on your right; follow this past the houses and eventually parallel to the B2067, until you have to emerge to continue eastward along the road. Just by the village entrance sign for Warehorne, you can use a remnant of the old route on the left-hand-side past the former World's Wonder pub. 

When you reach the B-road again, you will see a concrete drive on the opposite side. Proceed along this for around 200 yards until you notice a stile on the left-hand-side. Cross this and walk across the field; as you continue there should be a house just to your left. Be warned: there can sometimes be tall weeds or crops to negotiate. After passing the house, the path enters another field and climbs, with a row of bushes to the left, until reaching a familiar swing-gate, with just two fields to cross back to Warehorne on the Saxon Shore Way, from which you can continue the previous walk via the churchyard down to the canal.

Marsh Loop (4 miles)

This walk is an introduction to Romney Marsh. Head south from the village crossroads signed ‘New Romney’, passing through the High Street and on past the garage. Just past the garden centre you will bridge the Royal Military Canal. Go through the gate on your left and follow the towpath along the canal for two thirds of a mile. 

Take the byway on your right (just before reaching a pumping station) and after several hundred yards you will cross a bridge where the main route bears sharp left. Turn right at this point to follow a grassy byway along the edge of the ditch. You may have to climb over a few gates during the next two thirds of a mile.

Eventually, you will notice a wide wooden footbridge to your right. Cross this and follow the footpath ahead along the left-hand edge of the field. Be warned: the grass can be quite high and weedy here at times.

When the row of bushes ends, bear slightly left and continue in the same direction so that the next line of bushes is on your right. At the end of this section, bear slightly right to pass through the gap in the bushes and then curve naturally left along the field-edge.

The footpath crosses this field diagonally, due northwest to the opposite corner. If you are unable to cross the field, follow the field-edge to your left until you are able to turn right (due north). Either way you will eventually reach a footbridge, with another bridge immediately after on the left. Cross these and follow the footpath diagonally across this final field, due northwest. 

When you reach Hamstreet Canal Bridge, turn right, and follow the familiar road past the garden centre, back into the village.

Route to Orlestone Forest (1½ miles each way)

To reach Fagg's Wood, which is part of Orlestone Forest, head along the road towards Tenterden from the crossroads. Use the crossing beneath the arched railway bridge and continue to the road bridge (there is a path parallel to the road along Waylett Crescent and back down to the B2067). After the bridge, at the top of the hillock there is a byway on your right. Follow this, and eventually it will emerge into open fields. Follow the right-hand field edge as the path gently climbs. The path follows the line of the fence to your right and eventually reaches a small gate into woodlands. 

Continue up through the woods and then diagonally left across an open field to the northwest corner. Another short wooded section will bring you out to Malthouse Lane. Turn right along the lane and several hundred yards later turn left into the gravel entrance to Faggs Wood. There is a picnic area here, and if you continue to the end of the gravel track you will find a path into the woodlands. Feel free to explore the reserve and return to Hamstreet the way you came.   

Hamstreet, Kent / Royal Military Canal - Cycling Routes

[Transcript from original web page]

This web page may be freely copied for use on cycle rides. To view two videos of the towpath on YouTube search for 'Royal Military Canal by bike.'

The Royal Military Canal runs for 28 miles from Cliff End (near Hastings) to Seabrook (near Folkestone). This peaceful waterway was built as a line of defence against a feared invasion by Napoleon, and the bends roughly every third of a mile were intended to serve as lookout points along the ‘straights’. After Hadrian's Wall and Offa's Dyke it is the third longest defensive structure in the UK. A footpath runs the entire length of the canal, but this page shows how cycleable sections between Hamstreet and Seabrook can be used.

Also included are links from Hamstreet to the national cycle network to reach the nearby towns of Ashford and Tenterden, as well as circular recreational routes exploring woodland byways and Romney Marsh. To begin the routes from Hamstreet, head for the crossroads, 300 yards south of the railway station. Note that the section of canal path between Ruckinge and Hamstreet can have unavoidable puddles if wet, and the byway/bridleway routes can be muddy.

Canal eastbound: From Hamstreet to Hythe (12/13m) and Folkestone (18/19m)

Our route commences at the crossroads by The Duke's Head and heads south through the High Street to exit the village along Marsh Road. We join the canal after the bridge by the garden centre. Turning left, you will find a 1.5 mile hard-surfaced trail to Ruckinge.

The second half is designated as ‘footpath’ so our route turns right onto a grassy byway just before a pumping station. (If you wish to continue beside the canal to Ruckinge - the slightly shorter option - you may have to lift your bike over a fence/gate.The land-owner is tolerant if you show respect, and the author advises walking with your bike. Upon reaching the bridge, turn left onto the lane, then right onto the B2067 to pass the Blue Anchor pub. After a mile of undulations, turn right in Bilsington by the White Horse to descend the hill, cross the canal and continue onto the Marsh at the point marked ***).

On the byway route heading south, you will encounter three right-angle bends – left, right and left again. Please close and fasten all gates. You will eventually reach Lord's Farm, where it becomes a driveway. When you reach the lane, continue across it onto the lane to Bilsington, which eventually rejoins the canal. Note, the monumental obelisk to a local landowner, Sir William Richard Cosway, who died in a coaching accident. At the T-junction by the road-bridge, turn right.

*** Our lane heads back out onto the Marsh for around a mile. Take the first left turn. This lane will pass Honeywood Farm and you will reach a T-junction at the end - turn right.

A few hundred yards later you will reach a T-junction with the Newchurch road - turn left. Shortly after this is a staggered junction - the building on the corner was once Bonnington’s pub. 

Turn left and then right onto Lower Wall Road, which runs along the bottom of the greensand hills (Noel Coward's former home can viewed upon the escarpment). Take the left turn towards the hills after a couple of miles (Aldergate Lane). After bridging the canal, turn right onto the gravel trail. As you ride, you may see the wild animals of Port Lympne Zoo Park to your left. A little further along, the hills are occupied by Lympne Castle and the remains of the Roman ‘Stutfall’ Castle further down the slope. Lympne was indeed a port in this era.

The trail continues across the lane when you reach West Hythe village, and further on there is a ‘listening ear’ dish upon the hillside, designed to detect incoming enemy aircraft from across The English Channel in the days before RADAR. Upon reaching Scanlons Bridge Road at Hythe (nearest railway station = Sandling), the canal path swaps to the south bank. The path crosses Dymchurch Road and Stade Street and upon reaching Twiss Road the cycle path returns to the north bank. A couple of miles later, the path brings us out onto the A259 at Seabrook - the end of the canal. Turn right and use the sea-wall/national cycle route 2 via Sandgate to reach Folkestone, and find the railway station if returning by train.

Canal westbound: From Folkestone to Hythe (6m) and Hamstreet (18/19m)

The Royal Military Canal begins at Seabrook, which can be reached via the sea-wall/national cycle route 2 from Folkestone harbour, via Sandgate.

Join the A259 when the sea-wall comes away from the main road near a petrol station. Pass the petrol station on your left and look for the beginning of the canal path 300 yards later on your left hand side (it is just after a grassy area on the left). Follow this the trail for two miles until it reaches Twiss Road, beyond which the route switches to the south bank.

The path crosses Stade Street and Dymchurch Road. After crossing Scanlon's Bridge Road by the light railway station, it swaps back to the north bank, beginning as a narrow roadway. The road eventally becomes a gravel path, and as you leave the town, note the ‘listening ear’ dish upon the hillside, designed to detect incoming enemy aircraft from across The English Channel in the days before RADAR. 

The trail continues across the road at West Hythe village. As you ride on, look right to view Lympne Castle and the remains of the Roman ‘Stutfall’ Castle further down the slope. A little further on you may glimpse the wild animals of Port Lympne Zoo Park.

Sadly the bike-friendly part of the towpath ends at Aldergate Lane Bridge. We turn left to go over across and along Aldergate Lane until reaching a T-junction. Turn right onto Lower Wall Road and follow this for two miles. At the end, there is a staggered junction. Turn left and then right towards Newchurch - the building on the corner was once Bonnington’s pub.

Take the next turning right and turn left shortly afterwards onto the lane passing Honeywood Farm. At the end of this lane turn right towards Bilsington. Note, the monumental obelisk to a local landowner, Sir William Richard Cosway, who died in a coaching accident. At the canal bridge one has a choice. (If you feel able to lift your bike over a gate/fence, continue ahead up the hill and turn left onto the B2067 at Bilsington crossroads, by the White Horse pub. After a mile of undulations you will reach Ruckinge. Turn left after the Blue Anchor pub and then right onto the canal path immediately after the bridge. The first 3/4 mile is designated 'footpath.' The landowner is tolerant towards cyclists if they show respect, although it may be best to walk with your bike until a byway joins from the left, after you pass the brick pumping station. Continue ahead to the end of the trail at Hamstreet bridge, where our route continues at the point marked ***). 

Our slightly longer 'official' route turns left onto Tar Pot Lane at Bilsington canal bridge and we are reunited briefly with the canal bank before the lane heads back out into the Marsh. At the end of the lane, continue ahead onto the byway. This becomes a grass track shortly after passing Lord's Farm. As the route progresses, you will encounter three right-angle bends – right, left and right again at the junction of byways. Please close and fasten all gates.

Upon reaching the canal bank, turn left and make the most of the canal-side trail to Hamstreet bridge***, where we turn right to pass the garden centre and head into the village. Hamstreet was once featured in map form on a series of stamps to commemorate 200 years of the Ordnance Survey, who began their first countrywide survey near the village. Continue ahead at the crossroads by The Duke's Head for the railway station.

Extending the route: This guide does not cover the western half of the canal due to it using busier, faster paced roads. However, completists may wish to continue using the B2067 (Hamstreet-Kenardington), Appledore Road/Kenardington Road, The Street (Appledore) and Military Road which runs beside the canal from Appledore to Rye. There is a also a grassy bridleway beside the River Brede (which multiplexes with the canal) from Harbour Road, Rye to Sea Road, Winchelsea.

Link to Tenterden (11m) - byway & national cycle route 18

Hamstreet to Tenterden: From Hamstreet crossroads, take the B2067 towards Tenterden. You will pass beneath two bridges and climb gently for a mile. Take the right turn onto Malthouse Lane which climbs some more and enters Orlestone Forest. The Weald of Kent was once completely covered with thick woodland of this kind. A mile later, we reach the T-junction with Birchett Lane. Turn left and then right a few hundred yards later, onto the hard-surfaced trail heading northwest.

Be warned, this route can be quite muddy in winter. After a mile, there are two ninety-degree bends. A quarter of a mile later, a byway exits left; do not take this - continue ahead. Shortly after this another trail exits right – again continue straight ahead. 

You will eventually emerge to open farmland and meet Shadoxhurst Road, where we take a right turn.

At the next T-junction, turn left and follow the blue 'cycle route 18' signs - across two crossroads on Plurenden Rd, left at the next T-junction onto Harbourne Lane, right at the next junction onto Swain Rd, then left onto Ox Lane at the top of the hill, and left again onto the A28 at the Fat Ox.

Tenterden to Hamstreet: Head towards Ashford on the A28, turning right at the Fax Ox pub. Turn right at the end of Ox Lane onto Swain Road and follow the blue cycleway signs. After descending through trees, bear left at the T-junction and turn right at the end of Harbourne Lane. Continue ahead passing Redbrook Street crossroads and over the crossroads with Bethersden Road. 

At the end of the lane turn right onto local cycle route 11, turning left onto the byway very soon after. Follow this byway into the woods and onward when a trail joins from the left and also when another byway exits right. At the end of the byway, turn left onto Birchett Lane and then right at the T-junction a few hundred yards later onto Malthouse Lane. You will eventually descend to a T-junction with the B2067. Turn left to descend for a mile to Hamstreet crossroads.

Ashford circular route (19 miles) or one way (9 miles) - bridleway, cycle routes and byway

This route can be used for a one way trip to Ashford (train back) or as a complete circuit. If starting from Ashford, head south under the brick subway beneath the railway station and turn right to begin with Part 2. Note, the wooded sections can be muddy.

Part 1: Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from Hamstreet crossroads and take the second left turn onto Bourne Lane (by the World War II pillbox). At the end of the lane, bear right, through the gate into Hamstreet Woods. Our bridleway bears immediately left, and around a hundred yards later it forks right. Stay on the wide surfaced path for a mile to the top of the woods. Go through the gate at the end, and shortly afterwards turn left at the T-junction with Gill Lane byway. 

Continue ahead where the Saxon Shore Way exits right along a farm track. 300 yards later you will reach a road junction; turn right. At the next junction turn left to head northward. You will reach a crossroads at the end of this lane. Continue ahead onto Brisley Lane and follow this all the way to the end.

Turn left to head northward, and at Bliby crossroads around 400 yards later, turn left again towards Kingsnorth.

At the T-junction a mile ahead, bear left over the railway and A2070 bridge. Follow the road round to the right as it becomes Violet Way. Then look for the Violet Way 'cul de sac' turning on the left and pick up the path from this, taking care to give way to pedestrians. Eventually another surfaced path will branch off to the left - take this path.

Continue ahead near Furley Park school, and at the end of the path is a metal gate. Turn right onto the next path and follow this across Reed Crescent (via the traffic island to the left as the route joins the road) and Bluebell Road, so that you are now riding the cycle route beside Sheepfold Lane. This is all part of the Park Farm Estate.

After crossing Roman Road, use the crossing over Sheepfold Lane and follow the path out to the A2070 between fences. Cross this road and follow the cycle route past the roundabout, beneath the road bridge and on across meadows beside the railway line, until reaching the end.

Turn left here and follow the natural course of the cycle path past the bus stops, over the zebra crossing and along the left-hand-side of the tented designer shopping outlet. At the end, cross Newtown Road and continue ahead towards the international railway station. (For the town centre turn right to pass beneath the brick subway - mind your heads - and turn left afterwards, following the signs beyond.)

Part 2: To ride to Hamstreet, you can either retrace the route of Part 1, or for a slightly longer ride back follow the road onward towards the international station. Bear left with the road, picking up the cycleway beside it, passing beneath a dual carriageway bridge and to the right of a multi-storey car-park. Cross Beaver Road and continue ahead on the cycleway. At Victoria Park, continue ahead, passing the fountain and follow the cycleway to Brookfield Road. Turn right and then follow the cycleway on your left, passing Singleton Lake. Upon reaching Bucksford Lane, turn left. Continue ahead at the staggered junction and climb Singleton Hill, onward and upward at the roundabout.

Turn left at the top of the hill and then right to descend to the hamlet of Chilmington. Turn left at the end of the road and then right onto Chart Road. At the end of this lane turn left to emerge by the Kings Head pub in Shadoxhurst. Turn right here and continue ahead out of the village towards Woodchurch. Continue ahead when national cycle route 18 exits right towards Tenterden, and look for the byway on your left.

Follow this byway into the woods and on ahead as a trail joins from the left and also when another byway exits right. At the end of the byway, turn left onto Birchett Lane and then right at the T-junction a few hundred yards later onto Malthouse Lane. You will eventually descend to a T-junction with the B2067. Turn left to descend for a mile to Hamstreet crossroads.

Quick 'four seasons' route to Ashford (6.5 miles) 

This is a quicker route to Ashford for cyclists who are more experienced with traffic. It uses the old road to Ashford which heads north from the crossroads under the railway bridge. Follow this road for around four miles, up the long hill, along the straight, ahead at Bromley Green Crossroads and past the entrance to Ashford Town's 'Homelands' football ground. Turn right at the next crossroads (signed 'Mersham') onto Steeds Lane. Take the next turning left onto Bond Lane. At the end of this road, turn left and then turn right onto the gravel path near where the road enters a 30 limit.

Follow this across Reed Crescent (via the traffic island to the left as the route joins the road) and Bluebell Road, so that you are now riding the cycle route beside Sheepfold Lane. This is all part of the Park Farm Estate.

After crossing Roman Road, use the crossing over Sheepfold Lane and follow the path out to the A2070 between fences. Cross this road and follow the cycle route past the roundabout, beneath the road bridge and on across meadows beside the railway line, until reaching the end.

Turn left here and follow the natural course of the cycle path past the bus stops, over the zebra crossing and along the left-hand-side of the tented designer shopping outlet. At the end, cross Newtown Road and continue ahead towards the international railway station. (For the town centre turn right to pass beneath the brick subway - mind your heads - and turn left afterwards, following the signs beyond.) To return to Hamstreet, merely retrace this route.

Ruckinge circular route (5 miles) - bridleway and byways

Head towards Hythe along the one-way street from Hamstreet crossroads and take the second left turn onto Bourne Lane (by the World War II pillbox). At the end of the lane, bear right, through the gate into Hamstreet Woods. Our bridleway bears immediately left, and around a hundred yards later it forks right. Stay on the wide surfaced path for a mile to the top of the woods. Go through the gate at the end, and shortly afterwards turn left at the T-junction with Gill Lane byway. 

Continue ahead where the Saxon Shore Way exits right along a farm track. 300 yards later you will reach a road junction; turn right. At the next junction continue straight ahead onto the byway and follow it all the way into the woods, around a sharp right-hand bend and down to the B2067, where we turn right to Ruckinge, passing the Blue Anchor pub which was once frequented by smugglers. 

The B2067 continues to Hamstreet, but the canal path is an off-road alternative, although you may have to lift your bike over a gate. For this, turn left at the T-junction, and then right onto the canal path immediately after the bridge. The first 3/4 mile is designated 'footpath.' The landowner is tolerant towards cyclists if they show respect, although it may be best to walk with your bike until a byway joins from the left after you pass the brick pumping station. Continue ahead to the end of the trail at Hamstreet bridge (by the garden centre) and turn right to return to the village centre.

Shadoxhurst circular route (11 miles) - byways 

Follow the Tenterden Link to the end of the woodland byway, turning right onto Shadoxhurst Road and continue ahead to Shadoxhurst. Turn right at the junction as you enter the village (the King's Head pub is 100 yards straight ahead here). Follow this lane past Shadoxhurst church, and after a sharp right-hand bend look for the byway on your left. 

Follow this byway through woodlands, eventually emerging onto Hornash Lane, where we turn right. Take great care crossing the old Ashford to Hamstreet Road at the end of the lane and continue ahead onto Bromley Green Road. Continue ahead at the next crossroads onto Poundhurst Road, which bridges the railway and A2070.. 

1/4 mile after bridging the A2070 and railway line, the lane bears sharply left; continue ahead at this point, onto Gill Lane. This will eventually become a track. Bear right to follow the bridleway down to a gate and onward through Hamstreet Woods nature reserve. Stay on the wide surfaced trail, and at the other end exit the woods to follow Bourne Lane into the village. Turn left at the end onto the one-way street (by the World War II pill-box), then right at the end onto Cock Lane, and right again into The Street.  

Snargate circular route (9 miles) or Fairfield (13 miles) - lanes 

For a pleasant route using lanes that is almost entirely flat, head south from Hamstreet village along Marsh Road (signed 'New Romney'), crossing the canal bridge, until reaching the A2070 at Johnson's Corner. Johnson was a heroic pilot who lost his life crash-landing his plane here after allowing his crew to parachute to safety. Take great care turning left onto the A2070 and then right immediately onto Ham Mill Lane, which bears right as it heads southwards. This is a pleasant winding lane. Follow it ahead over the crossroads after two miles, passing farms, and continue ahead all the way to the end of the lane. You will emerge onto the B2080 near Snargate Church opposite the Red Lion pub - a unique alehouse serving beer straight from the barrel, with a decor that has been virtually untouched in the last century (closed Mondays).

Turn right to ride westward along the B2080 towards Tenterden and take the second turning right (Arrowhead Lane - signed 'Warehorne'). (If you wish to make a 4-mile round trip to see St Thomas a Becket church at Fairfield, which is located in the middle of a field, take the first turning left off of the B2080 onto Snargate Lane instead. You will cross a level crossing and at the end of the lane, turn right for the final mile to the church along Brack Lane. It is 'footpath only' across the fields to the church. Return by retracing your route to the B2080, then turn left and then right 1/4 mile later onto Arrowhead Lane).

Follow the lane northward ahead at all junctions for two miles, crossing the canal and railway line and then climbing to the scattered community of Warehorne. You will pass St Matthew's Church and the sixteenth century Woolpack Inn. 1/3 mile beyond this you will reach Leacon crossroads. Turn right for a one-mile gentle cruise downhill on the B2067 back to Hamstreet.