[NEW EASY-TO-FOLLOW CIRCULAR WALKS. Last updated June 2025]
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.
From the crossroads head south through the High Street, passing the Cosy Kettle cafe on your left. 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.
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 the Duke's Head pub (lunchtime dining Tues-Fri and all afternoon on Sunday). Note: locations in capitals are reference points that appear in different walks; wordings in italics are optional alternatives.
Warehorne Loop (3½ miles) - Saxon Shore Way and Canal Path
Head towards Tenterden along the B2067 from the village crossroads. Use the road crossing beneath the arched railway bridge and continue to the road bridge (on the right-hand side there is a path parallel to the road along Waylett Crescent and back down to the B2067). After passing beneath the A2070 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 follow the driveway ahead, turning right when you reach the lane.
On your right you will see the sixteenth century WOOLPACK INN, which 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 back onto the lane, bear right to 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 stile on your left immediately before WAREHORNE CANAL BRIDGE and head eastward along the bank of the canal. You will pass a World War II pillbox and upon reaching the A2070 (Hamstreet Bypass), cross the canal bridge and the road to continue eastward along the south bank of the canal. You will eventually reach another road bridge by Hamstreet Garden Centre. Turn left to walk along the grass verge beside the road, northward 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).
Kenardington Loop (5½ miles) - Saxon Shore Way and Canal Path
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 three 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 Church, which occupies the site of a Saxon camp that was stormed by the Danes in the ninth century. After passing the church the Saxon Shore Way turns left into the field. Follow the right-hand field-edge until you reach a lane. Turn left onto this lane and follow it downhill. There is a T-junction at the bottom of the hill; bear left here.
When you reach the Royal Military Canal, turn left just before the bridge to follow the Canal Path. As you head back towards Warehorne you will notice the church on the hill ahead. The path is bridged by the railway line and eventually reaches a lane. Bear right and then cross the stile on your left immediately before WAREHORNE CANAL BRIDGE to continue eastward along the bank of the canal for the end of the 'Warehorne loop' to return to Hamstreet.
Hamstreet Village Circumnavigation (2½ miles) - mixed terrain paths
The path goes through the gate to the right of the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill and after then 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 and follow the pavement back to the crossroads.
(For a quiet detour there is a footpath between fences on the right-hand side which is channelled around some ninety-degree bends and crosses a footbridge. It can sometimes be quite brambly and when you eventually reach a driveway, turn right and follow this back out to the main street. Turn left to return to the main village crossroads.)
Ruckinge Loop (6 miles) - surfaced sections of Saxon Shore Way and Canal Path
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 eastward. Follow this all the way into the woods, around the sharp right-hand 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 passing the former Blue Anchor pub to pass the former chapel. (Feel free to continue along the B2067 for an optional detour to visit the parish church of St Mary Magdalene. 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).
(If you wish to try an alternative route into Hamstreet 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 (B2067) to pass the duck-pond and climb through Carters Wood housing estate. Turn left when you reach a T-junction of estate roads, and when the road reaches a dead end, turn left through the narrow entrance into the woods. This path curves to the right and soon becomes wider and dead-straight (Main Ride). Follow this all the way to the end where it meets the surfaced Gill Farm Track. Turn right to continue up to the GATE AT THE TOP OF THE WOODS and on as instructed above.)
Orlestone Loop (2 miles) - mixed terrain paths
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 along the edge of the estate. Beyond this, 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 - beware, the stiles out to the road can be brambly. Turn left and return to the village centre down the hill on the pavement, passing the school and railway station. (If you fancy a bramble-free surfaced route back, the lane from St Mary's Church also meets the old Ashford Road where a left turn can be taken back to Hamstreet along the pavement.)
Capel Road Loop (4 miles) - mostly unsurfaced paths
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 FOOTPATHS, where you will be able to continue onward and slightly left to the lane at Orlestone to complete the ‘Orlestone loop’ back to Hamstreet.
Route to Orlestone Forest (1½ miles each way) - mostly unsurfaced bridleway
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 (on the right-hand side there is a path parallel to the road along Waylett Crescent and back down to the B2067). After passing beneath the A2070 bridge, continue to the top of the hillock where 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.
