North Downs Way | |
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![]() The North Downs Way near Hollingbourne | |
Length | 153 mi (246 km) [1] |
Location | South Eastern England, United Kingdom |
Designation | UK National Trail |
Trailheads | Farnham, Surrey Dover, Kent |
Use | Hiking |
Highest point | Botley Hill, 885 ft (270 m) |
Season | All year |
National Trails |
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The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in southern England, opened in 1978. [2] It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Kent Downs AONB.
Planning for a new Long Distance Path, as they were classified in 1949, began in Kent in 1950. After an extensive survey, it was agreed that a route on "a line which offers the best scenic qualities for the walker" along the ridge of the North Downs, rather than the Pilgrim's Way (which even in the 1960s was predominantly metalled road), was preferred. Working alongside Surrey County Council, plans were eventually submitted in 1966. The North Downs Way was officially designated by the then Minister of Housing and Local Government, Anthony Greenwood, on 14 July 1969, and opened in parts shortly afterwards. [3] The formal opening ceremony, led by Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, took place on 30 September 1978. [4] At that time, it was 141 miles (227 km) long, 36 miles (58 km) of which were newly created public rights of way. [3]
East of Boughton Lees, the path splits in two, the northern section running via Canterbury and the southern via Wye; at this stage the path crosses the Stour Valley Walk and passes the Wye Crown. The two sections of the path reunite at Dover. The northern route is 131 miles (211 km) long, and the southern route 125 miles (201 km), the current length of the North Downs Way being 153 miles (246 km). The official guide to the trail divides the North Downs Way into fifteen sections. [5]
Section | Start point | Finish point | Distance (km) | Ascent (metres) | Descent (metres) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Farnham | Guildford | 17.7 | 203 | 233 |
2 | Guildford | Westhumble | 21.0 | 293 | 288 |
3 | Westhumble | Merstham | 16.0 | 442 | 384 |
4 | Merstham | Oxted | 12.8 | 311 | 249 |
5 | Oxted | Otford | 18.9 | 524 | 587 |
6 | Otford | Cuxton | 24.1 | 524 | 587 |
7 | Cuxton | Detling | 20.1 | 404 | 299 |
8 | Detling | Lenham | 14.9 | 320 | 281 |
9 | Lenham | Wye | 17.9 | 128 | 247 |
10 | Wye | Etchinghill | 18.1 | 396 | 303 |
11 | Etchinghill | Boughton Lees | 19.3 | 406 | 506 |
12 | Boughton Lees | Chilham | 9.5 | 156 | 171 |
13 | Chilham | Canterbury | 11.6 | 187 | 215 |
14 | Canterbury | Shepherdswell | 16.7 | 248 | 158 |
15 | Shepherdswell | Dover | 13.7 | 152 | 268 |
The pathway is mixed-category in that it varies throughout length from footpath (around 48%) status to bridleway, byway and road. Some 19% of the Way follows roads, though 75% of those are minor lanes. [1]
The path (east of Boughton Lees, the southern section) runs along the ridge of the North Downs hills, and follows parts of the Pilgrims' Way.
As the pathway runs through the higher parts of the downland, the trail and surrounding countryside are characterised by chalk-based soil and calcareous grassland with broadleaf woodland on the upper slopes. It reflects the underlying sedimentary chalk deposits on the highest parts of the trail. There is livestock grazing on the lower slopes with clay soil and crop agriculture predominant in the valleys.
The Ridgeway is a ridgeway or ancient trackway described as Britain's oldest road. The section clearly identified as an ancient trackway extends from Wiltshire along the chalk ridge of the Berkshire Downs to the River Thames at the Goring Gap, part of the Icknield Way which ran, not always on the ridge, from Salisbury Plain to East Anglia. The route was adapted and extended as a National Trail, created in 1972. The Ridgeway National Trail follows the ancient Ridgeway from Overton Hill, near Avebury, to Streatley, then follows footpaths and parts of the ancient Icknield Way through the Chiltern Hills to Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire. The National Trail is 87 miles (140 km) long.
The Icknield Way is an ancient trackway in southern and eastern England that runs from Norfolk to Wiltshire. It follows the chalk escarpment that includes the Berkshire Downs and Chiltern Hills.
The South Downs Way is a long distance footpath and bridleway running along the South Downs in southern England. It is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales. The trail runs for 160 km (100 mi) from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex, with about 4,150 m (13,620 ft) of ascent and descent.
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills in the south-eastern coastal counties of England that extends for about 260 sq mi (670 km2) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald. The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs, and includes large parts of the Weald.
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Much of the North Downs comprises two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs): the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs. The North Downs Way National Trail runs along the North Downs from Farnham to Dover.
The A25 road is an east–west main road in the South-East of England. Its carries traffic east from Guildford, Surrey, eastward through Surrey and into mid-west Kent, to the town of Sevenoaks, and then on to Wrotham Heath where it connects with the A20.
The Kent Downs is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Kent, England. They are the eastern half of the North Downs and stretch from the London/Surrey borders to the White Cliffs of Dover, including a small section of the London Borough of Bromley. The AONB also includes the Greensand Ridge, a prominent sandstone escarpment which lies south of the chalk escarpment of the North Downs.
The Itchen Way is a 31.80-mile (51.18 km) long-distance footpath following the River Itchen in Hampshire, England, from its source near Hinton Ampner House to its mouth at Woolston. The walk finishes at Sholing railway station. The route has been promoted by the Eastleigh Group of the Ramblers with grant aid from Hampshire County Council and Eastleigh Borough Council. The route was altered and improved in 2008.
St Swithun's Way is a 34-mile (55 km) long-distance footpath in England from Winchester Cathedral, Hampshire to Farnham, Surrey. It is named after Swithun, a 9th-century Bishop of Winchester, and roughly follows the Winchester to Farnham stretch of the Pilgrims' Way. The route was opened in 2002 to mark the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
The High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is in south-east England. Covering an area of 1,450 square kilometres (560 sq mi), it takes up parts of Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, and West Sussex. It is the fourth largest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England and Wales. It has an attractive landscape with a mosaic of small farms and woodlands, historic parks, sunken lanes and ridge-top villages.
The Surrey Hills is a 422 km2 (163 sq mi) Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in Surrey, England, which principally covers parts of the North Downs and Greensand Ridge, and comprises approximately one quarter of the land area of the county. The AONB was designated in May 1958, and adjoins the Kent Downs AONB to the east and the South Downs National Park in the south west.
The Greensand Way is a long-distance path of 108 miles (174 km) in southeast England, from Haslemere in Surrey to Hamstreet in Kent. It follows the Greensand Ridge along the Surrey Hills and Chart Hills. The route is mostly rural, passing through woods, and alongside fruit orchards and hop farms in Kent and links with the Stour Valley Walk near Pluckley in Kent. The trail was opened on 15 June 1980 and is jointly managed by Surrey and Kent Councils who fully updated it in 2012.
The Stour Valley Walk is a recreational walking route that follows the River Stour, through the Low Weald and Kent Downs, from its source at Lenham to its estuary at Pegwell Bay.
The following is a list of recreational walks in Kent, England.
The North Wales Path is a long-distance walk of some 60 miles (97 km) that runs close to the coast of northern Wales between Prestatyn in the east and Bangor in the west. Parts of it overlap with the Wales Coast Path. The path runs along parts of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The path was devised, implemented and maintained by the then Countryside Council for Wales and the three councils of: Gwynedd, Conwy, and Denbighshire.
The Greensand Ridge, also known as the Wealden Greensand, is an extensive, prominent, often wooded, mixed greensand/sandstone escarpment in south-east England. Forming part of the Weald, a former dense forest in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, it runs to and from the East Sussex coast, wrapping around the High Weald and Low Weald. It reaches its highest elevation, 294 metres (965 ft), at Leith Hill in Surrey—the second highest point in south-east England, while another hill in its range, Blackdown, is the highest point in Sussex at 280 metres (919 ft). The eastern end of the ridge forms the northern boundary of Romney Marsh.
The Sussex Border Path is a long-distance footpath around the borders of Sussex, a historic county and former medieval kingdom in southern England. The main path is 150 miles (240 km) long and stays close to Sussex's borders with Hampshire, Surrey and Kent, connecting Thorney Island to Rye. There is also an additional 33-mile (53 km) spur known as the Mid Sussex Link, which links East Grinstead with Fishersgate and Mile Oak on the western boundary of the city of Brighton and Hove.
The High Weald Landscape Trail (HWLT) is a 145-kilometre (90 mi) route in England between Horsham, West Sussex and Rye, East Sussex, designed to pass through the main landscape types of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It does not follow the highest ground, and the eastern section is only a few feet above sea level. It keeps to the northern edge of the High Weald except in the west where it runs close to the southern edge for a short distance.
National Cycle Route 17 is part of the United Kingdom's National Cycle Network. It presently runs southwards from Rochester, via Maidstone to Ashford where it links with National Cycle Route 18.