Circular Walk Around the Pluckley Area

Lesley Hitch

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The area around Pluckley is one of the prettiest in Kent. Throughout the early part of the walk there are wonderful views across the Kent countryside. During the winter, this walk is best on a crisp, frosty day as some parts will prove very muddy otherwise. Pluckley has two claims to fame: the reputation, according to The Guinness Book of Records, as the most haunted village in England and more recently, the filming of the television series 'The Darling Buds of May', the first series being screened in 1991.

The Dering family has lived in Pluckley since the reign of Henry II and it was the first Sir Edward who was generally believed to have escaped from the Roundheads through a narrow, curved-topped window at the manor - a popular myth that led to the addition of 'Dering windows' to many of the houses owned by the Dering family during the romantic Victorian era. You will see this attractive feature in many of the houses. The Parish Church of St Nicholas is 900 years old and well worth a visit. The Black Horse pub is an historical, beamed 15th Century pub; bar food and snacks are served.

England - South England - Kent - Countryside

Features

Ancient Monument, Birds, Church, Food Shop, Great Views, Pub, Public Transport, River, Woodland

1/19/2016 - anthony cassidy

Please do not attempt this walk until the waypoints have been revisited. Attempted on Sat 16th Jan and had major difficulty from point 2 onwards. It seems lots of markers have been changed and the way is just not clear. The instructions could do with some changes to include simple left or right turns at points but, even with this there were sections where I found chained gates that were access to the footpaths and also markers had been removed on purpose. Several of the fields were extremely boggy and marshy so this is one for the drier periods only once the route is fixed but also, several fields were signed 'beware of bull' and 'bull in field' which when such long expanses are to be crossed are quite unnerving. A real shame as we had to abandon this walk at point 9 and walk a road route back to the car which was over 2 miles of quite a boring distance with some fast passing traffic.

3/28/2013 - Malcolm Watts

Enjoyed the walk on 25/03/13, despite very cold Easterly winds. One or two boggy bits, especially at gates, but nothing to spoil an otherwise good walk. Directions are mainly clear and unambiguous. At Elvey Farm a sign exhorts the walker to keep to the path, however this had not been reinstated across a heavily ploughed field, so the way ahead was not, initially, at all obvious. At Waymark 2 there is some new fencing. The fallen tree is no longer evident, but a shiny metal gate provides confirmation of the route. The friendly pub at Egerton is well worth the short diversion and has a menu to delight any connoisseur of good food.

3/11/2012 - Walkingworld Admin

Our thanks to Lesley Hitch for her update for this walk. March 2012. Adrian (Admin)

8/13/2010 - Sid Marks

Done this walk today,12-08-1. It wasnt too bad,took me 220 mins at a steady pace. At waymark 8,the path along the river was badly overgrown. Sometimes the instructions were a bit confusing, have to take care otherwise you end up right off track.