Leigh - Penshurst - Leigh

Alison and Clive Gilbert

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This walk was originally compiled by Alan and Janet Love, sadly both are no longer with us. Alison Gilbert has kindly offered to take them over. Alison and Walkingworld would like all these excellent walks to remain as a continuing tribute to Alan and Janet.

Starting from Leigh with its village green (still used for football and cricket) and old and interesting houses dotted about the village, we soon enter the beautiful undulating pastureland of Penshurst Park Estate, enjoying extensive views over the surrounding countryside as we walk the Broad Walk. As we approach Penshurst we see Penshurst Place, currently in the ownership of Lord De L'Isle, come into view, with its lake in the foreground making an idyllic scene. Penshurst is a pretty village and has a 13th Century church together with some interesting old properties. The walk continues through farmland and along a stretch of road and a riverbank to return to Leigh.

NB: Alan Love compiled this walk in 2005. Now, in 2018, traffic volumes have increased and walk comments suggest that the section of road between Waymarks 13 and 14 can be difficult. You can avoid this by turning sharp left at Waymark 8 along the entrance driveway to Penshurst Place and following signs for the Eden Valley Way. Be especially vigilant at Killick's Bank (TQ45188 45028), where the Way leaves the main track and veers right towards the river. This route enjoys glorious views and will bring you to the road-bridge at Waymark 16. Using this alternative shortens the overall walk distance to 5.5 miles.

England - South England - Kent - Countryside

Features

Birds, Church, Gift Shop, Great Views, Lake/Loch, Pub, Public Transport, Restaurant, River, Stately Home, Tea Shop, Toilets, Woodland

11/3/2018 - Steven Cropper

We did this walk on 2/11/18, a beautiful autumn day. Agree with other comments about the undesirable road sections, but other than that, it's a great walk. However, with no GPS and just following a print-out, we missed WP17 completely, going on too far to another bridge and getting into areas with no right of way. Perhaps the sign-post referred to in the description for WP17 is no longer there, but fellow walkers, be careful here.

8/18/2018 - Susan Pyne

An excellent walk with lots of variety - the only downside is the stretch of main road after WP13, but the views and interesting sights more than make up for that. Leigh itself is very pretty and a good starting point.

12/30/2014 - keith waterton

The walk at Item 13 is indeed all road and care needs to be taken as there is little room for 'getting off' the road. I agree with the comments in the comments in that you do have to be very careful.

12/29/2005 - Stephen Harris

A superb walk with fine open views. Especially interesting in Winter when the trees have no leaves. A great place to stop is the Church en route where we had lunch! A varied and very interesting walk with lots to see and superbly written. 9/10.

12/28/2005 - Stephen Harris

A lovely relaxing walk with some fine views. Road walking is a little dangerous and I would not recommend this for families with very young children (over 14s should be ok). But other than the road walking, very rewarding and a lot of variety and things to see. Perfect on a snowy December afternoon!

12/27/2005 - Jeremy Moon

Enjoyed this walk very much walking past the wonderful Penshurst Place and its pretty church and pubs. Lovely views as well.