insideKENT Magazine Issue 43 - October 2015 | Page 115

DAYSOUT

Bedgebury – A walk through time
The Manor of Bedgebury dates back to AD 814: Bedgebury as a name being derived from
the Old English for 'pasture by the bend'. Six generations of the Norman family de Bedgebury
lived on the former hunting estate in the original 13th-century house, which stood where
the Great Lake is now. With a chequered past, including Thomas Culpepper executed for
adultery with Henry VIII’s fifth wife, not to mention a later family’s foundries which cast guns
for the Spanish Armada – it's fascinating stuff.
Start this walk from the Weald
Information Centre just below St
Dunstan’s Church, head up the High
Street and turn left after the Post
Office. Go past the public
conveniences and over the Crane
stream. Continue straight along
Brookside, bearing right into
Bramley Drive, then right again into
Freight Lane. Follow this lane down
the hill and past The Freight house
on your left.
Walk straight on and over the
fields until you reach the edge of a
large field, where the footpath
divides. Bear right across the field
until you reach the Swattenden
Lane. Go straight over the stile,
following the footpath south, and
past the buildings of the Swattenden
Centre.
Follow the footpath across the
fields until you reach a thin section
of woodland. Go over the bridge
and the stile on the far side, and
into a field. Follow the left edge of
the field until you see a signpost
directing you left towards a gate in
the top left corner of the field.
On the other side of the gate,
head straight across the field

towards another shaw and two
stiles. Emerging from the woodland,
follow the footpath across the fields,
and you will notice the rocky
sandstone outcrop on your right as
you walk up the slight incline
towards Water Lane. As you come
out onto Water Lane, turn left, then
right at Four Wents, and carry on
dow n Potters Lane.
Pass the farm buildings on your
right, and take the footpath on the
right where the road bends. Follow
the path up the hill and round the
edge of a field, walking towards a
gap in a line of trees. The footpath
leads straight up through the middle
of a large field, reaching a track at
the top, which you follow until you
reach Water Lane at Tubslake on
one of the ancient drove roads.
Turn left and follow the lane
until you reach the A229, Hawkhurst
Road. Cross the road with care and
turn left, then right, into Park Lane.
Walk across the disused railway line
at Badger’s Oak.
Follow the lane into Bedgebury
Forest, and carry on until you reach
Louisa Lodge – now a row of
cottages. Open 364 days a year,

Bedgebury Forest
has a range of trafficfree cycling and
walking routes. Relax
and enjoy the
spectacular scenery
in this 2,000-acre
forest, which has a
fantastic new café
with scrumptious
refreshments!
If you want to
take a short cut which
does not visit the
Pinetum, continue past the cottages, and follow the bridleway past Sugarloaf
Hill. Go up to the quarry on the top of the ridge. Keep following the bridleway
to Furnace Farm, and turn right on to the trackway, and go past the old
oast houses. The track follows the route of the ancient sunken lane, and
eventually arrives at Hartley and the A229.
Heading back towards Cranbrook from the visitor centre, follow the
Pinetum Trail towards Marshal’s Lake and walk over the bridge. Go straight
on up the steps, and bear right towards the public conveniences. Make
your way through the gate and right onto the track, past the Forestry
Commission offices on your left. Continue up the track until it forks, and
take the left fork leading past Brick Kiln Cottages. Follow the track up the
hill, taking the left turn at Iron Latch, and carry on along the footpath to the
small quarry at the top.
Take the right-hand bridleway towards Furnace Farm, passing Three
Chimneys Bank on your left. Cross the road, and follow the A229 back to
Cranbrook, admiring the buildings on either side of the High Street as you
return to your starting point.

Location: Bedgebury TN17 3DQ
Distance: 3 miles (4.83 km)
Time: Allow 6.5 hours
OS Explorer Map: 136
Terrain: Country lanes and woodland tracks
Parking: Limited on road parking
and pay and display from start point
Refreshments & facilities: Bedgebury Pinetum and pubs
along the way

To find out about other walks in Kent
or for information on cycling, riding, and
country parks, visit www.explorekent.org.
Follow @explorekent on Twitter and
Facebook.

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