Cranbrook Windmill
Stop off to try local produce
Rye ’ s pretty harbour
the village Collier Street , then made for Marden , speeding up as the lanes became a broader .
With its mix of shops , a railway station and garages , Marden has the feel of a village that ’ s lived in rather than just commuted from . I hadn ’ t noticed the quiet beauty of the lanes that take you to it before though , as I ’ d had other things on my mind – it ’ s also home to my dentist .
I overruled the QX30 ’ s sat nav and turned right
grace and sent me down ever smaller wooded lanes until I eventually emerged near Staplehurst . Here , I turned right onto the A229 Cranbrook Road , deciding this time not to make the short detour to Sissinghurst on the B2083 .
The A229 is a fast , sinuous road that allowed the
miles outside Cranbrook it climbs into woodland , jinking right then left .
Cranbrook has an old-fashioned bustle and a refreshing lack of chain stores , so I cruised along its high street , then headed for Tenterden , glimpsing the giant windmill in the distance .
The Tenterden Road – or the Cranbrook Road , as it ’ s known to people coming the other way – is challenging , but in a good way , as it dips and
You might have noticed that lots of Weald place names end in ‘ hurst ’ and ‘ den ’. The former apparently relates to being near a wooded hill , the latter , woods where people kept pigs .
Tenterden , with its broad main street , is certainly livestock friendly . As recently as the 1960s , when it still hosted markets , people would drive sheep along this thoroughfare . However , I eschewed its delights , taking the B2082 Smallhythe Road , sending me into Sussex and Rye .
with clear , straight stretches and tight corners . Much of the land here is reclaimed from the sea . Indeed , Tenterden was once a ‘ Cinque Port ’ and Smallhythe a centre for boat building .
Beyond it , the countryside starts to change . The road dips and weaves , and with the car willing , I whisking through open bends . I was now in the Isle of Oxney , which perversely isn ’ t an island but a district . Either way , it was fun .
At the end of the B2082 I turned left onto the
– a delicious slice of English Bohemia . Much of the town is perched above the harbour , and can be reached by a corkscrew-like one-way system . I made my way up into the old town with its ancient buildings and jumble of shops .
After that , it was time to head back towards
right onto the Military Road to Appledore . Arrow straight in parts , it sometimes writhes with a series of S-bends as it slices through the other-worldly landscape of Romney Marsh ,
All too soon I reached the Appledore give way sign , turned left and ambled through this pretty village , at the end of which I again went left on to the A2080 . This would take me to the outskirts of Tenterden . Surrounded by swathes of farmland , this road is broad , straight and fast in places ,
Before reaching Tenterden the road climbed steadily , slid left , right , then under a canopy of mature trees . I ambled past houses for a couple of miles , arrived at a junction where I signalled right onto the Ashford Road , slipped out of Tenterden and about four miles later turned
Biddenden , Headcorn and Sutton Valence , before setting my sights on Maidstone , passing through lush countryside for which the ‘ Garden of England ’ cliché more than applies .
After climbing the hill into Sutton Valence , I turned left by The Plough pub onto the B2163 ( go right to visit Leeds Castle ). This skirts Maidstone ’ s urban sprawl before slipping through the outskirts of Coxheath , and soon after I pulled up outside the Tickled Trout pub in West Farleigh for a delicious meal .
I detoured to Teston Country Park and walked
Medway – on the way thinking about all the places I hadn ’ t seen and the roads that would take me to them . This had been an empowering experience , and one I knew I ’ d repeat .
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