2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Louis Walker)
With ghost stories, apple blossom and sweeping Wealden views, this circular route through the Kent countryside is a quiet revelation and right on the train line too. There’s something about setting off from a station platform, boots laced up, armed only with a map, compass and light refreshments that feels immensely satisfying. As I arrived in Pluckley, a village seven miles from Ashford that was once crowned Britain’s most haunted, I couldn’t help but think of the journey before me.
Despite its spooky reputation, this walk in the midst of spring is a far cry from the trepidation my colleague experienced as he headed for nearby Dering Woods . What unfolds instead is a tour through gentle farmland, sleepy lanes and orchard rows just beginning to bloom. From the platform, the route heads swiftly into open countryside before crossing onto Sparrow Hatch Lane.
The odd car passes by, the driver giving a fleeting nod as we continue on our journey. The peace is already striking, the kind of calm you don’t know you need until you’re in the middle of it. Taking a sharp right at Saracens Cottage, we head off the beaten track and into land once part of the vast estate owned by the Dering family, who arrived in Pluckley in the 15th century and stayed for more than 400 years.
The Derings were powerful and well-connected. They supported Charles I in the Civil War and were proud Kentish gentry. Their influence shaped much of what’s still visible today.
Several houses on the walk feature the signature Dering windows – small, oval-shaped windows unique to the family’s architectural style, often used to signify ownership or association with their estate. Crossing over the well-trodden Ram Lane – a rat-run many locals will know better from behind a steering wheel – I’m struck by how different familiar places feel when seen at walking pace. On foot, you notice everything from the wildflowers to the intoxicating early signs of spring.
Soon, I emerge into Little Chart Forstal, a quiet hamlet that looks lifted from the pages of an H.E. Bates novel.
Which is fitting, because the celebrated author of The Darling Buds of May once lived here, in a grand house surrounded by cherry trees and Kentish fields. The house remained in the family for almost 90 years, and it’s easy to imagine Bates drawing inspiration from this corner of the county, where life still feels unhurried. A loop of footpaths brings me near The Swan Inn at Little Chart, a fine potential stopping point.
It sits across from the modest St Mary the Virgin Church, built in the 1950s after the original Norman structure was destroyed by a V1 flying bomb in the Second World War. The original's ruined remains still sit hauntingly in the woodland, which is now said to be one of the most haunted places in the country. But today, with the sun shining and blossom all around, I decide to press on rather than stop for a pint, though the temptation is strong.
Now into the orchards, the walk hits a new high. This is Kent at its most beautiful, rows of apple trees just beginning to bloom, their pink-white flowers catching the breeze. The Weald stretches out in soft folds beyond them, and I’m reminded why this part of the county is still called the Garden of England.
Back in Pluckley village, the sense of history and mystery deepens. Nearby a familiar park sits St Nicholas Church, a site entrenched in more of the village's ghostly folklore. The church dates back to the 13th century and is said to be home to at least two ghosts: the Red Lady, believed to be a Dering relative, who is thought appear in the churchyard, and the White Lady, a young woman apparently buried inside seven coffins and an oak sarcophagus who haunts the interior.
The stories don’t end there. Just down the road is The Black Horse pub, a timbered building dating to the 15th century, which is also supposedly haunted. This time by a mischievous poltergeist who hides belongings and moves glasses behind the bar.
Today, though, it’s a picture of spring, with the beer garden full of happy punters soaking up the April sun. Ghosts or not, it’s a fine place to stop and rest. From here, the route heads down Forge Hill and onto a bridleway that leads to perhaps the most rewarding view of the entire walk.
A small wooden gate opens onto a vast panorama of the Lower Weald, where the land dips and rises with views for miles. I've driven through Pluckley dozens of times, but I’ve never truly seen this view or even considered how those from a bygone era had to walk these same paths out of necessity rather than for a satisfying Saturday stroll. The path curves gently downhill now, and the circle begins to close.
Crossing over to Lambden Road, there’s one final push through open farmland before the last landmark appears, The Dering Arms. This former ivy-coated hunting lodge once served as the station’s refreshment rooms, and its history stretches back to the Dering family’s glory days. Built in the 1840s, it’s now a highly regarded pub and restaurant, offering the kind of hearty welcome every walker dreams of.
Whatever you’re after, it’s a perfect way to bookend our journey. All in, this circular route is about seven miles, a good half-day walk, with easy rail access and enough variety to keep even seasoned ramblers interested. There are no dramatic cliffs or towering peaks here, no crashing waves or mountain trails, but what it does offer is something more subtle and arguably more special.
And while the ghosts may have stayed hidden this time, the beauty of this ancient corner of Kent was anything but shy..
