Aylesford circular walk

Aylesford circular via Blue Bell Hill

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Distance: 10.4 miles.
Time without long breaks: 5 1/2 hours (add time for pub breaks).

Terrain: A few climbs, including a very steep path up to Blue Bell Hill.
How to get there and back: Train to/from Aylesford. Trains run from St Pancras but you need to change at Strood. The journey time is an hour.
Pubs: We recommend the Robin Hood on Blue Bell Hill, which is perfectly located almost half-way through the walk. In Burham, there is the Butcher's Block. Aylesford High Street boasts the cosy Little Gem and the Chequers – both worth visiting before the train home.
More information: This is a year-round walk, but the views from Blue Bell Hill are best appreciated on a clear sunny day. The Friars closes at 5pm (although seems to be open later to wander around).

Starting and ending at the village of Aylesford on the River Medway, this circular walk includes the impressive Neolithic monument of Kit's Coty House (see panel below) and its lesser-known sister, Little Kit's Coty. The route follows sections of the North Downs Way and the old Pilgrim's Way and includes a visit to the grounds of a working medieval priory and a great country pub. There are expansive views of the surrounding countryside from the top of haunted Blue Bell Hill.

Turn left as you come out of Aylesford station and then left again into Mill Hall, going over the rail crossing. Take the footpath ahead by the wooden railings and then turn right following the sign to walk along the banks of the River Medway. On the other side of the river you will soon see the back of Aylesford Priory, which you will visit later. You shortly come to the old stone bridge that crosses the river to Aylesford village. Aylesford originally developed around this old bridging point. It still retains a lot of character, with many historic buildings along the High Street, although there has been some more modern development.

The footpath runs across a series of horse paddocks in a 2 o'clock direction via a sequence of small metal gates. When you go through the last one on your left, it follows a wooden fence on your right towards some trees. Emerging from the copse, turn left and go through the metal gate. Cut across the corner of the field at an angle of 10 o'clock towards another metal gate in a hedge. Head across the next field, continuing in the same direction (there should be a path through the crops), aiming for the trees. Go through the gate on your left which leads to another field by Little Cossington Farm. Cross over the small wooden bridge. The path comes out by a fence near a lane. Turn left.

When you reach the junction, cross over and take the track ahead marked by two metal posts. This holloway is part of the North Downs Way. About 250m up the track, on the left-hand side, you will come to the path leading to Kit's Coty House – three large sarsen stones capped by one forming the roof. This is the remains of a rectangular Neolithic long barrow. Samuel Pepys visited the site and it is mentioned in his diaries (see panel). There are views of the surrounding countryside from here and despite the fact the stones are now sadly caged behind railings and you can hear the noise from nearby roads, it's an evocative spot to have a rest before the climb to the top of Blue Bell Hill.

When you emerge from the woods. climb up the bank to the memorial stone. This is Blue Bell Hill, a beauty spot and nature reserve with views across the Medway Valley, the Weald and the North Downs. The chalk landscape and wildflower meadows attract a wide variety of flora and fauna, including rare butterflies, reptiles and small mammals. A site of ancient civilisation, it has also been the focus of a number of alleged paranormal occurrences (see below). Head west, taking the track that runs along the brow of the hill past the information board and through a gate in a gap in the trees. You emerge at a clearing with a bench. Follow the path into the bushes. It then bears left and goes downhill.

On leaving the pub, head back to the road, go straight over and down the track opposite. Follow the track that heads steeply downhill (this byway is also used by motor traffic, so keep an eye out, particularly for motocross bikes!). After 1km it emerges at a road in the village of Burham, which is located on the Pilgrim's Way. Walk down the road, turn left and then take a right into Church Street. On the left you will come to the Butcher's Block pub. After the houses end, turn into the car park on your right and take the footpath to the left. There are views of the expansive flatlands of the river valley from here. When you reach the road, cross over and turn right along a pavement/cycle lane that runs parallel to it. After about 300km turn left down a lane by some signposts.

When you exit the field by a telegraph pole, carry on along the footpath straight ahead and then turn left down a lane, following the green sign in the direction of Eccles and Aylesford. Continue on the lane, passing the gates to a works site on the right, for about 600m. You will come to a bridleway sign, pointing to a chalky path that forks off to the left and runs along the edge of a field, initially parallel to the lane. There was once a Roman villa in this field, although there is little evidence of it today. Carry on along the path for 400m until you come to another bridleway sign pointing down a tarmac track on the right in the direction of Aylesford. The track comes out at a lane. Turn left, and after a few metres, take the bridleway on your left into Bushey Wood.

The priory was founded in 1242 by the Carmelite order. It contains one of the most complete 17th century courtyards in the country. Located in beautiful grounds, it is free to walk around for visitors during the day. The centrepiece of the courtyard is the 13th century Pilgrims Hall, which was used to shelter pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. As well as chapels and shrines, the Friars also contains a working pottery and many works of art, sculptures and stained glass windows. It's particularly associated with the Polish artist Adam Kossowski. It's a lovely place to spend some contemplative time. We suggest walking the Rosary Way and then returning to the Friars entrance via the Peace Garden.

Turn right when you reach the other side of the bridge, by George House and, when you reach the Little Gem pub, cross over the road and turn right into Mount Pleasant. There are some old half-timbered houses along here (there will be more time to explore Aylesford at the end of the walk). Continue down this lane, which emerges onto Rochester Road. Turn left and then, after about 250m, take a right into Pratling Street. A short way down the road, just past a bungalow, you will see a small metal gate on your left. Go through this gate to enter the field.

After just under half a mile, the lane turns left at 90 degrees, and then emerges at a busy B-road. Turn right, taking care to keep to the verge. About 70m down on your right you will see a small track going through a gap in the hedge and some iron railings. This leads to Little Kit's Coty House. Also known as the Countless Stones, the 'house' is actually a pile of sarsen stones which once formed part of a neolithic long barrow burial site. The surviving stones may have once been surrounded by a stone circle. On exiting the site, turn right and head up the road, once again taking care.

Carry on up the track until you reach some wooden railings and a footpath sign with some steps beyond them. Turn left here to take a path between fences. When you emerge at Queensdown Road, turn right. The road leads to a T-junction. Turn left and then right into Kingswood Road. The lane ends at the gate to the last house, to the right of which is a stile. Go over this and climb up the steep path and steps. This is a pretty arduous climb, but thankfully there is a metal rail to cling on to. At the top, you rejoin the North Downs Way, which here runs parallel to the busy A229. Turn left. Ignore the next turning (almost immediately on the left) which has some steps heading down, but slightly further along, take the left by wooden railings with a yellow footpath sign.

The path reaches another clearing. Follow the grassy track which leads into a wood. A short distance into the woods, you will see a wooden gate on your right. Go through this and turn right up the track. On your left, you will shortly come to a metal gate with a wooden swing gate alongside it. Walk up the field to the gates at the top and turn left onto Common Road. This part of the walk forms a section of the Augustine Camino, a modern pilgrimage route. About 1km along this quiet lane, you will see a sign for the Robin Hood Inn. Turn right here to reach the pub, which has a great beer garden. There has been a hostelry here for 700 years and it allegedly served pilgrims on their way from Winchester to Canterbury.

This lane takes you to the hamlet of Burham Court and St Mary's Church. The church contains some Roman tiles taken from a nearby villa and is built in a similar style to the church at Snodland, located on the opposite bank of the Medway (walking through the gate beyond the church will take you to the banks of the river). On leaving the church, from the entrance gate, turn right down Old Church Road. You are now on the Medway Valley Way. When the road bends round sharply to the right, carry on straight ahead and then immediately turn right following the sign for the bridleway, which heads diagonally across the field towards trees.

Follow the bridleway through the wood for about 300m. It swings round to the left and passes under electricity wires. It then turns right and follows a hedgerow between two fields (quite overgrown when we walked it). You emerge at Bull Lane by some houses. Cross over the road. Don't take the footpath straight ahead, but turn right down the pavement, which soon becomes set back from the road. You are back on the Augustine Camino here. When you reach a grassy area by a junction, cross over and take the road on your right towards The Friars, otherwise known as Aylesford Priory. Ahead of you is the gift shop and tearoom, housed in a 17th century barn. Go over the crossing on your left and walk down to the central courtyard and duck pond.

On leaving the priory, head back to the junction and turn right onto Aylesford High Street. Carry on along the pavement as it rises up above the road to reach the church, and then return to the road via the steps (or just carry on along the road into the village). Ahead of you is the half-timbered Chequers Inn. The Little Gem is further down, also on the right. Head back to the station the way you came, crossing over the pedestrian bridge and then taking a right on the other side to follow the path along the river. If it's dark by then, you can simply follow Station Road. From either of the two pubs, the river path route to the station is 1.4 km (apx 16 mins walk), the road route 1.2km (14 mins).

Samuel Pepys visited Kit's Coty House in 1669 and made a note of it in his diaries: 'Three great stones... of great bigness, although not so big as those on Salisbury Plain. But 'certainly it is a thing of great antiquity and I am mightily glad to see it'. There were probably legends associated with the site even in Pepys' time. One that persists today is that you can make an object disappear by placing it on the capstone at full moon, then walking around the stones three times. The name Kit's Coty is said to be derived from Catigern, a king of the Britons who fought Saxon invaders here in 455 AD and was apparently buried on the spot where he died. People have allegedly witnessed ghostly reenactments of the battle at the site. Strange light phenomena have also been recorded here by the earth mysteries investigator Paul Devereux. Julian Cope in The Modern Antiquarian (see walk 51) describes it as 'a magical place' with 'an extremely stubborn and natural feeling around it'.

One myth about Kit's Coty is that it was constructed by witches from a coven on Blue Bell Hill. The area's association with witchcraft may explain why, despite its beautiful setting, the hill has a reputation as one of the most notorious haunted spots in Britain. Its most famous ghost has modern origins though, as it's thought to be that of a young woman who died in a tragic car accident on the A229 on the way back from a hen night in 1965. There have been reported sightings, including in recent years, of a figure weaving in and out of the traffic. Other apparitions along the same stretch of road include that of a female hitchhiker, a woman in a red scarf, said to be the spirit of a murdered maid, and a 'black fog' that suddenly descends on cyclists and motorists (but, thankfully, not walkers). KB

Full-day country walks in SE England and beyond

Aylesford circular via Blue Bell Hill

Click on the image below to access the full map on plotaroute

Full-day country walks in
SE England and beyond

Click on the image below to access
the full map on plotaroute