Canterbury Kent Downs Barham Downs Elham Valley Vineyards Wye Crundale Canterbury UK

The North Kent Downs & North Downs Way

The eastern half of the North Downs covers almost a quarter of Kent. The Downs pushes up from the chalk cliffs at Dover and Folkestone through the heart of Kent with Kent's two major motorways - the M20 and A2/M2 running parallel.

The Downs is accessible UK walking country, a quintessentially English landscape, offering diverse features including chalk escarpments, dry valleys, ancient woodlands, hedgerows and a choice of historic villages, vineyards and orchards. Human activity marks this landscape in the south east with mixed farming including horticulture, arable and livestock farming taking place on around 74 percent of the Kent Downs.

The Kent Downs is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the 153 mile long North Downs Way pushes through the Kent Downs and on to the Surrey Hills.

One of England's most popular National Trails, the North Downs Way passes close to numerous historic Kent attractions and locations including Rochester and the Medway, and north of Maidstone and Ashford (south of Canterbury) down to the White Cliffs of Dover where the Downs meets the English Channel with dramatic chalk white cliffs which reach up to 300 feet in places. The trail has ancient links with pilgrims - much of the North Downs Way follows the old Pilgrims Way. A map and more details on the Trail, including the Canterbury Loop, can be found on the North Downs Way weblink right. See also the Kent Downs AONB webguide for a comprehensive guide to attractions, villages and the landscape of the Kent Downs.

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Barham Downs & Elham Valley Vineyard

The stunning Elham Valley Way walking route pushes all the way up from Hythe to Canterbury tracing in large part the course of the Nait Bourne River through pretty villages such as Elham. A number of historic churches sit around the Elham area (see the Kentish Stour and Elham Village guide weblinks right for details). The Elham Valley Trail pushes up and on towards Canterbury via Barham into the North Downs and ancient woodland (see Barham Village webguide for details of surrounding area attractions). Folkestone makes for the perfect base for walking the Elham Valley Trail.

At Peele discover the Elham Valley Railway Museum, celebrating the heritage of the Elham Valley line which operated under the South Eastern & Chatham Railway Company from the mid 1880s to 1947. Both the model of the narrow gauge line as it was operating in the 1930s and a signal box where kids (and adults) can try their hand at operating the controls are particular highlights. Duck gardens, souvenir shop and a tearoom are all on-site.

The Elham Valley Vineyard sits midway between Elham and Barham, just west of Breach. Tours of the vineyard plus winetasting of both sparkling and still wines produced here are open to the public

Elham Valley Line Trust & Railway Museum, Peene, Folkestone CT18 8BA, Tel. 01303 273690. (see the Railway Museum's webguide right for opening times and details). Elham Valley Vineyard, Elham Valley Road, Breach, Barham, nr Canterbury, Kent, CT4. Tel. 01227 831266. Open all year (except one week at Christmas). Daily 9am to 5pm. Weekends 12 noon to 5pm. Entrance is free except for group bookings. Also on-site is a craft and pottery shop. Guided tours are available and the site has full wheelchair access.

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Elmstead, Hastingleigh, Wye & the Wye NNR

The historic villages of Wye, Hastingleigh and Elmstead all make superb bases for easy access onto the North Downs Way. The small parish of Hastingleigh atop of the North Downs boasts a friendly village pub - The Bowl Inn and a choice of bed and breakfast accommodation. The Agricultural Museum at Brook is conveniently nearby.

The first Farmers Market in Kent was established in Wye. Farmers Markets take place in Wye today on the first and third Saturday of every month between 9am to 12 noon on the Wye Green. Not to be missed you'll find the best of the Downs local produce here. Find out more via the Wye Village Webguide.

Just a half a mile northeast of Elmstead Village sits ancient Spong Wood managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. Covering 18 hectares the woodland contains sweet chestnut, hazel, ash and hornbeam trees. Accessible waymarked paths guide you round the woodland.

The Wye National Nature Reserve (managed by English Nature - see weblink right) consists of chalk grassland and woodland across steep coombes. Views are spectacular across Romney Marsh and the Weald and a particularly magnificent feature in the area is the Devil's Kneading Trough - essentially a dry very steep-sided valley moulded by the last ice age. A 4km trail runs through the reserve and the two trails - the North Downs Way and Stour Valley Walk are nearby. A superb choice of accommodation is available in Wye.

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