Kent Ramblers: Walk 14

Limpsfield Chart and Crockham Hill

Distance:  4.2 Miles (1h 50m)

OS Map:   Explorer 147 (Start at grid reference TQ427519)

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Limpsfield Chart is approached from Westerham.  Take the A25 westwards out of Westerham.  Take a left turn, not well signposted, opposite the car park of the Grasshopper inn – just before the inn itself.  After a double bend, keep left until a road junction.  Bear left.  The best place to park is in an area opposite the church.  There are several other car parks nearby to use when this is full.

After parking, continue down Moorhouse Road and cross the main road.  Go down Trevereux Hill, ignoring a right fork soon reached but keeping right at any later junctions.  When, after passing through a gate, you see Trevereux Mansion ahead, bear right and, opposite the first of Trevereux Cottages on the right, climb a stile on the left.  Follow the fence along the left hand edge of the field.  When the fence turns left at a corner, follow it round and walk along the top edge of the field.  Cross a stile and the top of another field.  Cross another stile and go through a small wood.  Climb to the top corner of the next field.  Turn right along Oakdale Lane and at the end turn right down Smiths Lane a few metres to the junction with the main road.

Cross the main road and go up the far side.  Take the first right turn past the village hall, school and church.  Octavia Hill, one of the three founders of the National Trust, is buried here – her grave is on the right under the yew tree as you enter the churchyard and there is an impressive memorial to her in the corner of the church furthest from the door.  There is also a stained glass window installed in 1995 to commemorate the centenary of the National Trust and Octavia Hill’s work.  Go through a kissing gate at the bottom of the church car park and take a slightly rising path to a gate – there are several benches on the left should you want to rest and enjoy the view.  Continuing at roughly the same height, cross a stream on some old railway sleepers then gently descend to the far left corner of the field.  Go through gate and across a bridge.  Go up left hand side of field, over stile and climb steep steps to Froghole.  Turn left up Froghole Lane to main road.

Cross road and take path immediately opposite, keeping left and ignoring all right turns, until you pass some houses on left.  At a fingerpost, go right then almost immediately left along path waymarked with yellow Greensand Way marker.  Follow yellow and blue Greensand Way markers through woods to valley bottom and turn right (at the time of writing the waymarks on this post are wrongly aligned – you turn right following a yellow waymark rather than go forward following a blue waymark as indicated) along broad track past a house on left.  Go through kissing gate and take upward path, still following Greensand Way markers.  As path levels out, take first left turn, very soon reaching road.  Cross road, bearing right to take narrow path between houses into wood.  At junction of five paths take track half left, clearly marked as GW or Greensand Way.

At first fork bear right and follow Greensand Way markers back to Limpsfield Chart.

Points of Interest

Trevereux  House

A Grade II listed manor, it was gutted by fire in 1987 but the Queen Anne façade survived.  It was rebuilt in the 1990s by Richard Stilgoe, a well-known broadcaster, writer and performer who wrote the lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express.  The fine pond attracts large numbers of waterfowl and the island boasts a splendid duck house with classical columns.

Octavia Hill

Although best remembered as a joint founder of the National Trust, Octavia Hill spent much of her life trying to improve living conditions for the poor, especially in the slums of Southwark.  John Ruskin, a formative influence in her life and advocate of the Pre-Raphaelites, bought three slum properties and gave them to Octavia to manage.

In addition to the walking routes on our web site we have published three popular walking guides:

Guide to Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk and other walks in the area

Guide to the Kent Coast Path: Part 1, Camber to Ramsgate

Guide to Three River Valley Walks in West Kent: Darent Valley Path, Eden Valley Walk and Medway Valley Walk

Please report any problems with this walk to info@kentramblers.org.uk.

Ramblers' volunteers in Kent work tirelessly to ensure that our paths are as well protected and maintained as possible.  Of course we also organise led walks but most of our members are independent walkers who simply want to support our footpath work.  Please join us and become a supporter too.  You need us and we really need you.