North Downs Way - Harrietsham to Canterbury (★★★★☆)

Today is the second of three days spent walking from Rochester to Dover via Canterbury along the North Downs Way - and day's walk is from Harrietsham to Canterbury. On the previous day I had walked from Rochester to Harrietsham.

Having stayed in Ashford overnight, I head down to the train station - stopping off to get some food and drink for the day on the way - and take the train back to Harrietsham, where I had finished walking the day before.

As I had found out the previous day, the paths around Harrietsham are very good, and there is a footpath that runs direct from the station platform up to the North Downs Way. This morning this path is already busy with everyone out on their early dog walks - and remarking upon how warm it is for the time of year. 

And so, after a short and enjoyable walk back up to the North Downs Way, I turn right and resume my walk along this trail - and very quickly run into my first point of interest of the day, in the form of Brother Percival having a rest on a bench on the path :

Meet Brother Percival - he doesn't talk much

The North Downs Way alternates between being a countryside route that explores the downs, and a route that follows the old "Pilgrim's Way" - and here as the path starts getting closer to Canterbury, the path tends to have more of a Pilgrim's Way focus (with a good example of this being found on this bench).

This route should not be confused with that taken by the pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales - for those pilgrims were travelling along Watling Street on a fairly direct route from London to Canterbury (along what is now the A2 through Sittingbourne and Faversham).

And indeed the idea of a single trackway as designated as the Pilgrim's Way on the map is not thought to be an entirely accurate representation, but the pilgrims were indeed following this general path - and this route across the countryside is also known as the Harrow Way (or 'Old Way').

The Harrow Way itself has archaeological finds dating back to 600-450BCE, but it's use is believed to extend back to the stone age - with the Harrow Way starting at Seaton in Devon, passing Stonehenge, heading round to Farnham, and then following a similar path to the North Downs Way round to Canterbury and Dover. 

Returning to the here and now, our route winds on past the village of Lenham, and as we head past this run of villages the countryside opens up again.

Passing beyond Lenham

From here it is time to settle in as between Lenham and Charing the walk continues on across these quiet fields without much disturbance - until we eventually come across a busy road at Charing, which we must head across. Here at Charing there is also another handy rail link for those doing smaller sections of the trail. 

After crossing this busy road, and as Charing starts to be left behind, the route heads out along a quiet road, and then through fairly attractive woodland bordering the fields below - and it is along this stretch that people reappear along the trail.

But after a fairly busy stretch along this shared cycle and walking path, we pass the village of Westwell to the south and return to much quieter and less traveled countryside once again. From here we cross into fairly polished farmland as we enter Eastwell Park and begin to head towards Boughton Lees.

The farmland just past Westwell

Manicured roads heading through Eastwell Park before Broughton Lees

Eastwell Park is a bit posh and it has a pretty rich history. An early manor house here was part of the holdings owned by Hugh de Montford, who was a close ally of William the Conqueror.

And what followed was ownership by a successions of Earls and other titled folk - but with the most notable occupation being that of Prince Alfred (the second son of Queen Victoria - and at one point second in line to the throne).

He lived in Eastwell Manor for twenty years before heading to Germany where he had inherited a Duchy - and while he was here Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor.

But the manor he lived in can no longer be found, for that house was demolished in the 1920s and replaced with the smaller manor house that operates as a hotel today.

And if you are walking the North Downs Way and want accommodation right on the trail, the manor house offers one of your potential accommodation options - and as I passed by I checked the prices for you to see if it would be affordable.

And actually - it's not too bad - £129 for a one night stay for 1, £189 for two in a cheapo double room, £359 for two in the most expensive rooms - with prices rising on more popular days. My only concern would be that they might not serve you at diner if you turn up in your hiking gear.

But after passing the hotel, we find ourselves in Broughton Lees - and here we head through town before reaching the split in the North Downs Way where we can turn left to go via Canterbury or turn right to go via Folkestone.

Taking the left option, we quickly return back into chalky fields on our way out of town.

Fields after Boughton Lees

After a period of time wandering through this countryside, it is time to climb up onto a ridge again, and into King's Wood - formerly a royal hunting forest.

Once again this is a site which has a rich history - with our route heading parallel to the river Stour, which was was home to some of the early Neolistic settlers in Britain - and a popular settlement site ever since.

The history of the woods is quite hard to tease out, but it is classified as Ancient Woodland and has historically been managed as a hunting ground. Included within the royalty who are believed to have hunted in these woods were Edward I, Edward II and Henry VIII.

Today though it is a lovely wood to walk through and that is fortunate because there is a long stretch spent walking through the woods whilst following the North Downs Way.

King's Wood

But eventually the route drops down off the ridge, before heading on towards Chilham - a pretty picture postcard village, with a very popular pub (with some nice classic cars outside when I visited). 

At Chilham there is another train station that can be used to break up the journey, but the village also marks the beginning of the final run into Canterbury, and things do start to feel slightly less rural again as we head out of Chilham along quiet roads, through Chartham Hatch and then start to navigate past the A2 on our way into Canterbury.

But it is here, just before we reach the A2 that we stumble across another piece of history at the site of Bigbury Camp (it is marked on the map), which is an iron age fort that is believed to have been occupied from 350BCE.

The history of such an old fort is fairly limited, but it is here that the Briton's were believed to have regrouped having been attacked by Julius Caesar during his second invasion of Britain (it seems to be the most likely spot based upon the available information). And if so, it was here that the Britains suffered a key defeat as part of Caesar's invasion (although in the end he packed his bags and went home anyway).

From here we head over the A2, and then after following a bit of a miserable path parallel to that road, start to cut up through the outskirts of Canterbury, where we start to find a very busy city with plenty of traffic.

In many ways this comes as a bit of a shock, because by now I'm half expecting to find a medieval town with taverns and ponies - but heading off the main route through town I find slightly quieter side streets and head over to take a look around the cathedral (you are meant to pay to get in but I managed to sneak in).

Canterbury cathedral - you apparently have to pay to visit unless you just wander in

The city itself has deep Roman origins, having been rebuilt by the Romans into a more substantial town that would be a key site due to it's position on the way from London down to the ports of Richborough, Dover and Lymne - but that original Roman was was largely destroyed.

After the departure of the Romans from Britain, Canterbury went into decline and was generally abandoned, with evidence of stone and timber buildings decaying under the impact of weather and vegetation. And indeed, the evidence suggests that the town became effectively deserted.

But in the fifth century there was increased migration into Britain, in particular via Jutish migration (from the Jutland Peninsula in modern Denmark) and so Kent eventually grew to be more important once again.

As Kent restored some of its former prominence, Canterbury grew once again to be the centre of Kent, and in 596 Pope Gregory I sent Augustine over to Britain to covert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity - later becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury, and helping establish Canterbury as a religious centre.

By 1070 when the original cathedral had become badly damaged, the cathedral began to be rebuilt in 1070 on a grand design that closely matched the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Caen, resulting in what stands today.

But in the here and now, what we have today is one of the easiest on-route places to find food and accommodation, with the next days walking to continue on through the city.

Total Distance : 24.6 miles (of which 23.8 miles were on the North Downs Way)

Total Ascent : 1,965ft

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for a writeup of the following day's walking - continuing along the North Downs way from Canterbury to Dover

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 179 and 189 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a North Downs Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.