Circular walk in Kent: Oxted via Chartwell

Are you looking for a challenging hike? If so, this hilly circular walk in Kent is for you! When I enrolled myself for a 26 miles (42 km) hike marathon, I knew I needed to level up my game in terms of training. That’s how I came across this walk organised by Outdooraholics. When I saw it, I straight away signed up for it and it is one of the hardest hikes I have done near London. Are you ready for the challenge?

Disclaimer: Some London-based hiking groups may offer the same or similar walks via Chartwell. You can find more information here.

Logistic for the Circular Walk in Kent

Distance: 16.26 miles (26.16km)

Ascent: 2132 ft (650 m)

Highest Point: 800 ft (244 m)

Lowest Point: 253 ft (77 m)

Walking estimate: 7 hours and a half

Difficulty: Challenging

How to get there:

Trains from Victoria or London Bridge Station
The journey takes around 40 minutes
It is a circular walk so you can book a day-return ticket

What to bring with you:

Comfortable clothing and footwear, as you will be climbing a few hills
Snack, packed lunch, water (2 litres recommended)
Sunscreen and head cover if you are going on a sunny day
Rain gear if a downpour is forecasted
Sitting mat as the site for lunch has ants. Alternatively, you can eat at the cafe
Hiking poles recommended

Additional information:

Public toilets are available in Emmetts Garden, halfway through the hike

Where to Eat:

Tea Room, Emmett’s Garden, Sevenoaks, Kent

Highlights of the Circular Walk in Kent

Oxted town
Emmett’s Garden
Octavia Hill’s House
Chartwell House

Oxted via Chartwell Walk

So now we covered the basics, let’s get to the walk!

Oxted

We start our walk in the countryside town of Oxted, located 22 miles (35.4km) from London. Oxted is a commuter town with direct trains to London Victoria and London Bridge Stations. As we come out of the station, we walk down Station Road East, turn left onto Gresham Road, and walk up the road to arrive in Limpsfield. We walk through the residential area and cross over the A25 to enter Limpsfield Common woods.

We gradually ascend as we walk through the woods towards the Golf Club. As we come out of the Gold course, we meet with some cows. We then walk through the residential area of Limpsfield Chart until we arrive at the High Chartwoods. We enter the woods and walk the trail up to the highest point at Goodley Stack.

Limpsfield Common wood, Oxted — Limpsfield Common wood

Westerham

We come out of the woods and admire the view over the town of Westerham. The town was settled over thousands of years ago as shown by the remains of Celtic fortifications. But no time to visit Westerham! As soon as we reach the town, we turn around and start going up Hosey Hill. We stop at the top of the hill for a well-deserved snack.

We get back on the path and walk past the residential area of Hosey Hill and its beautiful cottages. Continuing our climb, we enter Hosey Commonwoods and walk across the woods. We come out of the woods to the hamlet of French Street(I love this name).

Picture of a house in the hamlet of French Street, Westerham, Kent — House in French Street hamlet

Scords Wood: A garden and a house

We walk down the hill and immediately go back up another hill as we enter Scords woods. At this point, we reach 808 feet (246m) elevation, which is the highest elevation of this hike. We walk towards Emmetts Gardens, where we stop for lunch.

Emmetts Garden, formerly farmland until 1860, received its name from the local word “emmett” which means “ants”. It is said that giant anthills were covering the site until 1950. But I can tell you that the ants are still there and they are a bit of a lunch spoiler. I strongly recommend that you carry a sitting mat with you to avoid ant bites.

The house and the land were bought by Frederic Lubbock in 1890. The Edwardian-style garden was built between 1893 and 1895 by William Robinson, a friend of the owner. The garden is opened to the public and I highly recommend you take the time to visit it during the lunch break. You will find a variety of plants, flowers such as roses and spring flowers, and trees. We were lucky to come here during spring as the trees were in bloom.

Flowers in Emmetts Garden, Scords Woods, Kent — Flowers in Emmetts Garden

Tree in full bloom in Emmett's Garden, Scords Woods, Kent — Tree in full bloom

We leave the garden hoping to have a nice and fairly flat post-lunch walk. But no! We come immediately face to face with Toy Hill. We walk up the hill and arrive at the site of the remains of what used to be one of Octavia Hill‘s first properties. Octavia, born in 1838, was an English Social Reformer. She is famous for her work to alleviate poverty and to help save sites such as Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill Fields from urban development. She was one of the 3 founders of the National Trust. We admire the view over the fields from what used to be a terrace and go back onto Toy Hill.

View from Octavia Hill House, Scords Woods, Kent — View from Octavia Hill House

Chartwell House

We start our descent following a lovely path border by bushes. When we arrive at the bottom, we come face to face with horses. But no time to rest, we need to walk uphill back to the hamlet of French Street (OK, I admit it. I love that place). We keep going up and enter Horsey Common woods. Following the trail across the woods, we then come out of the wood onto a busy road. We cross the road and enter Mariner’s Hill woods. As the name suggests, we continue to go uphill. At the top, we are rewarded with a perfect view over Chartwell House. The house has been the home of Winston Churchill for over 40 years. This Grade I listed building was acquired by the National Trust in 1946 and was opened to the public in 1966.

Cottages and a manor

We continue along the trail in Mariner’s Hill woods and go up one more hill before we can finally enjoy a bit of descent. We admire the beautiful houses and cottages as we walk down through the village of Crockham Hill.

House in Crockham Hill village, Kent — House in Crockham Hill village

We leave the village and set foot onto green meadows where sheep and cows are grazing. Following the trail, we arrive at Tenchleys Manor, a sixteenth-century Grade II listed building. We find a spot in front of the manor to stop for a snack.

Back on the road, we climb the steepest hill of this hike to get to Tenchley’s Park woods. As we walk across the woods we see some bluebells. It is really early in the season so they are not in full bloom yet. On the other side of the wood, we are back at Limpsfields. However, we take a different route to get back to Oxted.

Bluebells starting to blossom in Tenchley's Park, Kent — Bluebells starting to blossom

The last hill and back to Oxted

It’s the last stretch of this hike and we have one more hill to go. We start the last part by going down from Limpsfield to Hurst Green. Once we reach the village we have one last push up a hill leading to Limpsfield Common. From there we can enjoy the rest of the walk on flat ground, following the trail along the train tracks back to Oxted.

When I did this walk, Covid restrictions were still in place, so we could not end the walk in a pub. Instead, some members of the group bought a takeaway fish & chips and the rest of us went to a supermarket on the High Street to buy some snacks to eat on the way to the station. Bon appetit!