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North Downs Way

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North Downs Way
The North Downs Way near Hollingbourne
Length153 mi (246 km)[1]
LocationSouth Eastern England, United Kingdom
DesignationUK National Trail
TrailheadsFarnham, Surrey
Dover, Kent
UseHiking
Highest pointBotley Hill, 885 ft (270 m)
SeasonAll year
Trail map
Map

The North Downs Way National Trail is a long-distance path in South East England, opened in 1978. It runs from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent, past Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, through the Surrey Hills National Landscape and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

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The Greater London Plan, compiled by Patrick Abercrombie and published in 1944, proposed a framework of development for the city and its surroundings. To facilitate the enjoyment of the countryside, the plan envisaged a network of paths connecting green spaces that were to be protected from development. One of the appendices to the plan, Map 14, proposed a footpath system featuring long-distance routes including a "North Down Way" [sic], which it marks as running from the Hog's Back to Otford, from where it continues as the Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury and the Kent coast.[2][a] Three years later, the "Report of the National Parks Committee", compiled by Arthur Hobhouse identified the traditional route of the Pilgrims' Way from Winchester to Canterbury as a potential long-distance footpath.[3]

The Hobhouse report was followed two years later by the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which created a legal mechanism to establish public access over publicly owned land. The act delegated the responsibility for creating long-distance paths to the National Parks Commission[4] and, during parliamentary debate before the act was passed, the Minister of Town and Country Planning, Lewis Silkin, identified the Pilgrims' Way as one of the routes that he hoped would be created.[5] Securing funding for the new long-distance paths was given a low priority and the first route, the Pennine Way, was not completed until 1965.[4][6]

Following the passing of the act, Kent County Council (KCC) proposed a new long-distance path that would partly follow the route of the North Downs. In May 1949, it published an outline development plan for the "Kent Path", that would run path from the Surrey border to Sandwich Bay.[7] Two years later, as part of its preparations for the Festival of Britain, the council installed direction signs on the section of the Pilgrims' Way through Kent; Surrey County Council (SCC) refused to do the same for the western part of the route, citing the cost of securing the necessary rights of way.[8]

In August 1965, a few months after the completion of the Pennine Way, the National Parks Commission announced that it was negotiating with SCC and KCC to create a long-distance footpath from Farnham to Folkestone, to be called the North Downs Way.[9] Where possible, the path was to run along the top of the North Downs escarpment for the best views to the south, in preference to following the traditional route of the Pilgrims’ Way, a significant proportion of which was used by motor vehicles.[10] The commission published its proposed route in late 1965, but the plans did not initially include the loop via Canterbury, which had been suggested by KCC.[11] In January the following year, the commission indicated that it supported the eastward continuation of the path from Folkestone to Dover.[12] KCC continued to argue for the inclusion of the Canterbury loop,[13] which was agreed by the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Anthony Greenwood, in July 1969.[14][15]

The creation of new rights of way along the route began in mid-1970.[16] The first part of the North Downs Way, 41 mi (66 km) from Hollingbourne to Dover via Canterbury, opened in May 1972[17] and five years later, in June 1977, a 13 mi (21 km) section in the Sevenoaks area was completed.[18][19] The Surrey section of the path was formally opened on 21 May 1978 in a ceremony at Newlands Corner.[20] The official opening of the completed route by Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, took place at Wye and Crundall National Nature Reserve, Kent, on 30 September 1978. [21][22]

Route

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Colley Hill on the North Downs Way
Heading up Hollingbourne Downs

The North Downs Way is a 153 mi (246 km) long-distance path in South East England. It runs west–east along the North Downs, the range of chalk hills after which it is named, from Farnham in Surrey to Dover in Kent. The trail divides near Wye, offering two different routes to Dover, one via Folkestone and the other via Canterbury. The path opened in stages from May 1972,[17] and its completion was marked by a formal ceremony in September 1978.[21] The North Downs Way is one of 15 National Trails in England and Wales, and is supported by the UK government through Natural England.[23] Much of the route passes through the Surrey Hills National Landscape and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The official guide to the trail divides the North Downs Way into fifteen sections.[24]

Sections of the North Downs Way
Section Start point Finish point Distance (km) Ascent (metres) Descent (metres)
1 Farnham Guildford 17.7 203 233
2 Guildford Westhumble 21.0 293 288
3 Westhumble Merstham 16.0 442 384
4 Merstham Oxted 12.8 311 249
5 Oxted Otford 18.9 524 587
6 Otford Cuxton 24.1 524 587
7 Cuxton Detling 20.1 404 299
8 Detling Lenham 14.9 320 281
9 Lenham Wye 17.9 128 247
10 Wye Etchinghill 18.1 396 303
11 Etchinghill Boughton Lees 19.3 406 506
12 Boughton Lees Chilham 9.5 156 171
13 Chilham Canterbury 11.6 187 215
14 Canterbury Shepherdswell 16.7 248 158
15 Shepherdswell Dover 13.7 152 268

The pathway is mixed-category in that it varies throughout length from footpath (around 48%) status to bridleway, byway and road. Some 19% of the Way follows roads, though 75% of those are minor lanes.[1]

Geology

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Geology of the South East: chalk is light green

As the pathway runs through the higher parts of the downland, the trail and surrounding countryside are characterised by chalk-based soil and calcareous grassland with broadleaf woodland on the upper slopes. It reflects the underlying sedimentary chalk deposits on the highest parts of the trail. There is livestock grazing on the lower slopes with clay soil and crop agriculture predominant in the valleys.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Map 14 of the Greater London Plan also shows a potential Greensand Way running from the east of Reigate to the south of Sevenoaks.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Trails - Facts and Figures about the trail". Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007.
  2. ^ a b Abercrombie 1944, Map 14.
  3. ^ Hobhouse 1947, p. 67.
  4. ^ a b Curry 1994, p. 14.
  5. ^ "Outlook for National Parks". Manchester Guardian. No. 31969. 1 April 1949. p. 5.
  6. ^ "New countryside policy promised: Mr Willey blesses Pennine Way". The Guardian. No. 36950. 26 April 1965. p. 16.
  7. ^ "Kent's plan for the future". Dover Express and East Kent News. No. 4739. 27 May 1949. p. 7.
  8. ^ "Sign-posting the Pilgrims' Way". Country Life. Vol. CIX, no. 2820. 2 February 1951. p. 314.
  9. ^ "Downs rambling route planned". Daily Telegraph. No. 34299. 2 August 1965. p. 15.
  10. ^ "Plan for a new walk on downs". Surrey Advertiser. No. 12423. 20 November 1965. p. 1.
  11. ^ "New path being mapped across the county". Kent Messenger. No. 8331. 3 December 1965. p. C1.
  12. ^ "A path through Kent". Kent Messenger. No. 8338. 21 January 1966. p. C2.
  13. ^ "Traffic-free path, 70 miles long, is planned for Kent". Sevenoaks Chronicle. No. 4545. 13 January 1967. p. 4.
  14. ^ "North Downs Way 141-mile path approved". Daily Telegraph. No. 35526. 17 July 1969. p. 20.
  15. ^ "New 141-mile North Downs path". Sevenoaks Chronicle. No. 4676. 18 July 1969. p. 25.
  16. ^ "New easy-to-read signs for footpaths". Surrey Advertiser. No. 12662. 19 June 1970. p. 14.
  17. ^ a b "Loveliness of the long-distance footpath". East Kent Times and Mail. No. 5455. 7 June 1972. p. 4.
  18. ^ "Jubilee footpath". Sevenoaks Chronicle. No. 5087. 4 June 1977. p. 26.
  19. ^ "60 hikers open new pathway". Sevenoaks Chronicle. No. 5088. 11 June 1977. p. 4.
  20. ^ "42-mile path is opened". Daily Telegraph. No. 38246. 22 May 1978. p. 13.
  21. ^ a b "The Archbishop of Canterbury". Sunday Telegraph. No. 913. 1 October 1978. p. 4.
  22. ^ "News in brief". The Times. No. 60387. London. 23 August 1978. p. 3.
  23. ^ "The new deal: Management of National Trails in England from April 2013". Natural England. 2013. pp. 3, 5, 6. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  24. ^ Saunders 2016, p. 6.

Bibliography

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