TR1656 : The North Downs Way heads to Canterbury
taken 14 years ago, near to Canterbury, Kent, England
A long distance path in southern England. It runs from Farnham to Dover, past Godalming, Guildford, Dorking, Merstham, Otford and Rochester, along the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and Kent Downs AONB. East of Boughton Lees, the path splits in two, the northern section running via Canterbury and the southern via Wye. The two sections of the path reunite at Dover. The northern route is 211 km long, and the southern route 201 km, the total length of the North Downs Way being 246 km.
The pathway is mixed in that it varies throughout its length from footpath status to bridleway, byway and road. Some 19% of the Way follows roads, though 75% of those are minor lanes. It is marked by an acorn. See TQ6561 : Crossover in Long Distance pathways.
See Link for more details and an interactive map of the trail.
A 22.5-mile (40 km) recreational walking route passes through the Elham valley (a chalk valley carved by the River Nailbourne situated in the North Downs in East Kent). The route starts at Hythe and finishes at Canterbury Cathedral. It utilises much of the dismantled route of the Elham Valley Railway , constructed in the 19th century and connecting Folkestone and Canterbury. This was closed in 1947, although a railway museum is located at Peene, immediately north of the Channel Tunnel station.