- Start: Charing Train Station, Charing, Kent
- Finish: Chilham Train Station, Chilham, Kent
- Distance: 23.13 km
- Time: 7 hours 56 minutes 46 seconds
This morning started rather mistily and the sun didn’t really breakthrough all day, but luckily it stayed dry. We began the day back at Charing station and walked the approximately 2km uphill to the Pilgrims Way from the station, via what was descriptively called, ‘The Hill’.
The rest of the morning, we processed through some rather beautiful woodland,
until we reached the EastWell Estate. This Estate was primarily owned by the Earls of Winchilsea, although it has also been the residence of many illustrious people through the years, including Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, whose residence it was between 1874 and 1893. Jane Austen came in 1805.
We visited the ruins of the estate chapel, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, poignantly set on the shores of a shallow lake.
This atmospheric ruin, which among other delights, claims to house the tomb of Richard Plantagenet, the illegitimate son of Richard III, was supposedly destroyed by a V1 bomb in 1944, which as we know from yesterday plagued this part of Kent. At least, that is what the guide book said, further research online suggest that actually the roof collapsed in 1951, probably because the shallow lake, created by the 10th Earl of Winchilsea in the 1840’s by damming the River Stour, had undermined the foundations of the building and led to it’s movement and subsequent collapse. The V1 actually destroyed a completely different church, several miles away!
However, our appreciation of either the atmosphere of a folly or the follies of aristocrats was rather distracted by the very loud noises coming from very large carp spawning in the shallow lake!
We moved on from Eastwell to Boughton Lees, where we had a pleasant lunch at the Flying Horse Inn.
Visually, and in the guide book, the inn appears to date from the 17th Century, however the owners trace it’s history slightly earlier.
In the afternoon, we found ourselves unexpectedly on the route of the 5-church walk,
This walk was very well attended and the route was almost congested in places, very different to our experience on most of this trip! Along with the rest of the walkers we visited the lovely church at Boughton Aluph (pronounced Borton Aluff).
As well as being turned into an inpromptu cafe for the walk,
it also featured a lovely 14th century wall painting and a fireplace in the porch.
The theory is that pilgrims used to gather in this porch keeping warm, until there were sufficient numbers to take on the trek through the Kings Wood which was infested with outlaws.
We tried to imagine this lovely woodland teeming with brigands, but failed and found the evidence of bronze age occupation, such as this possible flint quarry much more interesting.
The Kings wood was also where pilgrims got their first glimpse of Canterbury Cathedral, with only 10 miles to go.
A few years ago, a ‘Coppice Oratory’ was erected to mark the spot and allow pilgrims a space for contemplation.
I was mostly contemplating the fact that it didn’t have a roof!
The last stop on todays trip was Chilham, site of the striking Chilham Castle,
once a stately home for the rich and famous, (Jane Austen visited here, she gets everywhere that woman!), now a wellness retreat which proclaims that the cost of it’s services is ‘upon application’!
https://www.chilham-castle.co.uk/
Not for the likes of us then!
It did have a very interesting pilgrimage statue next to the gate,
though I doubt these pilgrims, whatever was wrong with them, would have been allowed in!
We will do Chilham more justice when we return tomorrow, the final leg of our journey!
