A popular walk following the path around Bewl Water, one of the largest areas of inland water in the south-east of England. The path follows a route along quiet lanes, through wooded areas, and open stretches alongside the reservoir.

Although the walk length is approx 14 miles, it is a relatively level/easy walk.  West Kent last completed this walk in 2017 (in a clockwise direction!). This time we will walk in an anti-clockwise direction.

About Wadhurst:

Wadhurst is an historic market town, with a Charter dating from 1253. Almost at the northern extremity of East Sussex, it is 6 miles south of Tunbridge Wells. It is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and lies on a high ridge of the Sussex and Kent Weald.

The Parish covers an area of 15.5 square miles, and includes outlying communities of Sparrows Green, Cousley Wood, Woods Green, Durgates, Best Beech, Tidebrook and parts of Mark Cross. Its population in 2011 was 4883.

Some facts about Bewl Water:

Bewl Water is a reservoir in the valley of the River Bewl,  straddling the boundary between Kent and East Sussex. It is about 2 miles south of Lamberhurst. The reservoir was part of a project to increase supplies of water in the area. It supplies Southern Water's customers in the Medway towns, Thanet and Hastings.

Work began to construct the reservoir in 1973 by damming and then flooding the valley. It was completed in 1975, having been filled with over 31,300 million litres of water. The project cost £11 million to build.

In winter, when the flow in the River Medway exceeds 275 million litres per day, river water is pumped to store in the reservoir. There is an outline plan to raise the water level by a further 3m to increase the yield by up to 30% to help with the growing water demand in south-east England. This will however put further demands on the River Medway to supply the additional water required with the potential for environmental degradation in the river and the eco-systems that it supports.

The reservoir in common with most large clean water lakes, is host to a large variety of wildlife.