This delightful circular walk of approximately 6.5 miles takes us along part of the long-distance Greensand Way and Wealdway. We will pass through Oxen Hoath Park, a notable nearby historic country estate featuring a large historic mansion and gardens.  Before our return walk, we stop for a break in Hadlow village.

Some of the places on this walk:

West Peckham

West Peckham is a quiet and pretty Kentish village.  It features historic medieval houses, a traditional village green used for cricket, and the church of St Dunstan. The village played a role in medieval history through the Knights Hospitallers. Around 1408, a preceptory was founded here, thanks to Sir John Culpeper, who donated land to the order. The Knights had already been granted land nearby by Elizabeth de Burgh in 1337. The Culpeper family’s story continues at Oxen Hoath, a manor with Saxon roots. Originally known as “Toxnode,” it was once royal pasture. The Culpepers built a grand house there, later passing the estate to the Bartholomew and Geary families. St Dunstan’s Church stands by the village green and dates back to the late 10th century. The Normans rebuilt the nave in the 11th century, and the chancel was added later. The church remains in active use today. Sir John Culpeper also founded a chantry chapel inside St Dunstan’s in 1408–9. It paid for a priest to say daily masses for the King and the Culpeper family. Sir John and his wife were buried there. After chantries were dissolved in 1548, the space became a private pew and burial vault for the Oxen Hoath estate owners, used until 1871.

The Swan on the Green pub sits at the edge of the cricket ground in West Peckham. Dating back to at least the 16th century, it serves good food and locally brewed ales. It’s very much the social hub of the village and has even featured in ITV’s “The Larkins,” under the name “The Hare and Hound”.

Hadlow

The centre of Hadlow village is a conservation area and the parish has retained many of its old buildings, most of them listed. Hadlow Tower or Castle, known locally as May's Folly, is a Victorian Gothic tower, and one of the largest in Britain at 53 m (175 ft), built by wealthy landowner Walter Barton May between 1838-1840,  it was designed by architect George Ledwell Taylor as part of the Hadlow Castle estate, primarily serving as a flamboyant status symbol.