Woodlands, wine and wildflowers of the beautiful Elham Valley

The Elham valley between Canterbury and Hythe is a hidden gem of east Kent, running through beautiful scenery and picturesque villages. This 11 mile circular walk starts in the car park of the square in the village of Elham. We start by heading north through the Kent Downs National Landscape to the Park Gate Down nature reserve, a chalk grassland owned by the Kent Wildlife Trust. The reserve is set within stunning scenery and has the highest level of legal protection for nature in the UK, as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. It is home to a number of orchid species, including the rare Monkey orchid. We carry on northwards through Forestry England woods, including Covert wood, an ancient woodland, where Kent Wildlife Trust plan to reintroduce the pine marten. After about 5.5 miles we stop for a picnic lunch at Jumping Down nature reserve. We then walk a further 2 miles to the Elham Valley Vineyard for coffee and cake. The vineyard and garden centre, are run by the Fifth Trust, which is a charity that supports adults with learning disabilities. We head south for another 3.5 miles, along the Elham Valley Way, passing close to the disused railway, to the hamlet of North Elham. We end the walk near the course of the Nailbourne stream, before arriving back in Elham village square.