Marden Walking Group
Marden Walking Group was established in February 2005 and is affiliated to the Marden Society. Its original aim was to update the “Walks around Marden” leaflets originally published by the Marden Society in the 1970s. Our first set of “Six Walks Around Marden” was published in 2006, followed by a second set of “Six More Walks Around Marden” in 2009. When these ran out in 2016, the Group decided to revise the routes as they were 10 years old and many had changed significantly, due to all the recent development in Marden. The new set of “Six New Walks Around Marden” was published in January 2019 and updated in March 2021. These are available from “No 47 High St.” for £5 per set. These walks are:
Walk 1: Circular walk starting and ending at the Unicorn. 2¾ miles/4½ km
Walk 2: Circular walk along the River Beult from the Stilebridge Inn. 4¾ miles/7½ km or 3½ miles/5½ km
Walk 3: Circular walk to Marden Meadow to view the flowers. 4½ miles/7 km
Walk 4: Marden Diamond Jubilee Walk. 6 miles/9½ km
Walk 5: West End Wander. 6½ miles/10½ km.
Walk 6: Circular walk to Turkey Farm. 4 miles/6½ km or 2¼ miles/3½ km
A further set of Historic Walks was published in March 2022, cost £6 also available from No 47 and The Library. Details as follows:
Walk 1 Trees of Marden 3 or 4 miles
Walk 2 Historic Farmhouses around Marden 6¼ or 9 miles
Walk 3 Hops and grapes in Marden 5½ miles
Walk 4 The PLUTO Walk 6½ miles
Walk 5 Marden’s Aviation History – East 5½ miles or 7 miles
Walk 6 Marden’s Aviation History – West 7 miles
The Walking Group helps to maintain the many footpaths within Marden Parish (the largest in Kent!). All paths have official KCC numbers which are displayed on the Fingerposts where footpaths intersect with roads (e.g. KM240) which are referenced in our walks leaflets. It is important that walkers should ONLY use these footpaths which are Public Rights of Way (PROWs), unless there is a specific Permissive path, to respect the farming community.
We normally organise three series of regular walks:
Saturday Strolls: These are held on Saturday afternoons for 1 – 1½ hours around Marden with no stiles. Routes depend on the weather and conditions underfoot. Meet at 2 p.m. outside the Library.
Sunday Walks: These are generally held on the first Sunday of each month and are usually 5-6 miles over paths around Marden (or other local villages) including stiles. Meet at 10.00 in the village car park unless informed otherwise.
Long distance walks: These are long distance trail, such as the Saxon Shore Way which are walked in sections of 8-10 miles over a period of time.
We are aware that the dog population has increased significantly during lockdown, and the Parish Council have increased the number of dog litter bins in the village, so please do use them. We do not normally invite dogs on our scheduled walks but we do urge dog walkers to use the correct PROWs as shown in our leaflets.
Our current programme of Walks is given below, If you would like further information, or would like to be put on an e-mail list to receive information on future walks, please contact Steve McArragher (steve.mcarragher@btinternet.com).
Programme for August 2025
Long- distance walks
These are on hold as Ian still has a tendon injury and is not able to lead walks yet. They will continue along the North Downs way on Tuesdays, as soon as he is fit again. Each section walked is approximately 8 miles. If you are interested contact Ian Balmer on 07528 801306 or igbalmer@gmail.com.
Sunday Walks
The Sunday walk in October will be on Sunday the 5th. This will be the Beult walk from Stilebridge to Hunton and back, approx 4 miles, led by Steve. With luck the weather will be good and Autumn colours will be on display. Meet at 10 at the Library to share cars and drive to Stilebridge.
Weekly Saturday walks are continuing. All start at the Library at 2.pm and are approximately an hour long.
October 4th Turkey farm via Westfield House
October 11th Copper Lane via Stanley Road
October 18th Millennium Avenue to Solar Farm
October 25th Car Share to Loose
October 6th Train Trek Canterbury to Chilham.