Colin S's Bearsted - Leeds Castle Circular - 12 miles

A generally flat walk just south of the North Downs east of Maidstone. We start by heading broadly eastwards via Hollingbourne, then turning broadly westwards to our picnic lunch stop at Leeds Castle (with optional cafe to purchase food / drinks) after ca. 6 miles / ca. 2.5 hours. We then broadly follow the route of the River Len back to Bearsted, passing by the National Trust property Stoneacre (not open on this day). Note: parts of the walk will be on paths through stinging nettles - so long trousers highly recommended! Dogs welcome - but note that there are quite a few stiles!

NB: There is a £2 payment required for non-Ramblers Assoc. members to help cover our Meetup costs. Please help the walk leader by bringing the exact change.Ramblers members are welcome on any of our walks, but we would still encourage you to RSVP on Meetup. This will give our volunteer walk leaders an idea of how many are attending, and also keep the numbers manageable. If, on the day of the walk, you are still on the waiting list and a Ramblers member, you can attend - just let the walk leader know you are coming by adding a comment 'Coming as a Rambler'. You will find the start location via our website

[Our Walks (westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk)](https://www.westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk/our-walks.html).