Maidstone's Past Walk (12.5 miles)

This is a 12.5 mile circular walk that starts at Maidstone West train station, circumnavigating the greater Maidstone area in an anticlockwise direction covering lots of the area's history.
Maidstone and the immediate surrounding area is steeped in history. From an ancestor of George Washington buried in All Saints church yard to the peasants revolt and subsequent hangings on Penenden Heath, to the original location of Reed paper mill (Tovil) and the 13 historic watermills that utilised the Loose Valley. Mote Park, originally a Royal Deer park is on the list as well as more modern wonders like Vinters Park nature reserve and Whatman Park opened in 2000 and a lovely walk along the river Medway back to our start, plus many more delights.
This walk is a mixture of urban, rural, park land, residential, a little farm land and everything between. We will finish the walk just over the road from Maidstone West train station at a great little micro brewery, The Cellars Alehouse for a well deserved pint or you can go straight to the station.
There are toilets at the beginning/end of the walk (Maidstone West train station), at Mote Park and Penenden Heath. We will have 3 short stops (10-20 minutes each). Please bring a picnic lunch and eat as and when you are hungry.

Subject to walk leaders approval we allow well-behaved dogs under full control of their owner. If you wish to bring your dog on the walk, please check with the walk leader before arriving for the walk.
Please note that there is a £2 payment required for non-Ramblers members to help cover our Meetup costs. Please help the walk leader by bringing the exact change.
Members of the Ramblers Association 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 to 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).