Hollingbourne offers several walking trails through the North Downs, as well as striking historic buildings: half-timbered buildings on Eyhorne Street, Eyhorne Manor and All Saints Church. When planning your stay, you can focus on the landscape, architectural history or both.

Walking and Landscape

The North Downs are part of the National Landscape. Several walking trails pass through Hollingbourne; the village’s landscape also includes ancient woodlands with bluebells and meadows. The historic Pilgrim’s Way from Winchester to Canterbury also runs through Hollingbourne. This gives you different route options when planning: walks in the North Downs landscape and a historic route with Winchester and Canterbury as its endpoints.

Circular Routes and Distances

The Hollingbourne East and Hollingbourne West circular routes can be compared directly by distance. East is 8 miles (12.87 km) long, while West is 6 miles (9.66 km). This makes West 2 miles or 3.21 km shorter. If distance is your main selection criterion, the difference is clear: East is the longer loop, and West the shorter one.

Another walking option in the area around Hollingbourne is a waymarked Landscape Trail of just over 4.8 km on the Hucking Estate. It is shorter than both circular routes. The three distances therefore offer a range of options: the trail in the surrounding area, Hollingbourne West and Hollingbourne East.

Half-Timbered Buildings and Architectural History

Eyhorne Street features several notable half-timbered buildings. Eyhorne Manor is a half-timbered house of the Wealden Hall House type, dates from around 1410 and is listed as Grade I. All Saints Church dates from the 14th century. The manor and the church therefore offer different points of reference in time: the manor has an approximate date, while the church is dated to a century. Several other notable half-timbered houses on Eyhorne Street complement these buildings.

The term Wealden Hall House specifies the manor’s classification as a half-timbered house; its Grade I listing denotes its listed status. Together with the half-timbered buildings on Eyhorne Street, this provides more than one point of reference for Hollingbourne’s architectural history.

Visits by Appointment

The historic Culpeper Needlework can be visited by prior arrangement with Val Lurcock. To arrange an appointment, contact Val Lurcock on 01622 880694. If you plan to visit, make arrangements in advance.

Cycling and Routes

North of Leeds Castle, National Cycle Route 17 can be followed along the Pilgrim’s Way through Hollingbourne. A section of the North Downs Way starts at Hollingbourne station and can be travelled on foot or by bicycle. The routes differ: Route 17 is linked to the Pilgrim’s Way and the point north of Leeds Castle; for the North Downs Way, the starting point at the station and both ways of travelling are specified. When planning, you can therefore choose between a specific cycle route and a section that can explicitly be travelled on foot or by bicycle.

Discover more destinations: Clacton-On-Sea, Faversham.

For the regional travel overview: East of England.