'Benenden, or Benendine as it was called is mentioned in the Domesday Book which suggests that it was one of only four places in the Weald to have a church. Starting from St George's Church at the top of the pretty village green in Benenden, this walk was one of our group's contributions to this year's High Weald Walking Festival. 18 people took part, a few Rother regulars and others who had travelled from across the south of England. Our route would focus on the old trackways created by pig farmers who would use these paths when driving their pigs into the woods to feed on acorns. The custom known as 'pannage' is also the reason why towns/villages in the area have the suffix 'den' in the name, indicating that they had begun as the location of camps or clearings cut out of the woodland by the farmers. There were several fine houses and farms on our route, built by wealthy landowners who prospered from the local, cloth and wool manufacturing industries. Probably the most impressive, was Hole Park and its 200 acres of parkland. Currently owned by the Barham family, the estate dates back to 1278 and gets its unusual name from the first owner, Henry de Hole who settled here. Iron was mined here during Roman times, but the industry boomed in the 16th to early 17th centuries making several people very wealthy. All these industries benefitted from the area's plentiful supplies of timber and water used to power the mills, hammers and crushing plant. Some remnants of these remain. Having stopped for a break at Rolvenden church, most of our return route would be along the High Weald Landscape Trail, walking across pasture and open farmland. Interestingly, Gerry who was amongst the group was involved with devising the route of the Trail several years ago, and it was interesting to hear her experiences of dealing with landowners etc. We arrived back at our start point where a cricket match was being played on the green. It was nice to meet people and share the wonderful High Weald countryside with people from outside of the area. My thanks to everyone who attended.........'

'13 of us gathered at Battle Abbey for the first of our weekend walks, 16.2 miles to Rye. It was nice to welcome Kate from Brighton who had caught the early train to join us. We were soon striding down Marley Lane to Great Wood. Having safely avoided the golf balls at a busy Sedlescombe Golf course, we reached Kent Street, then onwards to Westfield. As the countryside opened out in front of us, we continued to Icklesham and the historic town of Winchelsea. From the site of the old windmill, we could see Rye Church in the distance an incentive to push us towards our destination. The section of path from Westfield to Rye had been most enjoyable with fine panoramic views all the way. We arrived in Rye ahead of schedule with time for a coffee before some of the group caught their train home. Others enjoyed a well-earned beer or three in the popular Waterworks Micropub. It was a great end to the day. Unfortunately, the Northiam bus never turned up so Simon and I had to wait another hour in the pub before the next one turned up! ............'

 1066 Walking Trail - Leg 2 - Battle to Pevensey

'Another 09.00 start from a busy Battle which was hosting the annual 10k run. Competitors looked worried when 9 elite Rother athletes turned up but they soon relaxed when they realised we were not competing. This leg to Pevensey was slightly longer than yesterdays. We quickly reached Catsfield before following the wide track through the Normanstons Estate to Stevens Crouch. We stopped for a short break on Tent Hill, admiring the view towards Ashburnham, before continuing to Forge Cottages, then followed the quiet country lane through Brownbread Street. On reaching the high point near Boreham Street, we stopped for our picnic. We enjoyed yet another view of the Weald but enjoyed the conversations even more, covering several topics including the benefits of massage. There was much laughter as some of the group shared their massage experiences! I shall leave it there, 'what happens on a walk, stays on the walk'. Still in a jovial mood we continued on our route, the remainder of which across the Pevensey Levels looked relatively easy but with tiring limbs it proved to be a bit of a slog. We arrived safely at Pevensey Castle having enjoyed a great weekend's walking.......'

On reflection, I believe that it was worth the effort, and everyone enjoyed the challenge of two reasonably long walks on consecutive days. The route is well marked, easy to follow and the paths are well maintained. There are 10 sculptures along the route, but despite sticking to the route, we somehow missed a few. We were fortunate to have excellent weather conditions throughout. Having recently walked Leg 2 in the opposite direction, I'm unsure which is best, start with the Levels or have them at the end, they are a bit boring. It was also nice to finish each day with a pub visit. My thanks to everyone who attended, maintaining a good pace throughout, sharing conversation and supporting and encouraging one another; it was fun. Special thanks to Daphne's husband Alan for transporting people back to Battle. 

7

Twelve of us met at Kilndown church to undertake this 6 mile walk , designed by members of the parishes in honour of the Millenium. It is fair to say that despite having done a recce I was a little unsure of the route , as the recce was done several months ago , in anticipation of the original date of this walk , back in a June . Fortunately however both Neil, who had originally suggested the walk, and Daphne who was also familiar with the footpaths were present , Good job ,as I nearly went the wrong way after 5 minutes ! Once we were on the path ,things went well and we arrived in Goudhurst in good time and without getting rained on . The British weather , true to form , didn’t let us get away with that and the heavens opened on the return. We sheltered under a tree to avoid the worst and retook the group photo in the sunshine at the end . Thanks to all we joined me and in particular thanks to Neil and Daphne for keeping me on the right track …literally !

A mighty 10 of us set off at the earlier time of 09.30 on Bank Holiday Sunday for our morning walk around the Mountfield environs. The forecast was iffy but we were lucky and stayed dry, even when we took our break in the reservoir. We had a good chat about The Banks tea plantation as we passed through, enjoyed the coolness of Darwell Woods and the view from the top field before heading through Glottenham where we went off piste for a shortcut - don't tell Mrs Bennett! The final section up through Mountfield Court park made some of us puff a bit but then it was easy going back to the cars.

ps later in the day I picked up a message from some neighbours who we met along the path, they said that I'd left my car tailgate wide open in the car park and they'd closed it for me 😳 How lovely it is to be looked after, my thanks to Paul and Tammy for that and to my walking buddies for their company.