​THANET GAZETTE WONDROUS WALKS 6

MINSTER VILLAGE CIRCULAR

It’s the time of year when dark evenings and the rush and bustle of one year’s end and the beginning of the new can make life seem hectic. Traffic jams, garish lights, crowds and the crush of shopping seems far from the quiet of a warm fireside or a waiting countryside with dormant fields white with frost giving rest to passing flocks of geese or lapwing. Yet they are still there. Between the rain and winds there have been several bright, crisp sunny days recently and there will be more.

Leave the crowds, lace up those boots, slip into a warm coat and head out for a walk. We are back to sample the splendid countryside around Minster village once again. This is a figure of eight walk which starts from the railway station, loops off to the east, then returns close to the station to explore the paths off to the west. If time is limited stroll around half the walk, or stop off at the Bell for a break in the middle.

There are excellent views on the eastern section, surprisingly quiet and secluded paths, and the attractive old village centre around the parish church and abbey.

THANET GAZETTE

WONDROUS WALK 6

MINSTER VILLAGE CIRCULAR

Start: Minster Railway Station

Length/Time: 4 miles/2 hours

Map: OS Explorer 150 Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet

Taking care: Mainly on paths and farm tracks with some field walking which may be uneven and muddy. There are several stiles on this walk. The walk crosses several railway lines. Check both ways before crossing. Do not cross if a train is in sight. Do not step on rails or gaps. Wear stout, waterproof shoes and take clothes to protect against rain and cold.

Parking: On road near Minster Station. There is a public car park near the Bell pub.

Refreshments: Minster has the full range of village shops for food and snacks. The Bell public house is close to the start of the walk and serves food. There is a toilet in the public car park.

1. From Minster Railway Station car park walk up the road straight ahead with the parish church over on your left. At the top reach a T-junction. Turn right here for a short distance (it’s best to cross over to the path on the other side). Pass the gates of Minster abbey on your left. Just around the corner ahead, by Durlock Lodge, turn right (with care) over the road into Rivers Court. At the entrance gate, bear left onto a grassy footpath with a stream down on your right.

2. Follow this pleasant enclosed path along, and over a footbridge, to meet the railway. Go on past Minster Signal Box and follow the path to a stile and railway crossing. Cross and continue across a wooded area to a further stile and rail crossing (the line to Sandwich). Cross to emerge into a field.

3. Turn left along the field edge for a short way with the railway on your left. At a corner bear right away from the railway still following the field edge with reeds and a ditch on your left. In a short distance meet a wide farm track. Turn left on this and follow it along to meet the railway again. Continue along by the railway looking out for a metal fieldgate and stile on your left leading to a railway crossing. Turn left here over the railway.

4. At the far side turn left onto a concrete farm track and follow this all the way back to meet the end of Durlock lane. Walk down to the junction with the main road at the far end. Cross to the pavement and bear left along the road with the abbey wall on your right. At the Bell pub, where the road swings right, turn left a few paces then off right along a side road by a restaurant.

5. Follow the road a short distance. Where it swings right look for an enclosed path on the left and follow this along to emerge into a playing field on the right. Turn left along the edge of the playing field and go through a children’s play area to a track. Turn right uphill passing an allweather pitch on the right and a bowling club. Immediately past a cottage on the left, turn left onto a footpath going along the top edge of a field.

6. Follow this along past a new estate of houses on your right then on with a hedge on your right. Where the hedge ends keep on across the open field towards an isolated house ahead. Eventually pass the house on your left. Immediately turn left on a track passing the house garden down on your left. Soon bear right on the track, away from the garden, between young trees, with fields on either side.

7. At the far end emerge on the driveway to Sheriff’s Court. Go left a couple of paces then left again, off the drive, to go along a field edge with a stream down on your left. Follow the field edge for some way as it weaves around. At the far end of the field, turn right, still along the edge, to the next corner with a railway just ahead.

8. Here turn left and follow a path enclosed between bushes, with the railway on your right. Eventually emerge onto a narrow road by the gateway to a campsite. This is Watchester Lane. Go straight ahead along the lane for a good distance. At a T-junction at the far end turn left then immediately right to return to Minster Station and the start of the walk.