Kent - The North Downs Way
Explore the Kent Downs by bike
Explore the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - a nationally protected landscape stretching from the white cliffs of Dover to the Surrey and London border - with a bike ride along the Kent Downs Way.
With ancient bluebell woodlands, rugged chalk cliffs, meandering rivers, internationally rare chalk grassland, traditional orchards, hop gardens, and picture-postcard villages, there's beauty everywhere you look.
Really get away from it all on one of Kent’s long distance trails: The 156-mile (246km), ridge-top North Downs Way is 153 miles (246 km) of spectacular scenery, picturesque villages and glorious countryside, easily accessible from London. Chalk peeps from the soil beneath your wheels and magnificent wide-horizon views frame your route.
You’ll discover history every step of the way: there are eight castles, three cathedrals, three archbishops’ palaces and numerous stately homes and gardens close to the trail.
Running from Farnham to Canterbury and the White Cliffs of Dover, the route passes through two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs, and along the famous Pilgrims Way from Winchester to Canterbury.
The rolling farmland and ancient woodland of the Kent Downs - said to have inspired countless artists and poets - has masses to offer cyclists and walkers. ‘Down in Kent’ really resonates as you head deeper and deeper into this rural landscape rich in wildlife and rural vistas. Farming here is thriving, and the undulating landscape is covered in orchards, hedgerows and bluebell woods with some of the richest arrays of orchids and other chalk-loving plants in the UK.
