Pilgrims Way guided walk
| country: | England |
| location: | Kent |
| trip type: | Introductory / moderate walking holidays |
| departures: | All year round - subject to availibility |
| price: | From £589 (6 days) excluding flights, based on 2 people sharing. Single supplement £19 per night. Price includes breakfasts and locally sourced packed lunches |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
Walking the Pilgrims’ Way; Guided Walk: This guided group tour is a linear walk that follows the ancient Pilgrims’ Way between Rochester to Canterbury. Each day of the walk is packed with history as it follows one of the oldest routes in the country. This walk is from historic Rochester Cathedral (only 45 minutes by train from London) to the magnificent walled city and Cathedral of Canterbury. On average you cover 10 miles each day and your guide is on hand and walks with you each day. Accommodation is in specially chosen small, independent Inns and local B&Bs along the way.
Based on our national charity walks, a large part of this tour takes the route used by pilgrims in the Middle Ages. The tour follows Kent's rural highways and by-ways, enabling the walker to discover the hidden secrets of this ancient county. The journey along the North Downs takes you through some of the oldest and finest villages in Kent. The journey takes you along the ridge of the North Downs, with spectacular views across the Weald.
It also follows the sheltered slopes of the ancient track-way and passes some of the earliest areas of settlement in England and visits sites such as the Neolithic megalith Kits Coty. The walk also visits Leeds castle, which is considered to be the most beautiful castle in England.
You will pass through the picturesque hamlet of Harbledown, mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and follow in the footsteps of Henry II as he made his walk into Canterbury as penance for the death of Beckett. The route passes through the Iron-Age hill fort at Bigbury where Cæser fought the Belgæ in 54 BC. This is a six day, five night walk packed with history on each day of the walk. Whether you take a self-led tour or a guided tour, your tracker will help you get the most out of your walk.
Guided Pilgrims Way Tour
This is the ideal holiday for those who wish to with walk with a guide and benefit from their local knowledge. Accommodation is in small independent guest houses and inns with plenty of historic character. Your luggage is transferred by Land Rover each day and the package includes breakfast and locally sourced packed lunches. We ensure that local Inns and restaurants are open in the village where you are staying on each night of your journey, where you can enjoy your evening meal.
Based on our national charity walks, a large part of this tour takes the route used by pilgrims in the Middle Ages. The tour follows Kent's rural highways and by-ways, enabling the walker to discover the hidden secrets of this ancient county. The journey along the North Downs takes you through some of the oldest and finest villages in Kent. The journey takes you along the ridge of the North Downs, with spectacular views across the Weald.
It also follows the sheltered slopes of the ancient track-way and passes some of the earliest areas of settlement in England and visits sites such as the Neolithic megalith Kits Coty. The walk also visits Leeds castle, which is considered to be the most beautiful castle in England.
You will pass through the picturesque hamlet of Harbledown, mentioned in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and follow in the footsteps of Henry II as he made his walk into Canterbury as penance for the death of Beckett. The route passes through the Iron-Age hill fort at Bigbury where Cæser fought the Belgæ in 54 BC. This is a six day, five night walk packed with history on each day of the walk. Whether you take a self-led tour or a guided tour, your tracker will help you get the most out of your walk.
Guided Pilgrims Way Tour
This is the ideal holiday for those who wish to with walk with a guide and benefit from their local knowledge. Accommodation is in small independent guest houses and inns with plenty of historic character. Your luggage is transferred by Land Rover each day and the package includes breakfast and locally sourced packed lunches. We ensure that local Inns and restaurants are open in the village where you are staying on each night of your journey, where you can enjoy your evening meal.
accommodation
Quality Local Inn and B&B Accommodation: We have gone out of our way to make sure that all the Inns and B&B accommodation we use welcomes walkers. You will find them to be friendly, with good cooking and comfortable bedrooms. B&B accommodation is located near to places of interest along the route and within walking distance of restaurants and public houses. All bookings include evening meals, breakfast and packed lunches. Your luggage will be transported by your guides to your next destination. travellers' tales
Excellent, good fun and very rewarding.....Definitely minimal impact on the environment. Local publicans certainly benefited as well. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
 For the 3 years running we have been awarded Silver accreditation under the Green Tourism Buisness Scheme (GTBS) as a tour operator promoting sustainable tourism in the South east of England. We are a family run operator based in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). We are committed to operating a Responsible Travel Policy (RTP) that is supportive and in sympathy with the local communities and environment. This is in line with the stated aims on all our holidays which invites its customers to ‘discover hidden Kent, its history and its people’. We actively encourage all customers to use public transport to access the Kent Downs (AONB).We advise customers where they can purchase locally produced food and produce along the route of their walk and encourage them to use local services. We also actively encourage customers to visit local social projects such as the Elham Valley Vineyards, run by the Vale of Elham Trust that provides work opportunities for people with learning disabilities. We also have encouraged people to walk the North Downs Way for the benefit of nationally recognised charities. Since 2002 we have organised charity walks on behalf of the Children’s Society, John Grooms and Christian Aid. These charities have reported that they have raised £42,000 through walks led by us. In addition we are committed to an on-going reduction of its energy usage inline with the Annual Environmental Energy Plan (AEEP) for the business. We are committed to using recycled products wherever this can be accommodated within the needs of the business and will continue to adhere to its off-road 4x4 policy and continue to publicise the reasons to all customers. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |