The Loose Valley Circular Walk: A Pretty Country Walk Near Maidstone, Kent

Discover the Loose Valley Circular walk: A Pretty Country and Village Walk in Kent.

Being a few months into our military posting in Kent, the time seemed right to get out and about exploring some of the walks in the countryside around our new home. Mr THL and Little Wolf have been away together working for 8 weeks but for now, they’re home. A nice country walk seemed like a lovely way of settling back into life together.

I wanted a route that felt like a good old fashioned country walk without having to drive too far to get to the start of it. The Loose Valley Circular Walk ticked the boxes.

Loose Valley Circular Walk: The Route

If you’re looking for a not-too-challenging countryside walk in Kent, The Loose Valley Circular is a great choice. The scenic 5k walk follows the Loose stream through the countryside and into the pretty village of Loose.

This walk gives the perfect mix of history, countryside views and Kentish village charm. The route is very dog friendly and can be rounded off in the village pub or coffee shop if you fancy it. When it comes to coffee & cake, I always fancy it.

The Loose Valley Circular walk begins & ends by the Chequers Inn pub in the village of Loose. There’s a reasonable amount of free, on-road parking spaces.

Starting from the Chequers Inn, the village pub in the old village of Loose, the walk begins by following the path of the Loose Stream. A tributary of the River Medway, the stream was once famous for the number of watermills found along it’s short course.

Industry on the Loose stream included fulling mills for cleaning and shrinking cloth alongside paper and corn mills. Despite the industrial purpose, the mills could be whimsically named. Leg-O-Mutton Mill and Little Ivy Mill sound straight out of a storybook but were real Loose mills.

The mills and the industries they worked for were pretty much all gone by WW1, but they’ve left a trail. Old mill buildings, foundations and a watery map of old mill ponds and mill races are very much part of the character of this walk.

Moving away from the Loose Stream route then meanders through the outskirts of the village, past pretty houses and into the countryside. The route on the Loose Valley circular walk is a bit of everything- you pass through some enclosed common land used for grazing, woodlands and skirt the edge of some newer build housing.

Alongside the whimsically named mills at the start of the walk, there are also some quirky, Enid Blyton-esque street names. A walk up Teasaucer Hill, anyone?

I knew as I walked the route that this is one we’ll return to. It’s the kind of walk that will be beautiful in different ways in every season. They don’t call Kent the ‘ Garden of England’ for nothing.

Autumn colours were everywhere along the route, from leafy woodland lanes to bold pink and orange berries and even an autumnal wreath on the door of a pretty village home.

If you’ve been reading my blog since the days when I lived in Wiltshire ( well, firstly, thanks you so much. I appreciate you!) you’ll know I used to quite like finding pretty homes to photograph. A practice also known as, ‘property lurking’.

You’ll be seeing a return to that in this post and beyond. Moving back to the English countryside has reignited my love of a little bit of lurking.

True to its name, the Loose Valley Circular walk ends where it began, back by the Chequers Inn. I think a good walk is always best ended with refreshments. Happily for us, Loose village is home to a newly opened coffee shop, The Loose Goose.

If you’re wondering why we picked the coffee shop over the pub, it was a simple matter of timing: an early morning walk meant the Chequers Inn wasn’t open. I’m sure we’ll be back to give it a try.

Getting to the Loose Goose from the parking for this walk involves a five minute walk up a steep-ish hill, but it was worth the effort. I rounded my walk off with coffee and a wedge of lemon drizzle cake, while Mr THL went for a pot of tea and Pastel de Nata style custard tart.

I enjoyed my cake even more after hearing that The Loose Goose is provided with their baked goods by bakers based in the local area. A truly local, independent business.

The Loose Valley Circular Walk Tips

The route is dog friendly, but one section is used for livestock grazing so a short lead is recommended.

Parts of the route are very muddy and/or uneven. Wellies or walking boots are a good idea.

Find the Loose Valley Circular Walk on All Trails, my go-to for walking routes where ever I am in the world.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy this one: Whitchurch Silk Mill & Mill Trail Walk.

Linking up with Jo’s Monday Walk, the online community where we enjoy walks from around the world.

Helen x