or How to fill your catchment with contiguous walking routes

Following on from the success of their “Walks for Elham” mapboard project, Elham Walkers are Welcome Group are well along the path of devising a contiguous, jigsaw pattern of superb walking routes that will cover the whole of the Elham Valley, the catchment area of the sometimes mighty Nailbourne.

The area covered will stretch from the North Downs Way in the South to the southeastern boundary of Canterbury in the North. You can see how this will work on the composite map provided: the Elham walks (E1 to E6) now have a noticeboard all of their own in The Square with a QR code for easy downloading: most maps are downloaded from Elham’s website https://elhamvalleywalkers.co.uk and in case there is any doubt about their popularity,  records show that 4,056 maps with guides have been downloaded over the last year. This remarkable demand for walking opportunities has almost certainly been boosted by those seeking fresh air and exercise during the worst periods of the Covid pandemic., a trend that has been noticed elsewhere in the WaW network. 

Elham’s Map North project is nearly completed, this will cover the area around an axis from Bridge to Barham including Bishopsbourne and Kingston. The composite map shows these walks as N1 to N6 and a northern ring walk of around 20 miles will provide a seventh walk for the more ambitious walkers.

To the south of the valley, they have designed another seven walks (S1 to S6 and a Lyminge Ring) centred on Lyminge village, and,  if  their small group of volunteers finds the time and all goes well, this should be completed before the end of the year. Lyminge Parish Council has been most helpful with their support for this facility.

Their hope is that, with the help of these maps and the integrated route guides, those living in and around the Elham Valley will be able to enjoy exploring the whole of the Nailbourne catchment, and also that post-Covid visitors will flock to the valley and make good use of the local shops, pubs, tea rooms, and other businesses.

The completed noticeboards are being installed see website illustration https://elhamvalleywalkers.co.uk/elham-walks/