The Village of Wye

A large and thriving Kent Village

wye kent
The Village Centre looking toward St.Gregory and St>artin's Church

Wye is a fairly large Village just to the north of Ashford and west of the A28. It has a thriving community with a popular Primary School, good Pubs, a Farmer's Market and busy Railway Station.

The Village dates back to Roman times when a Fort was erected close by to host travellers making their way to Dover and beyond.
This feature of the time was extended when it became part of the Pilgrims Way.

Many of the Houses in the centre of the Village appear Regency but these hide up the medieval interiors. One presumes the people in Regency times had their own restoration plan!

For many years Wye has been known for it's College which until recently was part of the Imperial College. With great sadness to local people they decided to pull out of Wye in 2009 and since then it has become a somewhat sad and derelict place and looking a bit like a scene from the BBC 'Survivors' series. The good news is that the original place of learning, founded in 1447 by Cardinal Kemp, is a listed building and is a splendid feature of the Village.

It has recently been proposed to use some of the buildings to host a new 'Free School', something of which is a big talking point amongst local residents.

Regardless of that, Wye is still a beautiful Village and tucked directly under the North Downs is a terrific place to start challenging or simpler walks. A good walk is eastwards along the lower part of the hill and taking a footpath up to Hastingleigh, on to Crundale, past the Wye Cross and return to the Village from there, all in all about 10 miles.

On top of the Downs there are extensive views accross the Romney Marshes to Pett Level and eastwards to Folkestone. On a clear day, there are few better places.

Although the Forest has long gone, the Village is blessed with much surrounding woodland ideal for both walking and cycling - and not too hilly!


A cycle ride up the North Downs is good - as long as you're fit!

Useful Links - Wikipedia - http://www.wye.org/ - Wye Downs Walk

By train, Wye is an hour from London St.Pancreas and 1hr 30mins from London Charing Cross.

There are regular Bus services from both Ashford and Canterbury.


wye college
Wye College

tickle trout pub in wye
The Tickled Trout Public House

River Stour Wye
Another shot of the River Stour next to the Railway Station
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