I was introduced to this Oldbury/Ightham Mote/Stone Street circular route recently by a friend, who has a weathered book of Kent walks. In the book it starts at Ightham Mote National Trust car park, but that is no longer available to walkers (you have to book a ticket to visit the Mote now). So this one starts at the NT car park on Oldbury Hill, in Styants Bottom Lane just off the A25. It’s got some fantastic woodland and right now, brilliant lavender fields high on the Greensand Ridge, but these are due to be harvested by the end of the month so don’t delay if you like the sweet-smelling purple stuff. There are no stiles but there are some short steep sections, one – on Raspit Hill – has giant steps probably put in to prevent erosion rather than to assist walkers. I found them tough on my post-cruciate ligament twang knees. It’s a lovely stroll with a hilltop fort from prehistory. Beautiful Ightham Mote is a short detour, St Lawrence’s Church is a great spot and there are a few nice hamlets and decent views. It’s a mile longer than most of the walks on this site, but it doesn’t feel long if you know what I mean. The picture above is of Point 6, just before entering the Oldbury Hill hillfort woods. There is a GPX map here… ignore the chequered flag, the result of me recording the route ending at Ightham Mote instead of Oldbury Hill. Below is a Google Maps representation of the route… it’s an odd shape isn’t it, but hey…