00:00Between Benenden and Cranbrook in the Weald of Kent lies Hempstead Forest. There are around five
00:11miles of hard surface road and unsurface tracks across almost 400 hectares of woodland which
00:18houses a mixture of conifer and broadleaf trees. The car park is just off Goddard's Green Road.
00:27After a 20% incline to start the walk the path dips and rises as you head towards a large open
00:35area. You really are out and about in nature on this walk but, and there is a but, there are no
00:43loos or baby changing facilities at the start or anywhere during the walk so when nature calls
00:49for baby or indeed yourself you really are out in the open.
00:57The hard stone surface is coarse in places with occasional potholes and generally diminishes
01:12on route.
01:24Shortly before reaching a farmhouse you'll find a community planting area where trees blew
01:29down in the great storm of 1987 and where members of the local community sought to bring it back
01:36to its former glory. It's also a good spot for a change in a feed if you have little ones.
01:51Once past the farmhouse go to the left of the barrier until you reach a T-junction where you turn right
01:57and continue along the first road until reaching a fork in the road.
02:04So we pulled over to the side of the track for a little break, more for Daddy than for Ali it must be said, and it's just occurred to me that we're doing this walk around the five year anniversary of lockdown coming in and the world is a completely different place to what it was in 2020 and now Ali is front and centre of our worlds and it's been five years since we
02:21started doing these walks and they take on a whole new meaning now being out in nature reflecting on the world around us and seeing the world from his perspective is quite an incredible experience and amazing adventure for us all to be on.
02:36Take the left hand fork bearing immediately to the right and continue ahead to a barrier.
03:06At which point retrace your steps back to the car park.
03:18This style free walk set amongst the high wheeled area of outstanding natural beauty is great for families and a perfect place to connect with the outdoors.
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