Groombridge Walks - Groombridge Place
The village of Groombridge is located on the border between Kent and East Sussex. It's in in a great spot for walking with the countryside of the High Weald AONB and the grounds of Groombridge Place to explore.
This circular walk from the village starts near the train station and follows the waymarked Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk to Groombridge place. Here you'll find beautiful gardens surrounding a moated manor house. There are a series of award winning gardens with delightful features such as a moat, streams and herbaceous borders. Highlights include the Secret Garden with blue agapanthus, foxgloves and gazania. The Oriental Garden has Japanese maples and an unusual grass fountain at its centre. The Knot Garden has a lovely pathway bordered by Yew Trees and a giant chessboard opposite.
Wildlife is an important aspect of Groombridge Place. There are resident peacocks, goats, sheep, chickens, turkeys, piglets, alpacas, reindeer and Shetland ponies. There is also a zedonk - an unusual creature that is half donkey, half zebra. In the woodland section you should look out for deer.
The Raptor Centre puts on magnificent flying displays featuring feature eagles, hawks, owls and falcons and takes place at 12.30pm and 3.30 pm.
The 17th century manor was used Longbourn (home of the Bennets) for the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who lived in nearby Crowboroug, was a regular visitor to Groombridge Place. He used the house and gardens in some of his Sherlock Holmes stories and also took part in séances at the manor.
After exploring the gardens you can follow alternative footpaths past the River Grom and back to the village centre.
The Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk runs past the house so you could pick this trail up to continue your walk into the surrounding countryside.
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Groombridge Place Gardens Ordnance Survey Map 
- view and print off detailed OS map
Groombridge Place Gardens Open Street Map 
- view and print off detailed map
Groombridge Place Gardens OS Map 
- Mobile GPS OS Map with Location tracking
Groombridge Place Gardens Open Street Map 
- Mobile GPS Map with Location tracking
Pubs/Cafes
Head to the Crown Inn for some refreshments after your walk. It's located in a great spot just across the road from Groombridge Place. The historic 16th century pub is one of the oldest in the South of England. There's a charming interior with a cosy beamed restaurant and log fires. They do high quality food and can be found at a postcode of TN3 9QH for your sat navs.
Dog Walking
Only guide dogs and assistance dogs are admitted into all facilities in Groombridge Place but the other public footpaths on the route are fine for dog walking. The Crown Inn mentioned above is dog friendly.
Further Information and Other Local Ideas
Just to the south of the village you can pick up the High Weald Landscape Trail and use it to explore the countryside and woods of the High Weald AONB.
The Forest Way starts/ends at the village. This shared cycling and walking trail runs along a disuses railway line to nearby Forest Row and East Grinstead.
The expansive Ashdown Forest is also not far from the village.
The circular Speldhurst Walk visits the gardens from the nearby village. The interesting settlement includes an ancient pub dating back 1212.
For more walking ideas in the area see the Kent Walks and High Weald Walks pages.
Cycle Routes and Walking Routes Nearby
Photos
Moat, Groombridge Place
Ivy Cottage, Groombridge Place. Grade I listed
Groombridge House. A 17th Century brick mansion in its own parkland of avenues and garden terraces. Looking diagonally across the moat.
Beached boats, Groombridge House. These two boats are beside a canal in Groombridge House Gardens. They carry (in the summer months) visitors along the canal in the estate. Usually from the house to the 'Enchanted Gardens' and back. The building on the left is the boat house, storage for the boats when 'in season'. The beech hedges behind the boats contain the older garden rooms.
Village cottages. This brick lane runs between the pretty old cottages and the village green towards the Crown Inn. The cottages are tile-hung.
Garden at Groombridge Place
Moat at the house. This mediaeval moat is fed by the Kent Water, a medway tributary, and surrounds the 17th Century mansion. Wistaria is in bloom in the foreground and the formal terraced garden is beyond the moat.
The Crown Inn, Groombridge. An old pub of brick with tile-hung upper storey on the village green. In the foreground is the church graveyard - separated from the pub by a road behind the wooden fence.