Let the Battle Commence - Bossenden Wood

The self-styled Sir William Courtenay fought the battle of Bossenden Wood on May 31st 1838 and despite his claim to immortality he was killed and his body and that of the officer he killed, and some of his followers, were laid in the stable room of the Red Lion at Dunkirk. The fight was uneven with the revolutionaries, mostly poor farm workers (peasants) armed with clubs and farm implements opposing the soldiers who were armed with muskets. The battle was short and bloody with Sir William starting the affray off by shooting an officer when supposedly approaching the army in a manner of truce. Oops!

To the right at the top is a view of the farmland looking toward Victory Wood and Denstroude Farm which featured a little in the Peasant's last stand. To the right on the bottom is the woodland where the battle was fought. Bear in mind that the Blean Woods were used for placing cattle to be sent to market in Canterbury and also that coppicing has been carried out there for centuries and is still done to this day.

More about the modern Red Lion later but in the meantime let us take a walk. Park at the pub or near it and, bearing in mind it opens at twelve o'clock, you could time your walk perhaps to go up the road from the pub and walk to the entrance - you ignore the smaller paths and take the main one which will take you to a fork where the paths divide, one to go to Bossenden farm (the right fork) and the other which will take a longer route to Denstroude Farm (the left fork). The left fork will take you up to the pollarded oak which is worth going to as there is a bench seat placed there and it is a pleasant place for a picnic lunch.

I suggest taking the right fork and returning by the downhill route via the Denstroude Farm. It is easier to avoid going the wrong way. You have to follow the black markers but be careful because they belong to the Blean Woods walks. For information about the walk on line type in The Battle Bossenden Woods and or type in : www.kent.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/...FDE0.../walkleafletblean3.pdf - and get a copy of the walk itself. (circular walk number 3)

Which brings me to the Red Lion. I will say that for decor and historic interest the pub has a lot going for it but as far as my experience goes there is little else for the traveller who wants to stop for lunch, have a pint and take a walk. The landlord, who was willing to talk but not that interested, admitted that the pub was more of an evening pub and although it did B&B it was not always offering lunches although the impression from the outside was that it did.

I got the impression that the landlord was a bit short sighted and missing out on a clientele regarding the Bossenden Woods. Anyway he treated me well enough and allowed me to take his picture.

Inside the restaurant area there are momento's of the Courtenay incident with copies of The Times reports of the day and pictures of the men in their temporary morgue. Mine Host was knowledgeable about Sir William and he is worth listening to. I have to say also that his beer was 'jolly good'.

I suggest an afternoon's walk or if you are going to do the walk in the morning and would like lunch - served until 2:30 then you should give the landlord a call on 01227 750224 and warn him of your arrival. Either that or make it a long afternoon and call in for the early evening.

A quick 'snap' of the pictures.

I elected to walk the long way around and after sitting for while at the oak tree dining on fruit, an apple and an orange and blackberries gathered on the way, I set off back on the what I thought was the route. Wrong! My detour took me toward Harbledown and the main road - which is why I suggest going the opposite way around the track to avoid any confusion - the compensation for which was meeting with two brothers who were shifting wood. It was persisting down and so one of them gave me a ride in his Landrover to the main road. From him I learned of the unusual breed of German horses reared there and of odd sheep kept on the heath. He also told me about the birds we are likely to see including Red Kite! Now, if I had not wnadered off I would not have known that, and I would have missed some beautiful woodland as well.

On the whole it was a good afternoon out despite the bloody rain.