Tyland Barn

National Cycle Route 17 is part of the United Kingdom's National Cycle Network. It presently runs southwards from Rochester, via Maidstone to Ashford where it links with National Cycle Route 18. The route is open and is signed between Rochester and Maidstone, with the rest due for development. It leads from Rochester, via mainly minor roads, towards Blue Bell Hill, where it meets the North Downs Way (long distance footpath), both routes follow the Pilgrim's Way to Detling. There is also a spur line down to the county town of Maidstone. The Pilgrim's Cycle Trail carries on towards Hollingbourne, after which it becomes traffic free towards (above Harrietsham, then via minor roads to Charing. It then heads to Westwell, Kent, and then via traffic-free route to Ashford, via Kennington, Kent. In Ashford, it meets National Route 18 heading to the town centre, the route then heads out of Ashford via Sevington. In future, it will continue to the south coast, through Bonnington and then (near Newchurch, Kent), it will link with National Cycle Route 2 between Folkestone and Lydd. Heading west, it will follow the approximate line of the North Downs Way National Trail entering Surrey.

The White Horse Stone is a name given to two separate sarsen megaliths east of Blue Bell Hill, near the hamlet of Sandling and the village of Aylesford, north of Maidstone, in the south-eastern English county of Kent. The Lower White Horse Stone was destroyed prior to 1834, at which time the surviving Upper White Horse Stone took on its name and folkloric associations. Various archaeologists have suggested—although not proven—that the stones were each part of chambered long barrows constructed in the fourth millennium BC, during Britain's Early Neolithic period. If the White Horse Stones were originally components of chambered long barrows, then they would have been erected by pastoralist communities shortly after the introduction of agriculture to Britain from continental Europe. Long-barrow building was an architectural tradition widespread across Neolithic Europe although comprised various localised regional variants; one of these was in the vicinity of the River Medway, examples of which are now known as the Medway Megaliths. The White Horse Stones lie on the eastern side of the river, along with the chambered long barrows of Little Kit's Coty House, Kit's Coty House, the (now destroyed) Smythe's Megalith, and the Coffin Stone, which may be a part of a fourth. Three other examples, the Coldrum Long Barrow, Addington Long Barrow, and Chestnuts Long Barrow, remain on the western side of the river. Excavation has revealed the existence of an Early Neolithic longhouse near to the stone. By the 19th century, antiquarians were speculating that the Lower White Horse Stone may have taken its name from the White Horse of Kent, which they in turn believed was the flag of the legendary fifth-century Anglo-Saxon warriors Hengest and Horsa. Subsequent historical research has not accepted this interpretation. After the stone was destroyed, the stories associated with it were transposed to a nearby sarsen boulder, which became known as the Upper White Horse Stone. Since at least the 1980s, the latter has been viewed as a sacred site by various Folkish Heathen groups, including the Odinic Rite, because of its folkloric associations with Hengest and Horsa and the Anglo-Saxon Migration. As well as performing rituals there, they have opposed vandalism of the stone and campaigned to stop development in the vicinity.

Smythe's Megalith, also known as the Warren Farm Chamber, was a chambered long barrow east of Blue Bell Hill, north of Maidstone, in the south-eastern English county of Kent, close to Aylesford village and the hamlet of Sandling. Probably constructed in the 4th millennium BCE, during Britain's Early Neolithic period, it was discovered in 1822, at which point it was dismantled. Built out of earth and at least five local sarsen megaliths, the long barrow consisted of a roughly rectangular earthen tumulus with a stone chamber in its eastern end. Human remains were deposited into this chamber. Archaeologists have established that the monument was built by pastoralist communities shortly after the introduction of agriculture to Britain from continental Europe. Although representing part of an architectural tradition of long barrow building widespread across Neolithic Europe, Smythe's Megalith belonged to a localised regional variant produced in the vicinity of the River Medway, now known as the Medway Megaliths. Several of the Medway Megaliths still survive: Coldrum Long Barrow, Addington Long Barrow, and Chestnuts Long Barrow are on the river's western side, while Kit's Coty House, the Little Kit's Coty House, and the Coffin Stone are on the eastern side nearer to Smythe's Megalith. Close to the site of the lost monument is the White Horse Stone, a standing stone that may have once been part of another chambered long barrow. The site may have been ransacked during the Middle Ages, as other Medway Megaliths were. By the early 19th century it was buried beneath soil, largely due to millennia of hillwash coming down from the adjacent Blue Bell Hill. In 1822, it was discovered by farm labourers ploughing the land; the local antiquarians Clement Smythe and Thomas Charles were called in to examine it. Shortly after, the labourers pulled away the stones and dispersed most of the human remains, destroying the monument. Smythe and Charles produced, but did not publish, reports on their findings, and these have been discussed by archaeologists since the mid-20th century.

Boxley Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Sandling, near Maidstone in Kent, England. It sits at the foot of the North Downs and falls within the parish of Boxley. The abbey was founded around 1146 CE by William of Ypres, leader of King Stephen of England's Flemish mercenaries, and populated by monks from Clairvaux Abbey in Ville-sous-la-Ferté, France. Its ruins can be found north of Maidstone, just northeast of the M20-A229 Sandling Interchange.

Sandling is a hamlet to the north of the town of Maidstone, Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It falls within the parish of Boxley. Notable buildings in the hamlet include the remains of the twelfth century Boxley Abbey, the Hospitium or Boxley Abbey Barn, the fifteenth century gatehouse chapel of St Andrew's, the headquarters of the Kent Wildlife Trust at Tyland Barn, and Kent Life open-air museum. Sandling's sign was erected to mark Boxley Parish Council’s centenary (1895-1995) and is based on ideas submitted by Sandling County Primary School pupils in 1993. It depicts Boarley Oast, the North Downs, the River Medway and Tyland Barn. Several Stone Age sites border the hamlet, including Kit's Coty House, Little Kit's Coty House, Smythe's Megalith, the Coffin Stone and the White Horse Stone. The fields in and around Sandling are primarily used for viticulture. Winemakers Chapel Down tend 156 acres of vines at Boarley Farm.

Kent Life (formerly the Museum of Kent Life) is an English open-air museum located at Sandling near Maidstone, next to Allington Locks on the east bank of the River Medway.

Westfield Wood is a 5-hectare (12-acre) nature reserve north of Maidstone in Kent, which is managed by the Kent Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific Interest and Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I. It is also in the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Medway Valley Walk follows the River Medway from Rochester to Tonbridge. Above Allington, it follows the bank of the Medway Navigation. It starts on the Saxon Shore Way at Rochester. The North Downs Way crosses the Medway Valley Walk at the eastern end of the Medway Viaduct or motorway bridge. The Greensand Way crosses the walk at Yalding. At West Peckham, it is joined by the Wealdway which continues through to Tonbridge, thus linking with the Eden Valley Walk. Th entire walk is 44.8 km The Maidstone Millennium River Park is a 10 kilometre (6 mi) stretch from Teston Country Park to the Museum of Kent Life at Sandling. It follows the walk. The park was built between 1998 and 2001; it has transformed 18 acres (7.3 ha) of wasteland and led to the construction of three new footbridges over the river all accessible from the walk. A major part of the park is Whatman Park in the centre of Maidstone.

Allington Castle is a stone castle in Allington, Kent, just north of Maidstone, in England. The first castle on the site was an unauthorised fortification, built during "The Anarchy" (1135–1153) and torn down later in the century when royal control was reasserted. It was replaced by a manor house, which was fortified with royal permission in the 13th century. Various alterations and expansions were made by successive owners over the following two centuries. The property was developed into a fortified compound with six towers at irregular intervals along the curtain wall and domestic buildings in the interior, including one of the first long galleries built in England. In 1554 it was seized by the Crown in the course of dispossessing its owner, Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger, after the failure of his rebellion against Queen Mary. The castle entered a state of decay that was accelerated by fires, neglect and vandalism, until it was largely ruined by the start of the 20th century. It was saved and restored by the efforts of Sir Martin Conway and his wife during the first half of the century. After nearly 50 years of occupation by a community of Carmelite friars and nuns, it returned to being a private residence in 1999 and is currently the home of Sir Robert Worcester, the founder of the MORI polling company. It is a grade I listed building and is used as a wedding venue, though there is no public access other than occasional tours involving trips from Maidstone town centre on the Kentish Lady river boat.

The Lower Bell is a pub on the A229 Blue Bell Hill, between Chatham and Maidstone in Kent. It is located at the edge of the North Downs where the A229 meets the Pilgrims' Way.A pub has existed in the general area since around 1790, when the A229 was a turnpike road for coaches. The map maker and artist Paul Sandby painted A Distant View of Maidstone, from Lower Bell Inn, Boxley Hill in 1802, which depicts a view of the town from the pub. It is marked at its current location on a large-scale 1832 map of Kent. The current building was constructed in 1865.The purpose of the bell was for travellers to warn others further up the hill of their presence, as the road was too narrow for two teams of coach and horses to pass each other. There was a corresponding pub at the top of the hill called The Upper Bell, which would ring in response. The Upper Bell was demolished in 2013.The Lower Bell is cited as a location for a common ghost story, which originates from a fatal car accident involving a bride-to-be on the A229 outside the premises in November 1965. The typical story involves the apparition of a young woman attempting to hitch a lift outside the pub into the centre of Maidstone or another local village, who subsequently vanishes en route. A local journalist attempted to verify the story for the Maidstone Gazette in 1968, but was unable to find any suitable eyewitnesses after months of research. In 2015, on the fiftieth anniversary of the accident, a paranormal enthusiasts' group met in the Lower Bell to discuss the various ghost stories. A short film, entitled The Ghost of Blue Bell Hill, was shot around the premises.Live music is a regular feature at the Lower Bell. The pub runs a jam session every Monday.

Boxley Warren is a 83-hectare (210-acre) Local Nature Reserve north of Maidstone in Kent. It is privately owned and managed by Maidstone Borough Council. It is part of North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and Wouldham to Detling Escarpment Site of Special Scientific InterestThis site is yew woodland with diverse fauna and flora. It includes the White Horse Stone, a Neolithic standing stone which is a Scheduled Monument.There is access from the North Downs Way.

Wouldham to Detling Escarpment is a 311.2-hectare (769-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest which stretches from Wouldham to Detling, north of Maidstone in Kent. Part of it is a Geological Conservation Review site, and it is part of the North Downs Woodlands Special Area of Conservation and the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a Nature Conservation Review site, Grade I and it includes three Kent Wildlife Trust nature reserves and a Local Nature Reserve,This stretch of chalk escarpment has woodland, unimproved grassland and scrub. Plants include the nationally rare meadow clary and there are several scarce invertebrates. There are many Mesozoic fossil fishes in an excellent state of preservation.