Ten Boxing Day walks near Dartford, from the Heath to the ford at Eynsford, with gate times, parking and which pubs open. Updated November 2026.
Dartford has ten Boxing Day walks worth putting your boots on for in 2026, and this guide puts them in one place with distances, start points, gate times and what is open on the day. The pick for a pub at the end is the Darent Valley: the mills and meadows circular finishes by The Lion in Farningham, open all day on Boxing Day, and the ford at Eynsford has The Plough and a castle that opens from 10am. Closer to home, Dartford Heath and Joyden’s Wood need no booking at all. Every pub and park was checked against its own website on 11 November 2026.
Boxing Day 2026 is a Saturday, and the bank holiday moves to Monday 28 December. A few things change on the day:
- Light. The sun sets just before 4pm, so start by 1pm for anything over four miles.
- Gates. Dartford Borough Council locks Central Park from 5.45pm and Darenth Country Park from 5pm all December. Kent County Council’s Lullingstone car park locks just after sunset.
- Trains. Southeastern ran no trains on Boxing Day last year and has not published its 2026 plans. Our Christmas trains page has the detail and will be updated when the timetables are out.
- Pubs. Only two pubs on these routes publish Boxing Day plans so far, and both want a deposit. Others along the valley may open but say nothing yet; ring first.
- Mud. The Darent Valley paths run over chalk and river meadow and are wet all winter. Wear boots.
In town, no car needed
1. Central Park and the Darent riverside
The walk to start from your front door. The River Darent runs through the middle of Central Park, and Dartford Borough Council says roach, bream, pike and eels live in this stretch; there is a wildflower meadow and an orchard behind the yew hedge.
The park is on the Darent Valley Path, so a loop of the park can be stretched south along the river towards Hawley as far as the light allows. The council unlocks the gates at 6am and starts locking at 5.45pm throughout December.
The park cafe and visitor centre has not published Christmas hours.
Open gates 6am; locking from 5.45pm all December
Walk park loop, extendable south on the Darent Valley Path
Address entrances off Market Street, Lowfield Street, Cranford Road, Princes Road and Darenth Road, DA1 1EU
Call 01322 229949 (park cafe)
Website dartford.gov.uk/parks-open-spaces-1/visit-parks-open-spaces-3/2
Good for no car needed, river, buggies, children
2. The Darent Valley Path from the Thames
The long-distance path starts on the banks of the Thames at Dartford and follows the river for 19 miles through the Kent Downs National Landscape to the hills above Sevenoaks, according to Explore Kent, which lists it as suitable for dogs. On a normal weekend the trick is to walk one stretch and take the train back from Farningham Road, Eynsford or Otford; with no trains expected on Boxing Day, treat it as an out-and-back from town.
The first few miles south of Central Park, past Brooklands Lake and on towards Hawley, are the flattest. OS Explorer 162 covers the north end.
Walk 19 miles in total; walk out and back from Central Park
Address Central Park, Dartford, DA1 1EU
Website explorekent.org/activities/darent-valley-path
Good for dogs, riverside, a long walk, no car needed
3. Dartford Heath
One of the few lowland heaths left in the south east: 314 acres of heather, gorse, acid grassland and woodland, registered as common land. The council says linnets and willow warblers live in the gorse, with green woodpeckers and red kites in the woods; Explore Kent adds the “Glory Bumps”, dug for brick earth, and the first recorded local cricket match, in 1723.
The council gives car park hours of 7am to 6.30pm. Explore Kent lists waymarked trails and dog bins, and says much of the heath is less suited to buggies, so expect sandy, muddy tracks.
Open car parks 7am to 6.30pm
Address Dartford Heath, DA1 2TN
Website dartford.gov.uk/parks-open-spaces-1/visit-parks-open-spaces-3/5
Good for dogs, heathland, short loops, close to town
Woods on the edge of town
4. Joyden’s Wood
A 333-acre Woodland Trust wood on the Bexley border near Wilmington, with a Saxon defensive bank, the Faesten Dic, running more than a kilometre through the trees. Two waymarked circular routes fit a short winter afternoon: the Faesten Dic Trail (2 miles) and the Woodland Walk (1.7 miles).
The Trust says the wood is open at all hours, so there are no gates to beat. There is no car park; the Trust points to limited street parking on Summerhouse Drive, where the main entrance has a wide kissing gate onto a surfaced stone track, the one entrance it says suits pushchairs and wheelchairs.
Open at all hours
Walk Faesten Dic Trail 2 miles; Woodland Walk 1.7 miles
Parking street parking on Summerhouse Drive
Address Summerhouse Drive, Joyden's Wood, DA5 2AW
Website woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/woods/joydens-wood
Good for dogs, waymarked circulars, no gates, pushchairs from the main entrance
5. Darenth Country Park
Opened in 2002 on the grounds of the old Darenth asylum, on the edge of the North Downs looking over the Darent Valley. The council lists a chalk grassland Site of Special Scientific Interest, an orchard of more than 150 apple, pear, plum, cherry and cobnut varieties, and a Saxon burial site.
Paved and unpaved paths make it one of the better winter choices when everywhere else is mud. The gates open at 6.45am and the council locks them from 5pm from November to January, which on Boxing Day is about an hour after sunset.
Open 6.45am; locking from 5pm
Parking car park off Gore Road
Address Gore Road, Darenth, DA2 6LZ
Website dartford.gov.uk/parks-open-spaces-1/visit-parks-open-spaces-3/3
Good for views, paved paths, dogs, picnic area
6. Beacon Wood Country Park, Bean
A site Explore Kent says carried an Armada warning beacon, then made gunpowder from 1885 and was dug for cement clay from 1935, before opening as a country park in 1991. The old clay pits have grown back into woodland, with a pond and viewing platform and views over the countryside.
Explore Kent’s 1.25-mile Beacon Wood Walk, with a 0.6-mile shorter option, is about right for a post-lunch stroll with grandparents. It lists the park as open 8.30am to dusk, with a pay car park, and warns of uneven trails and stiles.
Open 8.30am to dusk
Walk 1.25 miles, or 0.6 miles
Parking pay car park
Address Beacon Wood Country Park, Bean, DA2 8AR
Website explorekent.org/activities/beacon-wood-country-park
Good for short walk, pond, dogs, history
By the Thames
7. Swanscombe Peninsula circular
A 4-mile circular that leaves Swanscombe High Street by the former Church of All Saints and heads out over Swanscombe Marshes on the King Charles III England Coast Path, with views across the river to Gravesend and Tilbury. Explore Kent’s route card says to allow two and a half hours, on uneven gravel and grass tracks with some road, and says it is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
On a bright Boxing Day it is the widest sky near Dartford; on a grey one, the marsh wind is real, so wrap up. Parking is on residential streets.
Walk 4 miles, about 2.5 hours
Parking residential streets near the High Street
Address Swanscombe High Street, DA10 0BQ
Website explorekent.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/SWANSCOMBE-ENGLAND_COASTAL_PATH.pdf
Good for Thames views, marshes, birdwatching
Up the Darent Valley
8. Horton Kirby to Farningham, with The Lion
Explore Kent’s 3.2-mile mills and meadows circular starts at the sports field car park in Horton Kirby and follows the Darent past Franks Hall, a red-brick Tudor mansion, to Farningham, where The Lion overlooks the river by the old bridge. Explore Kent calls it “easy walking with gentle slopes”, allows an hour and a half, and lists gates rather than stiles, so it suits children and dogs.
The Lion is the Boxing Day stop: the Vintage Inns pub opens 11.30am to 10.30pm and serves a Boxing Day menu at £38.50 for two courses or £41.50 for three, with a £5 a head deposit on tables between 11.30am and 6pm.
Open The Lion, Boxing Day 11.30am to 10.30pm
Walk 3.2 miles, about 1.5 hours, from the Horton Kirby sports field car park (DA4 9GR)
Price Boxing Day menu £38.50 two courses, £41.50 three courses
Booking £5 per person deposit for tables 11.30am to 6pm
Call 01322 860621
Address The Lion, High Street, Farningham, DA4 0DP
Website vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/east/thelionfarningham/boxing-day-menu
Listing Our listing
Good for riverside, children, dogs, a long lunch after
9. Eynsford: the ford, the castle and The Plough
Eynsford’s ford, with its hump-backed bridge and St Martin’s spire behind, is the postcard of the Darent Valley, and the village has the rare thing on Boxing Day: a free castle that is open. English Heritage lists Eynsford Castle, the flint curtain wall of an early Norman castle, as open 10am to 4pm on Saturday 26 December, with a small free car park.
The Darent Valley Path runs south from the village to Lullingstone (next entry). The Plough, on Riverside by the ford, serves only its Boxing Day set menu that day: three courses for £44.50, children’s menu from £14.95, with a non-refundable £5 a head deposit.
Open Eynsford Castle, Boxing Day 10am to 4pm, free
Price The Plough, Boxing Day set menu £44.50 three courses; children from £14.95
Booking £5 per person non-refundable deposit
Call 01322 862281 (The Plough)
Address The Plough, 24 Riverside, Eynsford, DA4 0AE
Website theploughinneynsford.co.uk/boxing-day-menu
Good for the ford, a castle ruin, riverside, Boxing Day lunch
10. Lullingstone Country Park and the Shoreham circular
Kent County Council’s 460-acre country park is known for more than 300 veteran trees, some thought to be 800 years old. The council lists Christmas Day as its only closed day; the car park opens at 9am and locks at 7pm or just after sunset, and parking is £3.80 at weekends and bank holidays.
The cafe normally opens 9am to 4pm on Saturdays but has published no Christmas hours, and the toilets stay open whenever the park is. Explore Kent’s 6.5-mile circular follows the Darent Valley Path to Shoreham, with “a couple of challenging climbs”; it passes Lullingstone Roman Villa, which English Heritage has closed until March 2027.
Open car park 9am to just after sunset; closed Christmas Day only
Walk 6.5 miles to Shoreham and back; start by midday
Price parking £3.80 at weekends and bank holidays
Call 03000 411811
Address Castle Road, Eynsford, DA4 0JF
Website kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/kent-country-parks/find-a-kent-country-park/lullingstone-country-park
Good for ancient trees, toilets, children's trail, dogs
How we chose
These are the walks people around Dartford head out on after Christmas: the parks on Dartford Borough Council’s parks and open spaces pages, the Woodland Trust’s Joyden’s Wood, and the routes Kent County Council’s Explore Kent service publishes for the borough and the Darent Valley. Boxing Day hours, menus and prices are as the pubs, English Heritage and the councils published them on 11 November 2026; we will add more pubs as they announce their hours. The Hartley Morris Men, who danced at Vigo and Wrotham last Boxing Day, have not yet listed a 2026 date. Run a pub, cafe or walking group that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@dartfordonline.co.uk. Taken a good photograph of any of these places? Email it to newsdesk@dartfordonline.co.uk and we will add it with your name as the credit.
For the rest of the season, see Christmas in Dartford, pubs and restaurants open on Christmas Day, what’s on in Dartford this month and things to do in Dartford. For more routes the rest of the year, our full guide to walks near Dartford has twelve, and our Dartford pubs guide covers where to drink afterwards. Or browse local businesses in Dartford in our directory.
Frequently asked questions
Which pubs near Dartford’s walks are open on Boxing Day 2026?
The Lion in Farningham opens 11.30am to 10.30pm on Boxing Day and serves a Boxing Day menu at £38.50 for two courses or £41.50 for three. The Plough in Eynsford serves only its £44.50 three-course Boxing Day set menu that day, with a £5 deposit per person. Book both.
Is Lullingstone Country Park open on Boxing Day?
Kent County Council lists Christmas Day as the only day the park closes. The car park opens at 9am and locks at 7pm or just after sunset, so about 4pm on 26 December, and parking is £3.80 at weekends and on bank holidays. Lullingstone Roman Villa, on the walk to Shoreham, is closed until March 2027.
Are there trains from Dartford on Boxing Day?
Southeastern has not yet published its plans for Saturday 26 December 2026. Last year it ran no trains on Boxing Day, so plan on driving, walking from home or taking a bus. Our Christmas trains page will be updated when the timetables are out.
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