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North Downs WayPlanning3 min read

Where to stay on the North Downs Way, night by night

Nine days, eight nights. The Trail's list is the longest of any trail on this site, yet no night has more than six places near its stop; Albury and Caterham are the ones to book first.

By Tom Spencer ·

The planner's default split for the North Downs Way is nine days, from Farnham to Dover. That makes eight nights on the way. The National Trail's accommodation list for it is long, 454 places, the longest of any trail on this site. But in this split no night has more than six of them within 2.5 km of its stop, and most have two to four, often a kilometre or so off the path.

Two lists are counted below. The first is that list, read 29 September 2026: 454 places, 414 of which we could place by postcode. For each night we count the places on it within 2.5 km of the stop. The second is OpenStreetMap, read the same day. Neither is a booking check: a place on a list is not a room on your night, and we have not phoned anyone.

Places on the Trail's list
414
placed by postcode, of 454
Most on one night
6
near Thurnham Castle
The longest day
17.2 mi
Riverhead to Cuxton

Night by night

In the planner's nine-day split, with a bed and breakfast each night:

  • Night 1, Albury (14.4 miles from Farnham). Two on the list, the Percy Arms and a campsite, both about 2.4 km away; OpenStreetMap adds the Manor House Hotel at 0.5 km. Book this night first.
  • Night 2, Betchworth (12.8 miles). The stop is 1.2 km off the path. Three on the list, among them the Red Lion and Whitelands Country House.
  • Night 3, Caterham Valley (11.7 miles). The stop is 1.8 km off the path. Two on the list, Braemar B&B at 1.8 km and the Godstone Hotel at 2.2 km, and nothing on OpenStreetMap. Book this one early too.
  • Night 4, Riverhead (13.5 miles). Three on the list, the nearest Donnington Manor Hotel at 0.2 km.
  • Night 5, Cuxton (17.2 miles, the longest day). Two on the list, North Downs Barn and The Snuggery, both within a kilometre; OpenStreetMap adds a Premier Inn at Rochester, 2 km away.
  • Night 6, by Thurnham Castle (13.1 miles). Six on the list, the most of any night, the nearest the Black Horse Inn at 0.4 km.
  • Night 7, Charing (12.3 miles). Three on the list, two of them 0.7 km away and the Bowl Inn at 1.4 km.
  • Night 8, Stowting (13.9 miles). Four on the list, the nearest a farm campsite and a cottage annexe about a kilometre away.

Day 9 is 16.8 miles into Dover.

If Albury or Caterham is full, the planner will move the night: change the number of days, or open a day and pick another stop, and it shows what is listed near the new one.

Hostels

The Trail's list has ten places it calls hostels or bunkhouses, among them YHA Tanners Hatch and YHA Holmbury St Mary in Surrey, Puttenham Barn, YHA Medway and a backpackers' hostel in Dover. With the planner set to hostels, five of the eight nights are flagged thin, and three of its stops have not yet been checked for beds at all.

What the lists will not tell you

Whether a place takes one-night stays at weekends, has single rooms, takes dogs or will take a bag from a luggage transfer: none of it is on either list, and we have not asked. Those are the questions to ask when you book. The planner's day cards count each night's places on both lists, and its booking checklist puts the thinnest nights at the top.

Build your walkNorth Downs Way in 9 days126 mi · about 14 miles a dayOpen the planner →

Now make it yours.

The planner splits the North Downs Way into days that fit the time you have, with the trains at each end. Free, no account.

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