150 Lordswood – Walderslade – Bridgewood – Blue Bell Hill – Maidstone

The 150 is one of those local Kent routes that quietly stitches together the higher ground of the Medway towns with the county town below. It begins at Princes Park, alongside the Morrisons stand, and works its way through the residential streets of Lordswood, past Kingston Crescent, Ballens Road and the familiar landmark of The Kestrel Shopping Centre. This first stretch is everyday Kent: red-brick estates, leafy verges and the steady comings and goings of school pupils, shoppers and commuters.

From Lordswood the bus rolls into Walderslade, climbing through Birch Drive, Timber Tops and Autumn Glade. The street names hint at what's coming, because Walderslade sits on the wooded southern flank of the North Downs and the route soon brushes past Walderslade Woods and the village centre, with Tunbury Avenue and Princes Avenue threading between mature beech and oak.

The most memorable section begins as the 150 swings past the Alexandra Hospital and on towards Bridgewood. Here the road meets the top of Blue Bell Hill, the chalk escarpment that drops dramatically into the Medway Valley. Passengers on the right get a wide panorama south and east across Aylesford, the river, and the orchards and oasthouses of the Weald. Just below the ridge the route passes close to Kit's Coty, where a Neolithic long barrow has stood for more than five thousand years above the village.

Descending Blue Bell Hill, the bus runs past The Running Horse and Cobtree, with views over Tyland Barn nature reserve, before crossing the Ringlestone footbridge and entering Maidstone proper. Stops at the Kent History and Library Centre, Maidstone East Railway Station, St Faith's Street and Maidstone West bring the route into the heart of the county town, within easy reach of the River Medway, the Archbishop's Palace and All Saints' Church.

From Maidstone the 150 continues out through Bower Mount Road and the London Road retail corridor to Allington and Aylesford, looping past Preston Hall and Aylesford School before retracing its path back over Blue Bell Hill to Walderslade and Princes Park. It is, in effect, two journeys in one: a brisk urban service and, in the middle, a genuine ridge-and-valley ride along one of Kent's most distinctive bits of landscape.

The 150 might look like a humble local bus on paper, but used cleverly it sets up a really enjoyable day around the Medway Gap, combining a ridge-top viewpoint, an ancient monument and the river-and-market heart of Maidstone. Start at Princes Park, grab a coffee near the Morrisons stand, and settle in for the climb up through Lordswood and Walderslade.

Hop off near Walderslade village centre if you fancy a short woodland wander. Walderslade Woods, with their tangle of paths through beech and sweet chestnut, are a quiet local secret and a lovely way to stretch the legs before pressing on. Back on the bus, continue past the Alexandra Hospital and Bridgewood Manor towards the top of Blue Bell Hill.

Alight at Kit's Coty for a short walk to the Neolithic long barrow that gives the hamlet its name. The three upright sarsen stones and capstone sit in a field above the village with a long view south across the Medway Valley, and the nearby Countless Stones are well worth tracking down too. It is windy, atmospheric and properly ancient.

Rejoin the 150 down the hill, watching for the turn past The Running Horse and on towards Tyland Barn, the Kent Wildlife Trust's nature reserve and visitor centre, where ponds, meadows and woodland walks make a good family stop. From here the bus rolls into Maidstone, passing the Kent History and Library Centre and arriving at Maidstone East.

In Maidstone, head down to the riverside for the Archbishop's Palace, the medieval All Saints' Church and the Tyrwhitt-Drake Museum of Carriages. Lunch is easy: the Earl's Bistro and the cafes around Earl Street and Week Street are all within a short walk, and on market days the town centre has a lively buzz. Allow time to wander along the Medway towpath, which leads gently north towards Allington Lock.

For the afternoon, jump back on the 150 out to Aylesford. The village is one of the prettiest in Kent, with a medieval ragstone bridge over the Medway, the Little Gem and Chequers pubs, and the peaceful grounds of The Friars, a Carmelite priory open to visitors. From Aylesford, the return leg of the 150 carries you back over Blue Bell Hill at a different time of day, when low light across the valley gives a completely different feel to the ride. A simple loop, but one that packs in chalk downland, prehistory, a market town and a riverside village in a single ticket.