Near Bridge, Kent – 6/10

As it is such a depressingly rare sight these days, when we are presented with a stile that actually features two steps it can produce an extreme sense of euphoria that can unfortunately blind us to that stile’s flaws!

Well, while this is certainly a decent enough stile in its own right that adopts a reassuringly textbook design, the two steps are rather narrow and a little weak in terms of stability, which is due to the somewhat feeble posts used for them. Also, while the steps are admittedly at a respectable height in relation to the bars and posts, what appears to not have been taken into account with the design is that land of which this stile sits; because it is at the top of a hill there is quite a drop between the bottom step and the ground on one side – which poses an unnecessary challenge to those of shorter legs and could easily catch out even the most experienced hiker. Also, watch out for the barbed wire!