Visit Edenbridge

Visitor information

Whether you’re planning a day out, a weekend stay, or a longer visit, our visitor website Visit Edenbridge is your go-to resource for inspiration. It’s a gateway to the history, nature and adventures to be had in and around Edenbridge.

Explore places to stay, shop, and dine at, and download one of our ten Walks Leaflets to start your journey through Edenbridge’s picturesque landscapes. Copies of the leaflets are available from the Town Council office (Doggetts Barn, 72A High Street) as well as the waiting room at Edenbridge Town train station. They will also soon be available via a Walks App.

Discover more at Visit Edenbridge and experience the best of our town!

The Town Council office is open to the public Monday to Thursday 9.00am to 3.30pm.

About Edenbridge

Edenbridge is a historic market town in the heart of the Eden Valley, just 25 miles from London — yet it feels a world away. Surrounded by countryside, it offers scenic walks, historic sites, local events, and great places to eat and drink.

Getting here is easy. Edenbridge sits on the B2026, just south of the M25 (Junction 6), with quick access to towns like Oxted, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, and East Grinstead. Two train stations connect the town:

• Edenbridge Town (on the London–Uckfield line)

• Edenbridge (on the Redhill–Tonbridge line, about a mile north of the centre)

Bus routes also link Edenbridge with nearby villages and Tunbridge Wells.

The wider Eden Valley is dotted with charming towns and villages, each with its own character, historic churches, country pubs, and local events. Whether you’re after a quiet walk, a weekend escape, or a taste of rural England, Edenbridge is the perfect starting point.

Geography

Edenbridge lies in West Kent, close to the Surrey border, and located at the bridging point of the River Eden which flows eastwards until it joins the River Medway at Penshurst. It is the gateway to the Eden Valley, a landscape which can be broadly split into three areas.

The chalk grassland of the Kent Downs in the north forms a ridge running west to east across Surrey and Kent, featuring old orchards, ancient hedgerows and woodlands.

Dropping down into the plain, the River Eden starts in Surrey and then meanders along the valley. It is gently undulating with occasional steep-sided stream valleys, ridges and plateaux. Small towns and villages are scattered amongst a patchwork of woodland, permanent grassland, hedgerows and wetlands on the heavy clay soils.

Rising up again south of Penshurst, is the High Weald, a landscape of high forested ridges and valleys. The area boasts the highest proportion of ancient woodland in the country and is, essentially, still a medieval landscape. Follow a sunken lane and you will be treading in the steps of Saxon drovers and their pigs. It also includes the Ashdown Forest, one of the most important and extensive areas of heath land in south eastern England.

Early times

Edenbridge developed at a crossing point of the River Eden and the Romans passed through on the road from London to Lewes which first crossed the river here. The route is marked in the straight line of the main road.

For five hundred years Edenbridge was a tannery town until the tannery closed in the 1970s, unable to compete with imported leather. The office building, Tanyard House, remains at the southern end of the High Street, and curves from the site gateway can be seen on the ground of the Leather Market car park entrance. Opposite is the white-boarded ancient corn mill building of medieval origin, which contained a water wheel turned by the stream in the Mill Leat.

Edenbridge has been home to powerful historic figures: one, William Taylour of the Grocers’ Company, was elected Sheriff of London in 1455 becoming Lord Mayor in 1468, and his house Taylour House still stands in the narrowest part of the High Street opposite Ye Old Crown Inn.

The Great Stone Bridge

The first bridge was built in the reign of Henry VII; the present one is dated 1836. Records from 1595 show there were originally 12 wardens of the ancient Great Stone Bridge Trust – the names of two, George Langridge and Augustus Corke, are inscribed on the bridge. Over centuries the Trust built up funds which were used for the good of the parish, and it is still actively benefitting Edenbridge today.

Ancient inns and smugglers

Edenbridge was on the route from London to the coast and there were numerous coaching inns on the old High Street. The White Horse (now Costa Coffee) has former stable yards behind, and Taylour House was the Griffin Inn in the 16th century. The 14th century Ye Old Crown Inn, with its unusual sign spanning the street, has links to smuggling. In the early 19th century the Ransley Gang used it and upstairs was a concealed passage where casks could be hidden. Secret pipes led down to the bar and were disconnected if Excise men appeared.

Victorian railways

Edenbridge expanded in Victorian times with the building of two rail lines. First, the Redhill to Tonbridge line opened in 1842, then the London Brighton and South Coast Railway reached town in 1888. The tunnel-under-a-cutting, at the lines’ cross-over point west of town, is an interesting construction feature.

20th century expansion

Major growth came in the 1950s and 60s with private and public housing developments, including two London County Council estates at Stangrove Park and Spitals Cross – both hailed for the town-in-country design quality of the homes. New industrial estates were also created, providing work for the incoming residents, but the town’s main industrial base is at the northern end.

21st century Edenbridge remains a vibrant market town, servicing the surrounding villages, and continues to develop and attract a wide range of outside businesses, securing its long term future.

Edenbridge Town Council

Edenbridge has had a local Council for well over 100 years. The Parish Council was formed in 1895 and, recognising the growing size and importance of the community, was renamed as a Town Council in 1982.

It was the first local Council in Kent to gain quality status. Although a Town Council, the town does not have a mayor and the chairmanship of both Council and its committees tend to be for a four-year term, subject to annual re-election.

The Town Council office is at Doggetts Barn, 72A High Street, Edenbridge TN8 5AR (01732 865368). To keep up to date with Council news you can visit our Facebook page.

The Council has been awarded the foundation level of the Local Council Awards Scheme and Edenbridge was the first town in Kent to become a Fairtrade Town.

The Council celebrated it’s 130th anniversary in 2025. You can look back at key milestones and projects that have shaped Edenbridge over the last 30 years: A look back at the last 30 years of Edenbridge Town Council – Edenbridge Town Council

Edenbridge Twinning

Edenbridge was officially twinned with Mont-Saint-Aignan, near Rouen in Normandy, France, in 1973. The partnership encouraged cultural exchange and lasting friendships through school visits, community events, and regular visits between the two towns. The Edenbridge Twinning Association played a key role in maintaining these links for many years, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023 before disolving.

For more historical information on the association head to the Edenbridge & District Twinning Association website or visit the Eden Valley Museum.