One of Earth Wind and Fire’s finest, but also a great month if the weather is half decent, as it has been. I haven’t been out walking much, due to work and various things, and when I have it’s been mostly very local. At Downe, on Sunday, our late afternoon stroll was rewarded by wonderful light and colour and a great view of a tawny owl (big one, too), gliding between beeches near the end of the walk. Below are some pictures from recent walks. Clear September days have a special quality.
Country pubs on walks around Shoreham, Downe, Sevenoaks, Ide Hill and Hever, Kent
One of the unique pleasures of walking in the UK is the array of superb pubs offering refreshment within reach of wherever you are – often in a lovely garden and at a reasonable price. In recent years many have taken to offering wider ranges of beers, wines and soft drinks, better quality coffee and more imaginative food choices. There are many good brewers in the county – see the interactive map at Camra’s website – from old, famous names like Shepherd Neame to smaller outfits such as Westerham Brewery and Larkins of Chiddingstone. Big names from Suffolk and Sussex supplying pubs in the area include Greene King and Harvey’s.
The Castle Inn, a beautiful pub in a Tudor building next to Chiddingstone Castle
Liking a pub is a personal thing – we all have different criteria and it’s hardly scientific in my case. I genuinely don’t know why I prefer some things over others! Of the pubs on the walks I particularly like the Queens Head in Downe (good beer selection and cider drinkers will love flattish Rosie’s Pig on a summer’s day). My pick of Shoreham pubs is Ye Olde George Inn opposite the church. It’s the closest to the station, has medieval-low ceilings and a friendly vibe. Can’t vouch for the food because I haven’t eaten there, but it looks pretty decent. There are lots of other pubs in the village – you won’t suffer in any of them. I like the George too, on the other side of the river. Camra has reviewed them all, handily, on one page.
The Plough in Eynsford is right by the Darent river (the bank here is wide and grassy, a popular spot for a summer drink – often a bit too popular) and a really old bridge and ford. The Malt Shovel, on the main road through Eynsford by the church, is also excellent and concentrates on good real ales and fresh food (daily fresh fish the website claims. It makes a point of not having Sky TV and gaming machines.
The Plough, Eynsford
Cock Inn, now refurbished, Ide Hill
The wonderfully refurbished Cock Inn in Ide Hill, the large, efficient Chaser Inn in Shipbourne, and the rustic White Rock in Underriver are excellently placed for the Greensand Ridge walks of One Tree Hill and Ide Hill (walks 4, 6 and 7). The White Rock boasts a lovely unfussy beer garden and lawn with a competition-ready petanque court. The White Hart at Brasted (well placed for the Ide Hill walk and en route to south east London if returning from Hever and Chiddingstone/Penshurst) is another large gastro-style pub which prides itself on its food. In 1940 it was the pub of choice for the Biggin Hill squadrons who often let off steam there in the evenings during the Battle of Britain and was the original site of the famous blackboard with the chalked signatures of many prominent RAF pilots of the second world war (now at the Shoreham aircraft museum). Today, it’s very popular, maybe with more of the dining crowd than the walkers. Also in Brasted, off the main road, is the friendly, family-run Stanhope Arms, again which serves much-praised food.
The Henry VIII at Hever offers very good food, quick-serving bar staff, Shepherd Neame and guest beers, a large dining area and a large garden. It’s in a lovely old building and is perfectly positioned right at the end of the Hever walk.
Queen’s Head, Downe
The Castle Inn at Chiddingstone (website to come) – perfect to end up in at the end of that walk – has just reopened (April 9, 2017). It’s in a fantastic 15th century building, has friendly bar staff, an excellent kitchen and serves top-notch ale by local brewery Larkins, a great rival for similarly excellent Westerham Brewery. It’s the sister pub of Bough Beech’s large Wheatsheaf, also with great food and beer garden.
Around Penshurst the Bottle House Inn and Spotted Dog both have big reputations but neither is very close to the walk unfortunately. Likewise the excellent Rock Inn at Chiddingstone Hoath, a pub in which one or two walkers on the Hever walk have found themselves having overshot at Point 3 (Hill Hoath) (see blog post below for further details)!
Ye Olde George, Shoreham
The Crown, Shoreham
Do look out for those local brewers like Larkins, particularly around Chiddingstone, Penshurst and Hever; and Westerham, around Downe, Biggin Hill, Ide Hill etc.
Sadly, there have been quite a few pub closures too. Of them, the Fox and Hounds at Romney St is much missed by walkers.
Places on these Kent walks where you might go the wrong way
Hidden valley path on way to Ightam Mote
I don’t think there’s too many places on these walks where you can get lost but it’s very easy when writing instructions to mislead inadvertently. The word ‘track’, for example, does not mean the same thing for everyone; ‘pass a large pine tree’ won’t be too clear to someone who doesn’t think it is a large pine tree. And it’s very easy to miss out stiles and kissing gates in the instructions as I have done quite a lot. Then there are farmers who plough up paths (that’s happened at Shipbourne and Downe in the past). Here are the points where people have contacted me to ask for clarification (I’ve altered the instructions in all cases but it may not be enough…)
1 Downe walk: some people have gone wrong at the very start by missing the path just next to Christmas Tree Farm and setting off to Cudham on the footpath a few metres further on. My fault, because I didn’t mention initially that the correct path is slightly hidden by vegetation whereas the Cudham one is clearly visible.
2 One Tree Hill walks: the woods to the rear of the hill, if walking from OTH to Wilmot’s Hill on the way to Ightam, are easy to get lost in. You have to keep your bearings in relation to a couple of houses and an orchard. I’ve tried to make it easy but it’s quite hard to describe (I’ve gone wrong myself in there). However, once you hit the country lane you’ll be able to pick up the Wilmot’s Hill path OK.
3 Ide Hill: Near the beginning, people have told me my instructions are unclear and they almost set off on the Greensand Way to the east, towards Sevenoaks. The answer is to walk down the hill, ignoring all detail I’ve stated, then turn right when you hit another path, thus keeping Ide Hill village (at the top of the hill) to your right. Then you cross the valley towards Scord Wood and Emmett’s Garden with Ide Hill at your back. Not my fault that one, I feel.
4 Hever. Ah. Luckily for me perhaps, not the most popular of these walks, though I love it personally. There are four points where you can go wrong. I’ve covered them all in the instruction but, hey, you’ve got enough to read. First, turning right at the ‘second house’. This path angles off the lane in front of a house called ‘Bothy Cottage’, at the entrance to the house’s drive. Secondly, immediately on leaving the sandstone outcrop at Hill Hoath, turn right and go through a kissing gate next to a long strip of meadow (some walkers have been known to go straight on – fine if you want to go all the way to Penshurst). Third, in Stock Wood, ignore the major-looking path off to the right and narrow one angling left – keep on the centre path even though it doesn’t look very ‘major’. Fourth, turning off Uckfield Road it’s quite easy to miss the footpath, though it does have a sign. The kissing gate is a bit buried in hedge.
There are bound to be other spots that left walkers in a quandary… please let me know in the comments section, or by email, so I can update my instructions accordingly.
A fantastic blog on the North Downs
Steve Gale’s North Downs and Beyond blog is a great place to learn more about the wild flowers, bird life and other fauna of the downs. He’s got a relaxed writing style and a depth of knowledge that can only come from getting out there and observing, measuring, chronicling. Give it a read.
Cities of mauve spires
Rosebay willowherb is now in full bloom in glades, on verges, and by railway tracks throughout Kent. One of the factors causing the plant to spread so much in the past 70 odd years was the second world war when clearings were made in woods, aerodromes were built all over the south east and bombs were dropped across the region. Why this should be I don’t know… anyway honey bees love ’em and when you see clusters it’s quite a spectacular sight. One such spectacle is in the clearing in the woods at the top of One Tree Hill. Keep quiet here and just listen to the hum of the bees. On Sunday we did the ‘hidden valley’ walk from One Tree Hill; I haven’t put it on this site yet, but will do. The walk ends up as another Ightam Mote circular but takes in a fabulous secluded valley behind Wilmots Hill which brings you out at the Mote after passing somewhat sinister-looking accommodation for early 20th century hop pickers. I’ll write up the walk soon… can’t believe I haven’t done it before.
A taste of summer
Lullingstone and castle, summer 2014
Summer has suddenly broken out for the first time in weeks. Today is looking good, tomorrow also after a dull start. The heat truly comes on for Monday though there may be some cloud around, so expect humidity, but a good time to take kids paddling in the river or down to the coast. However, there are thunderstorms up ahead. What I’d love to get on this site is a good pic of lightning from one of the walks; a sort of north-west Kent storm-chasing scenario on foot. There haven’t been many occasions when I’ve done one of the walks in hot summer weather… just hasn’t happened much lately, but here’s a pic of Lullingstone Castle from the Shoreham to Eynsford walk on a hot day in July two years ago.
A few Downe images
I really like the meadows around Downe, especially on the hillside between points 4 and 8 on the second half of the walk. Right now the buttercups have largely gone and have been replaced by a mix of scabious, daisies, clover etc amid the long grass. The colours are not so obvious as a few weeks ago when the grassy fields were ablaze with yellow but they are more varied and seem to attract a wider variety of insect life. The Downe circular is particularly useful for south east London dwellers, being the closest and shortest of the walks on this site. I can do the whole journey in under two hours if I get a move on.
Airshow at Biggin Hill – as seen from a detour from the Downe walk
Original post: Today, Saturday June 11, there’s a small airshow at Biggin Hill airfield, so it’s a good day to do the Downe circular walk. There’ll be aerobatic teams, Spitfires, a Hurricane and Mustangs and, at 15.30, the Red Arrows who are arriving at the airport directly from the Queen’s birthday flypast. Adds a bit of spectacle to the walk if the usual birdsong, trees and wildflowers aren’t enough for you!
Update: Today, Sunday June 12: A pretty poor weekend of weather though there were a couple of windows of brightness: Saturday morning and late afternoon, and late Sunday afternoon. We set off to do the Downe walk in pouring rain on Saturday, assuming the airshow had been called off. But incredibly, the rain stopped on our arrival, the clouds lifted and we were treated to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the Red Arrows, a Mustang, stunt planes and a Spitfire/Hurricane finale. I’ve supported the event for many years so not feeling too guilty about walking around it, though I certainly recommend paying to enter to get the full experience. Photographically you get some interesting shots of the aircraft from public footpaths near the airfield and to hear and see Spitfires and Hurricanes in this setting, their natural domain considering the airfield was a principal fighter base in 1940, is a wonderful thing.
Whitsun and I: late May colour around Hever, Kent
Despite the bluebells having gone, the Kent countryside is looking fantastic, so verdant, so ancient, so colourful with green, yellow and white predominating. This is especially true on the Hever circular walk with its constant shifting between wood and meadow, long views and short, allowing distant glimpses of mysterious old homesteads and farm buildings with seemingly Tudor chimney stacks appearing between gaps between the trees. At a point on the route near the hamlet of Hill Hoath (nr Chiddingstone) there’s an old ‘holloway‘ – an absurdly venerable trail (part of the Eden Valley Path) enclosed by trees. People must have used this path since pre-Roman times, until a few 100 years ago, to move their herds between pastures. Over the centuries their herds and wagons appear to have worn the path through the sandstone, which has the roots of large beeches growing improbably from its mossy stone sides. At the western end of his section of the path, guarding over it, is an enormous yew tree, clearly 500-plus years old. This was a truly memorable afternoon’s walking. It even featured an inquisitive llama (pictured).
On the 5-mile stroll we didn’t encounter a single soul; surprising for such a great day and the fact the walks starts off next to the visitor honeypot that is Hever Castle. It’s great that you can use their car park for free to visit the wonderful St Peter’s Church – final resting place of Thomas Boleyn and Margaret Cheyne – and the starting point of the walk.
On returning to south east London we watched the very gripping Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, in which Luka Modric showed yet again that he’s the world’s best midfielder. A great day.
Download this walk as a pdf here
Wild flowers after the bluebells
So that’s it for this year’s bluebells but buttercups, cow parsley and hawthorn are making for some fairly spectacular viewing, I noticed on the Downe Circular walk today. The buttercups in the meadows next to Down House are superb right now, as are the hawthorns forming the hedges of the three fields on the second half of the walk. A strangely murky day which eventually turned into a downpour. Quite fun really.
Kent walks near London 