One Tree Hill

Birding on the Greensand Ridge at Underriver
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Birding on the Greensand Ridge at Underriver

The Underriver walk – short and long version – was the focus this weekend. Just south of Sevenoaks this lovely walk, part of the One Tree Hill “suite” of routes, offers great views across the Kent weald and superb woods and hedgerows. There’s a lot of interesting geology too, as you encounter greensand (sandstone) boulders, a greensand cliff, and plenty of springs as the sandstone hits the weald clay.

I was joined by birder Dave on Saturday which as usual led to an exponential increase in sightings and bird calls identified. Within a few paces of entering the first horrendously muddy field we heard and saw a flock of newly arrived fieldfares some 50 strong, a troop of long-tailed tits, goldcrests flitting in the bordering trees and overflying redwings. You can see birds like that in your local park if you’re lucky – these sightings aren’t exclusive to the countryside at all. Later on a marsh tit flew past us, which was probably the most noteworthy bird of the day and another feather in Dave’s cap as he recognised the fleeting call just as the bird, in silhouette, zoomed past us. Dave reckons the area’s bird life would perk up with a bit more arable land and fewer livestock pastures. Scrubby unkempt arable fields are a big favourite for les oiseaux it’s true.

View of the Weald all the way to Ashdown Forest, from above Kettleshill Farm, Underriver

I had been hoping for bullfinch, siskin and most of all, brambling. But it was not to be. Barely a chaffinch as it happened but quite a few goldfinches. Later on there was a kingfisher at the lovely pond on the path below St Julian’s Club and tawny owls calling at Rooks Hill, Wilmotts and Underriver itself. The truth is that there are fewer birds around these days, just as there are fewer insects. I guess it’s farming methods, climate change, all that stuff. But anyway, it was good fun just to be out there listening and watching.

We went again on Sunday. Conditions were gloomier in the afternoon than they had been on Saturday, with quite a large shower making birding more difficult. But it mattered not, the views were still great and the excellent White Rock Inn was open and offered a friendly welcome.

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Underriver and Budds, Sevenoaks: a scenic route
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Underriver and Budds, Sevenoaks: a scenic route

Another new route. Walk 26, Underriver and Budds, cobbles together the optional scenic extension to Walk 6 with the Wilmot to Budds path of Walk 7. It’s a brilliant walk with a superb hedgerow-lined path currently full of berries, a sunken trail with amazing trees growing out of its embankment, atmospheric oasthouses and far-flung views of the Weald. The woods at One Tree Hill are always a pleasure to walk in, especially the ‘tropical’-feeling bit east of Rooks Hill lane and there are myriad springs and little streams that trickle out of the sandstone ridge at various points – mostly around where the farms are, their positioning being no accident. It’s a two-hour round-trip hike starting and finishing at Underriver village.

For those who do these walks with younger children, I wonder if any of them find the appearance of oasthouses a bit disturbing; I certainly used to when I was small. I still find them fascinating and this walk takes you close to some of the best.

‘Walking’ beech trees on the sunken path near Underriver

The only blot on the landscape is the temporary (we hope) closure of the White Rock Inn, one of the nicest pubs on these walks.

The farms encountered have attractive old houses attached and pasture for horses, sheep and cattle, plus a few alpacas. However, around Budds, the fields are for cereals and can be quite barren depending on time of year. They lack wildlife/wildflower margins too – a slight blemish on what is a tremendous afternoon’s stroll. Check out the interractive map below and, as ever, on the walk’s page there are links to GPX (real time location) maps – including a nice short cut variation too.

 

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One Tree Hill, Sevenoaks – good place to catch a winter sunset

The Greensand Way route between Ightham Mote, One Tree Hill and its Wilmot Hill derivatives are great for winter light after about 2.30pm at the moment. Picture below is from yesterday about 3.45pm. Love how the sheep reflect the light. It looks darker in the picture than it actually was… trying to get the exposure right for land and sky always a challenge.

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Best walks for autumn colour in north-west Kent

It has been said that the longish hot summer this year will lead to particularly vibrant colours from later this month and up until December. Could be hype I suppose, but let’s entertain the notion that it’s true. Even if it isn’t, every autumn is colourful and fascinating given the migrating birds, transforming hedgerows and trees. All the walks on this site are great for classic fall colours because there a lot of trees in Kent! And I can’t think of a walk here without a great view. But if push comes to shove I’d say the One Tree Hill walks (6 and 7), the Chiddingstone walk and the Westerham walk are the top three, closely followed by Ide Hill and Shoreham Mk2. Anyway, we’re not there yet… still warm enough to pretend it’s summer (well, it was if you were reading this on Friday – no longer!), even if the wind is gusting noisily as I write and talk of storms is darkening the bright smiles of the TV weatherforecasters.

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One Tree Hill figure-of-eight walk, in the light of August

A beautiful stroll on Sunday in 32C sunshine at One Tree Hill, Sevenoaks. We did a version of the figure-of-eight walk, past Ightam Mote, skirting Shipbourne then on to the hamlet of Budds before climbing back up the green sandstone ridge at Wilmots Hill. We passed hardly a soul but nor did we see many birds. Everything was still, waiting for evening coolness as the last of the daytrippers sidled contentedly away from Ightam Mote, smiling and clutching bags containing goodies from the National Trust shop. The hushed reverential mood of the day was only heightened by the sudden appearance of one of the Biggin Hill Spitfires glistening in the sun, banking hard towards Plaxtol and briefly getting into formation with a slow twin-engine passenger plane (maybe a photo sortie?) before dashing off west. A thrilling sight.

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Snow flurries, mud and cloudscapes on the Greensand Ridge

The mud is horrific but worth slopping through for the wonderful scenes on the One Tree Hill/Ightam Mote walk – a steep wooded escarpment with beech trees growing out of it at extraordinary angles, huge Weald views over to the Ashdown Forest and the beautifully situated Mote house itself, in its secret little cleft in the hill line. With dramatic skies, clear air, flurries of snow, the ridge routes around One Tree Hill and Wilmot Hill left us in awe yesterday.

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Special trees on these Kent walks

Of the countless arboreal delights of north-west Kent there are a few standout trees. There’s the tall, straight oak on the Ightam Mote path, the enormous yew near the sandstone holloway’s entrance on the Hever walk, the high, buzzard-friendly larches encountered on the Shoreham eastern valleys walk, just about every tree in Knole…

But few are more striking – or precarious – than this beech growing out of the greensand escarpment at One Tree Hill, which walkers pass on their way towards, or back from, Ightam Mote. The picture below doesn’t do it full justice: because the camera is pointing down, it’s hard to appreciate the gradient this amazing tree is growing out of. Let’s hope it lasts a while yet.

The amazing tree growing out of the escarpment at One Tree Hill