sevenoaks

Oldbury’s trees make for a cool heatwave stroll
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Oldbury’s trees make for a cool heatwave stroll

The recent heatwave was great for a short Kent walk – especially under a tree canopy. Last week I headed to Oldbury, near Sevenoaks for the Iron Age Fort walk. It is the shorter of the two Oldbury walks, at 4.2 miles; the longer one is more like 7 miles and takes in Ightham Mote and Stone Street. I didn’t have time for that, great though it is, having set off mid-afternoon.

Check out the interactive OS map of this walk here

Both Oldbury walks take in two wonderful, contrasting woods: Oldbury woods (and its adjoining Styants wood), on the iron age fort; and sandy Fishpond woods behind the steep cliff of Raspit Hill. The fort – one of the largest in Britain – is clearly defined. It has a deep ditch round it, a flat top and holloway paths through the sandstone. Its woodland is a site of special scientific interest and is mostly of oak, birch, rowan and beech. The ramparts of the 2,100-year-old fort – 2.5 miles long and enclosing an area of 124 acres – are really impressive and apparently built by the Celtic ‘Wealden’ people who spoke the common Brittonic language. The National Trust looks after the woodland and reckons it’s possible that the hill was the site of a battle against Roman invaders around 50BC. It may not have been Celts fighting against Romans but Belgae, the old foe of Julius Cesar in Gaul, who had displaced Celts in the region a few years earlier. Anyway, it’s easy to appreciate the strategic value of the fort as you look out across the Vale of Holmesdale and Heaverham/Kemsing on the chalk escarpment to the north and towards the Weald to the south. Saxons took over the area after the Romans left and began coppicing the trees – a practice that has continued to this day.

It’s natural attractions, away from the arboreal wonder, include plenty of orchids in the grassy wild meadows just north of the fort, wheeling buzzards and red kites, song thrushes, chaffinches and amphibians.

  • Fishpond wood
  • Orchids by the fort
  • Sand path through Fishpond Woods, Oldbury
    Sand path through Fishpond Woods, Oldbury
  • North Downs escarpment view from Oldbury hill fort – Kemsing and Heaverham

My walk was made even more interesting by my encounter with Long Distance Walkers’ Association hikers on their annual 48-hour 100-Mile Challenge (a circular route via Meopham to Crowborough). One them told me they had to walk through the night and would just take a few minutes’ sleep by the path. They were complaining a bit about the heat, having walked 18 miles already. It didn’t look like fun or even particularly companionable with many walkers seeming to stagger slightly. I’m sure it will have felt good when they finished though – 82 miles later! Perhaps a good bath may be on the agenda … I’ll never know.

I left the brave LDWA walkers close to the picturesque school and church above Stone Street. I turned east, along the cliff top to Raspit Hill then down through Fishpond woods. There are more conifers here than at Oldbury, which make them popular with goldcrests and coal tits, I noticed. A small frog hopped out of my way on the sandy path, alerting me to the ponds themselves, shrouded in lily pads, reeds, irises and fallen logs. The first two, as you head north back to the Styants car park, are particularly beautiful, the final one more of a muddy pit. Overall, it’s a fantastic woody walk – up there with Chislehurst/Petts Wood, Ide Hill and the nearby One Tree Hill figure of eight route as my favourite tree strolls.

Stunning spring scenes on the Kent walks
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Stunning spring scenes on the Kent walks

Conditions for Kent Walks near London this weekend have been ideal. The countryside looks amazing, all dressed in a cobalt carpet of bluebells. Meanwhile, wild garlic is beginning to bloom along with primrose, stitchwort, cuckoo flower and campion adding further brilliance to the colour palette. On the One Tree Hill figure of eight yesterday the scenery was sensational, and the hues of green, blue and white, dazzling. Birdsong was vibrant – goldcrest, nuthatch, blackcaps, whitethroats, ravens were all heard along with the more regular chiffchaffs, robins, song thrushes, wrens and blackbirds. No finches though, which was weird.

It was great to see so many people out on the walks yesterday; particularly groups of young people, many of whom were using this website (I took a sneaky peek at the pdfs being held). I absolutely love to see that.

I’m collecting evidence for my annual bluebells of the year competition, a far from complete and completely absurd awards process. But at least there won’t be bow ties, chortling chumps, cheesy speeches and mercenary celebrity hosts at the ceremony. Well, there won’t be a ceremony at all! Pictured below are some of the contenders along with some images from yesterday’s strolling. The results will be announced this week.

Once again, apologies for lack of newsletter – I have done none at all this year. Time has been the biggest problem, but also the service provider has moved the goalposts and now wants too much money. I will have to find a solution because I have more than 1,000 subscribers. But when?

  • Wilmots Hill view on the One Tree Hill figure of eight walk. Looking towards Ashdown Forest
    Wilmots Hill view on the One Tree Hill figure of eight walk. Looking towards Ashdown Forest
  • Beech trees
    Beech trees growing out the Greensand Ridge, Wilmots Hill, on on the One Tree Hill figure of eight
  • Meenfield Wood bluebells
    Meenfield Wood, April 2026
  • Bluebells lullingstone
    Home Wood, Lullingstone country park
  • Foliage and cloud under the greensand escarpment on the One Tree Hill walk
    Foliage and cloud under the greensand escarpment on the One Tree Hill walk
  • Emmetts bluebells April 2026
    Emmetts bluebells April 2026
  • Centuries old yew tree growing out of the Greensand Ridge at Wilmots Hill, Sevenoaks
  • Andrews Wood bluebells April 2026
    Andrews Wood bluebells April 2026 on the Polhill walk
  • Wild garlic alongside the One Tree Hill path at Rooks Hill, Sevenoaks
    Wild garlic alongside the One Tree Hill path at Rooks Hill, Sevenoaks
  • Meenfield Woods bluebells, April 2026
    Meenfield Woods bluebells, April 2026
Bluebell season is here – perfect for Easter walks
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Bluebell season is here – perfect for Easter walks

Bluebell season is upon us and it’s only Easter! ‘We’re not ready’, you say, ‘they’re too early’. It’s true – as I discovered last week at Ide Hill, they are a bit too keen this year. No idea why; wet February, dryish March, not too cold? Who knows, but usually they peak around 20-25 April in these west Kent parts. This year the peak looks like being around 10-20 April. They are already fairly spectacular, though not yet at full bloom.

The new contender for Best Bluebells of Kent Walks Near London is Home Wood in the Lullingstone Country Park. This is an obscure corner of the park just south of Lower Beechen Wood. It’s a less frequented neck of the woods and little known to me but the bluebells are great. Check out the map here to locate Home Wood. It’s kind of on the Full Lullingstone route I describe on this page – but use the map to find Home Wood.

Swathes of bluebells can be found on most of the Kent Walks near London – but One Tree Hill, Ide Hill, Meenfield wood on the Polhill walks, Cudham, Lullingstone (not the Eynsford route but the above mentioned full circuit) stand out in particular.

Here is last year’s Bluebell guide… very much applicable to this year I’d imagine! More on this soon, when I’ve decided on the results this year…

  • Emmett Gardens
  • Peak bluebells, Downe.
    Near Downe. April 24
  • Wilmott Hill bluebells
  • bluebells
    Meenfield Wood, April 2022
  • Early bluebells, Cudham
  • Meenfield wood
  • Mariners Hill, Hosey walk
  • New Years Wood bluebells near Cudham/Knockholt
    New Years Wood bluebells, just starting to bloom
Early bluebells and owl on a British Summer Time stroll at Ide Hill
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Early bluebells and owl on a British Summer Time stroll at Ide Hill

The clocks have gone forward, the hurly-burly months are upon us. Hibernation is over. I marked this momentous day with a stroll on the Ide Hill route on the Greensand Ridge. The promise of early sun had vanished as altocumulus set in with scudding lower clouds driven by a decidedly sharp, brisk westerly. I was later than I hoped because I had overslept and then, after chores, decided to put on some music – mostly jazz, predictably enough. I drove out past Hayes and Keston listening to an interview with Miranda Hart on Radio 3. All very interesting; the programme was called Private Passions and Miranda discussed her various TV shows, where she was at and so forth. Her musical choices were interesting; there was some Grieg – as featured in a famous Morecambe and Wise sketch with Andre Previn – a haunting choral piece called O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen and Stephane Grapelli’s take on Sweet Georgia Brown featuring Yehudi Menuhin. What a good set-up for a walk I thought, better than the usual football commentary.

I decided to park by the Ide Hill Community Store, just round the corner from the village (Kent’s highest allegedly) – it’s a fantastic spot with a great view of the weald and Bough Beech reservoir. I walked up through the woods to the Octavia Hill seat amazed at the number of bluebells in bloom considering we were still in March. A nuthatch called stridently and seemed to dart at me, while tits tittered and greater spotted woodpeckers thrummed away in the background. What with the slightly odd weather and the clocks going forward it all seemed strangely out of synch; an impression reinforced by the sudden woo-wooing of a tawny owl – at 2pm for heaven’s sake.

  • Early bluebells in March at Emmetts Garden/Scord's Wood
    Early bluebells in March at Emmetts Garden/Scord’s Wood
  • Weald view on a dull day, near Ide Hill
  • Wet woodland, Scord’s
  • Celandine, anemone, bluebells in March
  • Emmetts early azaleas
  • Early bluebells
    Early bluebells at Scord’s wood, late March 2026

Later, in Scord’s, a wonderful wet woodland with lots of mossy old alder trees, my Merlin app picked up the sound of a marsh tit, quite unusual and another first for me. More nuthatches zoomed around purposefully and a pheasant joined in the tumult of bird song with its ridiculous rasping call that must alert every fox for miles around. I was hoping for a redpoll, a siskin or a treecreeper – all of which I’d seen here previously, but didn’t see any. The bluebells should be out in full within 10 days or so… they seem earlier this year than ever before. Is that just me? The National Trust’s Emmetts Garden was superb as ever with its cafe serving great coffee and cake.

All in all a memorable walk despite dull weather and not particularly muddy at all. No sheep or cattle encountered unlike last week at Fackenden Down when the highlanders surrounded the stile at the top of the Down itself. It just lacked a pint at the end; I was on my own so felt like heading off sharpish when back to the car.

Early spring flowers on Kent walks near London
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Early spring flowers on Kent walks near London

I write this on a dark Tuesday night with rain, driven by an angry, unpredictable wind, lashing down on to the roof of my conservatory. My little electric radiator is working overtime as I listen to the elements filling the sky above me. But I’m here to write about the onset of spring, about how the Kent walks near London have largely dried out rather well and how early bluebells, wood anemones, primroses and celandine are spangling woods and meadows with vivid colours. I also want to mention how great the blackthorn bushes and trees look this year. The snow-white flowers of blackthorn, the stalwart of early spring blossom, are a vital source of nectar and pollen for bees in spring. The Woodland Trust website says its foliage is a food plant for the caterpillars of many moths, including the lackey, magpie, swallow-tailed and yellow-tailed and that it’s also used by the black and brown hairstreak butterflies. Its thorny, dense thickets are great for birds to nest in too and of course its gorgeous sloe berries in autumn are a rich source of sustenance for a variety of creatures.

Blackthorn is seen on all the walks; take a close look, it’s definitely one of those sights we take for granted but the more you look, the more you are rewarded.

Yes, all this happens every year but it seems so miraculous each time, as long as you don’t forget to look. And right now we need to look, given the gloom visited on us by the horror of unwanted wars and fears over our livelihoods.

  • Early spring at Romney Street, Eastern Valleys walk
  • Primrose in Scord wood on the Ide Hill walk
  • Blackthorn blossom on One Tree Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent
    Blackthorn on One Tree Hill, Sevenoaks, Kent
  • Wood anenomes on Fackenden Down
  • Cuckoo flowers and bluebells near Bore Place, Bough Beech
  • Celandine on the Fackenden Down walk
  • Magpie Bottom view, late March
  • Primroses on the chalk downs of Kent
    Primroses on the chalk downs of Kent at Austin Spring, near Shoreham
  • Blackthorn on Fackenden Down
  • Wood anemones and bluebells
    Wood anemones and bluebells
  • Colours of late March
  • Blackthorn clump on between Austin Spring and Romney Street, Fackenden walk
    Blackthorn clump between Austin Spring and Romney Street, Fackenden walk
A break in the rain – quick, catch the train to Shoreham!
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A break in the rain – quick, catch the train to Shoreham!

The unrelenting rain so far this year has put a bit of a dampener on Kent walks. There has been the odd decent day; the Saturday just gone for example so all has not been lost. The increased rain is pretty much in line with what weather scientists have been predicting given the pace of climate warming – and who would be surprised if by June we are in a drought? It seems to be the way of it these days. Personally, I’d love a bit of snow before February is out, but it seems an unlikely prospect.

Shoreham winter february
The path by the white cross with a view of the Darent Valley

Taking advantage of the sun on Saturday and in need of Vitamin D I hastily organised a train walk with a friend. The Thameslink from Catford whisked us to Shoreham within about 30 minutes – so much better than driving. We put together a route that’s a kind of hybrid of Shoreham Circular mk1 and mk2… so let’s call it Shoreham mk3. Starting from the station we: headed up White Hill to Warren Farm; turned south to Fackenden Down; west down the hillside to the A225; crossed the railway line and headed north up the valley floor; turned left and headed west up Water Lane to Filston Lane – then straight up to hill; turned right and headed north along the path above the white cross, back down to Mill Lane and the riverside path to the Samuel Palmer and back up to the station along the field-edge path. 5.5 miles of bliss in the sunshine. Birds of prey were plentiful: kestrel, buzzard and the now commonly seen spiral of red kites close to the village.

Of course, the paths were quite busy once down in the valley – people knew it was the only day to get out before the rain returned. The mud wasn’t too bad apart from one area of the Filston Lane field where cattle and trodden it into a mire. Otherwise you could have done it in trainers… that chalk geology does drain so well and there are several stretches of hardened paths/tracks on the route in any case.

CLICK HERE FOR GPX INTERACTIVE VERSION OF THE MAP BELOW

OS map of walk
Map of Shoreham mk3 route
A very summery type of autumn
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A very summery type of autumn

High pressure is dominating the weather and the near-drought continues. There is no mud on any of the walks, which once would have been unheard of for mid-October. For the past week it’s felt as if summer’s lease has no intention of expiring anytime soon. Amid mild temperatures and cerulean skies we enjoy the spectacles of the season as the greens of September become more mottled and varied as they meld into the yellows, oranges and reds of November. Rosehips, elderberry and sloes decorate the hedgerows and fungi mystically appear in woodland and grassy fringes. I’m not one for foraging; I much prefer to look and leave well alone (apart from blackberries).

Birdlife still seems somnambulant: I’ve been hoping for migrations but in this still weather nothing much seems to stir. A week ago, in the wake of Storm Amy, hundreds of house martins passed overhead heading east with the wind, as a full moon rose in a purple sky. But this was in Lower Sydenham not on the Kent walks. My only notable sightings have been a kingfisher on River Eden on the Chiddingstone walk; red kites over Lullingstone and Downe; grey plover and lapwings on the ever-expanding shoreline at Bough Beech reservoir (I’ve never seen the water so low); and buzzards at Polhill.

My walk at Fackenden Down today (pictured) was serene, colourful and wonderfully warm. But this isn’t autumn, surely. Lovely though it was, I would quite like to feel a fresher breeze, walk with the threat of a squall, squish through a puddle and ponder whether to wear wellies or trainers. That time will come I guess, I’ll enjoy summer’s lease while it lasts.

September walks
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September walks

September and October are two of my favourite months for a stroll. Somehow the light seems sharper, the cloudscapes change more quickly, birds and other creatures are on the move and colourful, mysterious fungi appears. There may be mud to contend with of course so a comfortable pair of wellies may come into their own before too long. I wouldn’t rule out a return of summer yet though, just because it’s raining ferociously as I write. All of the walks sparkle at this time of year but I particularly enjoy the woody One Tree Hill routes, Oldbury and Petts Wood in September. Just an atmosphere thing really.

Talking of cloudscapes, my walk at Downe on Saturday was set to a backdrop of dramatic shower clouds. I was happy to see the worst of them pass to the north, only to discover with some alarm that it had grown a nasty looking limb that was heading my way. My alarm doubled on seeing three forks of lightning flicker to earth. Amid hailstones the size of… er… dried lentils, my swift walk turned into an undignified dash across the final field back to the car in fear of a big flash.

  • 1 Looks far away…
  • 2 Something coming…
  • 3 Oh my gawd…
Quiet North Downs, busy South Downs; all good
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Quiet North Downs, busy South Downs; all good

A walk around Birling Gap in East Sussex amid the famous Seven Sisters chalk cliffs was just the tonic for a dreamy August last afternoon. It’s a brilliant trip that we do fairly regularly. We started on the beach at Eastbourne with a picnic while enjoying the August airshow, before hitting Beachy Head and the Gap. After a pint at the superb Tiger Inn in ancient East Dean, we topped off the adventure with a 45-minute sunset stroll along the lower Cuckmere river from the Seven Sisters visitor centre to the sea. It was blissful but busy with tourists and folk down from London … which is just fine with me; it’s great to see everyone out enjoying the beautiful countryside, and the joy people were feeling in the sea air was kind of infectious. It felt a bit like going to the cinema – the pleasure of a shared experience of wonderful scenes is a great thing. Sussex by the Sea is a special place.

  • Comma butterfly, Chevening
  • View from scarp above Chevening
  • Looking up at the Seven Sisters
  • Birling Gap
  • Visitors at Birling Gap
  • River Cuckmere, sunset
  • Gleaming chalk cliffs, Birling Gap
  • Queue for the bus, Birling Gap
  • The chalk cliffs were fascinating close up
  • Near Chevening House
  • View of the Vale of Holmesdale near Chevening
  • North Downs view
    View from the top of the scarp, near Knockholt
  • An egret at dusk in the Cuckmere river
    An egret at dusk in the Cuckmere river

The following day it was back to the North Downs for the Knockholt / Chevening route; the first time this year I reckon. As mentioned in my previous post I was tipped off by a helpful KWNL’er that there was a useful diversion at the Point 5 which means you don’t have to walk on Sundridge Road anymore. And so there was. It was great. Very sleepy, dry, Augusty, quiet. And so few people! I missed the crowds at Birling Gap. Well, I didn’t reeeeeally; I love solitude too. Without the waves, gleaming chalk, and sea breeze, the western North Downs don’t have quite the easy allure of their southern counterparts; but for quiet, great views, glimpses of the medieval past and atmosphere they are wonderful. But so few south-east Londoners seem to quite know what’s on the doorstep – which is the point of this website I suppose.

The orchids of Oldbury, Kent
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The orchids of Oldbury, Kent

Orchids are in full flower across almost all the Kent Walks Near London. They particularly like the chalky North Downs routes, such as Heaverham, Chevening, Fackenden Down, Polhill, Lullingstone, Eastern Valleys etc (see list of walks above) but I’ve found great clusters at Hever and meadow fringes at Oldbury too, on the sandstone/clay of the weald and Holmesdale Vale. We unexpectedly came across the pictured common spotted orchids (the UK’s most often seen variety) on the Oldbury walk this week. This is one of the routes I’ve walked the least often; in fact I can count the times I’ve hiked the long and short versions on the fingers of one hand. I don’t know why, they are both brilliant strolls. The shorter version is mainly through woods and is one of the quietest walks on this website (apart from the bit near the A25). It takes in an enormous Iron Age fort, meadows facing the North Downs escarpment and a sandy trail past beautiful old fish ponds in rich woodland. I really recommend it – it’s got a special atmosphere, some might say even a bit spooky.

See the best places to see orchids on these routes.