writing

Chalk in an early spring walk
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Chalk in an early spring walk

After such a rainy winter it’s likely this weekend will see a mass exodus to our Kent footpaths, some of which have taken on a rather liquid quality in recent weeks. Sunday looks as if it’ll be the better of the two days but Saturday will be dry and mild – maybe the better bet if you want a bit of peace and quiet.

I recommend to bide your time… wait until things have dried out a bit, especially if you are thinking of a Greensand Ridge walk around Sevenoaks or Westerham. I’m no expert but the soil and geology of the walks on the sandstone and on the clay of the Weald tend to get very boggy at this time of year; the soils are thicker and water sits a lot more. Add into that the popularity of One Tree Hill, for example, and you find churned up paths and impassable stretches without detours into the brambles.

However, up on the chalk hills the surface water drains away pretty well through the thin soil into the porous chalk – generally speaking that is. Downe has got very squelchy despite having a chalk foundation. This is partly because of the silly fenced in path around the initial fields and the farming-induced quagmire at the end of the final field by the bus stop as you come back into the village. I’ve gone off it a bit out of season I’ve got to say.

  • Flooded woods, Bough Beech
    Flooded woods, Bough Beech, March
  • Bough Beech nature reserve
    Bough Beech nature reserve, March
  • View from Fackenden Down
    View from Fackenden Down, March 2023
  • Gills Lap, Ashdown Forest
    Gills Lap, Ashdown Forest, early March.
  • Petts Wood walk in March
  • Lullingstone in March
  • Chevening walk Point 3-4. March
  • Cherry tree blossom

If you’re in doubt which kind of walk is which, the chalk walks are numbers 2, 3, 5, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30 (see top of the page to click on the links – I can’t be bothered to link these here!)

There are also tracks when you can get out of the mud – on the Chiddingstone, the Underriver, Knole and Bough Beech routes there are hardened paths to give relief. I’ve written about the tiny, quiet lanes here.

But there’s another factor to encourage you to walk on the chalk walks – the train. Eynsford, Shoreham (Kent), Otford are all on the Thameslink line down from Blackfriars. Kemsing is served by Victoria trains (but not Sundays sadly) and you can just about use Knockholt on the London Bridge line for walks starting in Andrews Wood (like Polhill and Pluto) if you don’t mind a walk to the start of the walk. There’s also the Hayes (not Middlesex!!) line from London Bridge via Lewisham for walks to Keston Ponds and Downe via Hayes Common.

A welcome rainy interlude
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A welcome rainy interlude

A torrentially rainy day is great for a reset. In my case this means playing music and doing indoor things that I’ve managed to avoid usually by going on Kent walks. It’s been a run of busy weekends: I’ve played gigs in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire in addition to the usual local big bands; been to the north Norfolk coast for a reacquaintance with one of my favourite bits of coast (oh the bliss of the marshes of Holkham, Cley and Blakeney); spent time in East Sussex with family and at the Love Supreme festival (Jacob Collier, Chucho Valdes, Branford Marsalis and Stanley Clarke the main attractions for me). I also saw John Scofield’s great new quartet in London (this is all jazzy by the way, apols if it means zilch to you, dear reader). The sum result of all this, in addition to the 9 to 5, has been a dearth of Kent walks, Kent cycles, Kent photography. I’ve only managed three long cycles out to Knockholt and the Pilgrim’s Way since May – imagine!

Best rainy day walks at KWNL

The rain this weekend is of course a real blessing for the fauna and flora on the walks (the butterflies may feel a bit put out by me writing this of course), and will green things up for the next few weeks. NW Kent was looking a bit scratchy, dusty and arid after all. I usually associate that look with later in August when that ‘done with summer’ mood is afoot, not early July when people haven’t even gone on holiday (or booked holiday!). As it happens, I’m partial to a rainy walk as long as not too extreme, but I draw the line at lots of lightning close by! My rainy walk tip? I’d say woods are lovely in the rain and obviously provide cover – so Petts Wood and Oldbury iron age fort would be my choices today. Knole, while not particularly woody, has a damp appeal too – it’s an atmosphere thing possibly.

  • Rainy July day. Point 5, Chevening walk
  • Kettleshill Farm oast houses in the rain, Underriver
  • Rainy July day. Looking up at the scarp, Chevening walk
  • Meenfield wood in drizzle, Shoreham, Kent, August
    Top path in Meenfield wood in drizzle, Shoreham, Kent, August
  • Nr Romney Street, Round Hill, Austin Spring
  • Polhill Bank
    September, rainy day looking out from Polhill Bank near Shoreham.
  • A squall approaches Kemsing from the Brasted direction

Still, so far this year I’ve covered all the routes with the exception of Heaverham to Otford and the Heaverham circular (no particular reason why). I’ve walked the ‘go-tos’ several times each: Polhill, Downe, Fackenden, Bough Beech and Hosey Hill; and done all of the ‘occasionals’ such as Oldbury, Hever, Chiddingstone. I do feel the need to add extra walks… I know I need to add Meopham, Cliffe, Bexley, and perhaps Goathurst Common. There’s also a lovely walk from Tunbridge Wells that I should add involving the High Rocks. I reckon train access is particularly important; I’m uncomfortable with the assumption that everyone has a car (I can barely afford my own!). I think I’ve done well to get to 30 walks on the site; after all they are really springboards for your own adventures and can be modified, extended, shortened as you see fit. Let’s see if I can add a couple more by early 2026.