Borough Green to Sevenoaks Book 1 walk 36
9.3 miles/15.0 km. Toughness 4/10
Outward Train: London Victoria 9:52, arriving Borough Green & Wrotham 10:37. (Stops at Bromley South 10:08) A return to Borough Green should be fine for the return from Sevenoaks.
A walk through Kent taking in the medieval moated manor at Ightham Mote (National Trust) and the parkland around Knole House (also National Trust). There's a bumper crop of apples this year, and the Ordnance Survey map shows many orchards on the way, but not sure how many of these remain.
For a pub lunch, a diversion to The Chaser Inn at Shipbourne is recommended. This is a popular place so worth giving them a call first on 01732 810360. They currently have a British Food Fortnight on and are threatening to serve school dinners. The route to the pub is described in the online walk directions, but not in older copies of Book 1.
Ightham Mote has a cafe and picnic area.
Knole Park has a tea kiosk til about 5pm, and Sevenoaks has further options.
Return Trains: Frequent services from Sevenoaks to London Cannon Street, but make sure it is a fast service not the stopping service, unless you would like a leisurely tour of South East London. There's also a slow train up to London Blackfriars.
T=1.36
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2 comments:
N=35 plus two dogs on this walk. Lovely to walk in w=warm-sunshine through this pretty corner of Kent. It may be an oldie, this walk, but it bears repeating. Fallen apples were scrumped (translation for non-native speakers: stolen) by some. Some diverted to The Chaser pub, which was curiously deserted, its lovely garden having a fine view of the church. At least one stuck to the Greensand Way, the rest of us stuck to the book route. The contractors rebuilding Knole Park's tea room have gone bust, so who knows when their tea room will ever reopen?. We avoided the temporary kiosk and went in search of a promised "garden tea room" which was in a poky indoor room: why not the spacious Orangery next door?
In Sevenoaks some of us went to the pub, and some of those went on to a nice curry by the station. And after all that it was still only 8pm.
Sign of the season: on all this gorgeous long sunny day I only saw two butterflies. Even a week ago I saw two dozen.
Of the Ightham contingent, most opted for the Greensand route. As far as I know, only one (yours truly) opted for the proper book route. I got to Knole kiosk exactly the same time as the Greensanders. Ighthams catering facilities are getting tedious. The kiosk (handy if you just want a drink) seems permanently shut. In the cafe a longer slower queue. At Knole House, we managed to get tables inside but yes pokey and chaotic.
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