Length: 17km (10m)
Toughness: 4 / 10
Transport: Take the 9:20 train from London Victoria arriving in Dormans at 10:14. Return trains from Hever are at xx:05. Buy a day return to Dormans. You might need to buy a single from Hever to Hurst Green where the two lines diverge, but it is very unlikely.
This is a lovely walk in quite a remote area visiting an iron-age hill fort and 3 historic manor houses. Lunch is in the excellent Fountain Inn in the charming village of Cowden.
The walk follows the instructions in reverse. I would like to vary the end of the walk in order to visit the King Henry VIII pub in Hever for tea. It has a great garden to while away the time for the next train. It lengthens the walk by about 1.5km. A GPX for this extension can be found here. Note, that it takes about 20-25 mins to walk from the pub to the station.
4 comments:
When I did a walk starting in Hever on 12 May and passed the King Henry VIII pub, it was covered in scaffolding and looked very much out of commission. I couldn't see any notice/information on what was going on, whether it was just being redecorated or actually closed. Later I looked up its website which gave the impression that the place was fully functioning which it clearly was not at the time. It may be back to normal now but someone may like to phone to check before doing the proposed variation for the end of this walk.
When I posted this walk I tried to find up-to-date info on the KH8 pub, but could only find an instagram page which says the pub is open but receiving a "facelift" (https://www.instagram.com/thekinghenryviii/). Also, according to tripadviser
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g503908-d1507180-Reviews-King_Henry_VIII-Hever_Sevenoaks_District_Kent_England.html
the pub is undergoing roof repairs but is still open.
I called a phone number I found on the internet but got no answer.
16 met at Dormans station in #mostly_dry_and_partially_sunny_weather_with_a_cool_wind. At the Fountain Inn the usual suspect was found waiting for us having walked in from Cowden station making a total of #17 walkers. About 10 ate at the pub split between
the garden and the conservatory.
We enjoyed the excellent food and the atmosphere of the pub such that the dessert menu provided an excuse for some of the lunchers
to linger longer. Had the sun been out without the cool wind we would have been tempted to give up on the rest of the walk and spend the afternoon in the garden of the pub. However, duty called and we walked on
following in the steps of the picnicers who had by this time already left Cowden.
At Markbeech an advance party informed us that the KH8 was indeed open. With a newly found spring in our steps we marched on. 3 decided to catch the next train giving them only 10mins for a quick drink in the garden of the KH8
while the remaining 7 relaxed for another hour under by now more sunny skies to catch the 18:05 from Hever back to London. A thoroughly enjoyable walk despite the various mutterings by some that the posted morning train departure was too early .....
I forgot to mention that there is currently an Open Studios event (till 16 June: https://www.artinjune.org/) all across Kent and the Surrey Border during which artists in this area open their studios often in private setting to the public. In Cowden we visited a studio where a local resident made small brooches by painting and then baking coloured enamel onto silver. Very pretty.
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