9.29 train from Charing Cross (9.32 Waterloo East, 9.38 London Bridge) to Swanley, changing there (arrive 9.59, depart 10.06: usually the same platform) to Eynsford, arriving 10.11
or
9.16 Thameslink train from Blackfriars, which goes to Eynsford (arr 10.11) direct via innumerable South East London stations, one of which may be your local.... T=swc.59
Buy a day return to Eynsford, unless you plan on finishing at either Otford or Shoreham, in which case get a day return to one of those stations: a ticket to Otford covers all eventualities.
A walk around the wooded rim of the Darent Valley, very familiar SWC walking territory, with some hopefully colourful woods and fine views.
It is the last day before the Great Darkness descends, so it seems a pity not to make the most of the daylight (sunset at 5.47pm and light for walking until 6.30pm or so, which won't be the case again till early March...)...
.....but if you want a shorter outing this walk offers a number of options - ending in Otford, ending in Shoreham, lunching in Shoreham, a shorter afternoon route: see the walk home page with its interactive map for details.
Unless you shortcut to Shoreham, which has other options, lunch will probably be at the Bull in Otford - a chain pub with all their typical attendant virtues and vices - though the Hospices of Hope tea room might provide an alternative for lighter meals.
Tea is one of the pubs in Eynsford, unless you tweak the walk (ie divert off the stated route a bit) to descend to the nice cafe at the Lullingstone Visitor Centre, open to 5pm.
Trains back are at 05 and 35 past, and both get you via many stops to Blackfriars in 54 minutes
- For a much faster journey, get the 35 past, changing at Swanley (arr 40 past, depart 48 past: same platform usually) for a fast train to London Bridge, the latter taking just 19 minutes and the whole journey therefore taking 32 minutes.
- Alternatively on the 05 train you can change at Bromley South (arr 22 past, depart 33 past) and get to Victoria at 51 past - a journey time from Eynsford of 46 minutes.
4 comments:
A nice neat 20 at the start of this walk, split between the various train options. But then the walk author popped up at lunch and walked a distance with us in the afternoon, and in the pub at the end we met three who had missed a connection and started half an hour late. There were reports too of a well known walker and spouse seen somewhere or other, who were deemed by the observers to be also on the walk. That makes N=26 by my count and I will bop anyone on the nose who says otherwise.
It was w=fairly-sunny, though it was a close run thing after lunch, when drops of rain were felt and the sky to north and south was black as pitch. But we remained in a patch of sun and towards the end of the day the clouds cleared to give a poignant golden finish to the last day of British Summer Time. Autumn colours were good. Note to BBC weather forecasters: a bit of wind does NOT strip all the remaining leaves off the trees, not even all the tinted ones.
Apart from one person who finished at lunch to go to an evening social event, I think most people did the full walk. Any who did a shortcut can fess up in a separate comment. Quite a lot of us (I did not count exactly) lunched at the Bull in Otford. They were “full” the way pubs are even when their other customers are not all evident to the naked eye, but they accommodated us. Some said portion sizes were a bit small, but that was not true of the fish and chips, which were gargantuan. Four lunched at the Hospices of Hope and were very enthusiastic about it. Just like a pub, only cheaper, but with no beer, and all the other customers “were over sixty” (which sounds ghastly…)
In the afternoon I was surprised to find the route not quite what I expected. Despite knowing this area very well, I discovered paths I did not know and very nice they were too. Many stuck to the main route all the way to Eynsford, but five of us diverted to the Lullingstone Visitor Centre cafe for a pleasant al fresco tea in the low sunlight. Two of these headed straight for the station but 8-10 of us ended up in the Malt Shovel pub in Eynsford village, where seating was at a premium due to numerous reserved tables (their menu looked good…).
Some went for the 17.35 train: others stayed and got the 18.35. Its hoped-for connection to the fast train to London Bridge was scuppered by that train being delayed, so we stayed on the Thameslink instead. We all got home somehow, enjoying jolly chat along the way.
As I emerged from the station, snow started to fall. I pulled my scarf tight around my neck. Winter had arrived….
I was sorry to miss this walk but Walker's write up brings it alive. A literary masterpiece!
Oh, thank you. You are very kind.
I walked from Otford to Eynesford, along the Darent Valley Path, which was surprisingly busy. I stopped at the Lavender farm to stock up on supplies, use their toilet facilities and enjoy a hot chocolate from their refreshments truck. I then continued on to Eynesford village, taking the route alongside the churchyard to the station, where I joined four other SWC walkers.
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