SWC 24: Sandling to Wye Along the North Downs Ways t=swc.24
Distance: 13 Miles/20.9kmDifficulty: 6 out of 10
Train: Take the 9:40 AM train from London St. Pancras (9:48 from Stratford International), changing at Ashford (arriving 10:18; departing 10:25) arriving at Sandling at 10:36 OR take the 9:04 AM direct train from London Charing Cross (9:13 from London Bridge). Return trains from Wye are at 22 past the hour with a choice of destination and speed.
This lovely walk follows one of the finest sections of the North Downs Way (NDW) along the edge of the North Downs escarpment – in many ways it feels more like the South Downs - with fine views for nearly the whole walk. You can find more information about the walk and download the walk instructions/route here.
Lunch is at the Tiger Inn ( 01303 862130 ) in Stowting, 9.3km (5.8 miles) into the walk, an alternative is also available a bit further on on a short diversion -- the Five Bells in Brabourne.
In Wye, the Tickled Trout is the recommended tea/drinks stop. However, there are some other options available as well.
6 comments:
Presume that should be 9:13 from London Bridge.
Correct -- apologies for the error -- I have corrected the post.
Good morning, can I buy a super off peak day return to Wye for this walk? Or do I have to get 2 separate tickets?
I would get one to Sandling, possibly slightly further away. But either fine.
Will do that, many thanks!
N=12 on this walk, nine (?) of whom came on the high speed train. Uncharacteristically I got the normal train out and back, so as to avoid the Margate crowds.
We set off at a brisk pace, with good group cohesion at first. It was w=sunny-and-hot on the climb to the downs. At the top someone seems to have moved the North Downs Way. Not sure what happened here, but the walk directions (which no one looks at anyway…) will be amended.
The buttercups were good and in places stunning, but not as intense as in previous years, probably due to the May drought (something only I noticed, I am sure). But all else was gorgeous - tall wavy meadows, eye-aching greenery, grand views. This really is a lovely walk at this time of year.
Particular mention on the nature front goes to painted lady butterflies - I saw more today than in the whole of last year (which admittedly was a shockingly bad one). Common blues and small heaths also featured heavily. And yellowhammers: I heard ten of them through the day, which is absolutely astonishing. It is good to know they are still thriving somewhere.
Most ate at the Tiger Inn, which was not busy - four inside, about five of us on the front terrace. The staff got in an extraordinary pother about this. Tables had no numbers and they fussed about how they would ensure the right people got the right food, as if this problem had never arisen before. My meal came so quickly I suspected it had been cooked in error for another diner. Everyone else outside waited quite a while for theirs, confirming this suspicion. Still no complaints - it was lovely sitting there in the sunshine (and I had my food anyway, so I was particularly unbothered…)
We had got strung out in the late morning and got more so in the afternoon. Four backmarkers stayed together until the Devil’s Kneading Trough (or whatever it is called) when I insisted on a sit down to enjoy the view. Two of us stopped, two didn’t.
That left two of us to finish the walk alone, enjoying flowers and butterflies and pioneering a new route down from the Crown, which I will incorporate into the walk, I think. We got to the Tickled Trout at 5.20, just after the others had gone for the train, I suspect. Having an enforced hour in the garden of the pub (somewhat noisy due to kids and partying adults), we had tea and puddings, and one of us (me) paddled in the river. Four swifts were seen overhead, the first I have seen in the South East this year.
So onto the 6.22 train, on which we stayed all the way to Waterloo East, declining to risk the change at Ashford. A dreamily nice day out and a good walk choice by our absent poster.
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