Length: 18/6km (11. 6 miles)
9.45 train from Charing Cross (9.48 Waterloo East, 9.54 London Bridge) to Sevenoaks, arriving 10.19. (*** Notice the change to train time from the one I posted earlier in the week: this is the fast train...)
Buy a day return (or single: see ** below) to Sevenoaks T=swc.20
This walk was posted back in the autumn sometime, when it poured with rain and only six people turned up, the poster (who had planned to check the directions) not being one of them because he had the lurgie (honest...).
So I thought I would give it another go at what is the best time of year to do it - bluebell season. This walk has a number of very nice bluebell woods on the climb up to the Greensand ridge and around Ide Hill. One caveat: I had alarming reports that they were at their absolute best ten days ago, so hopefully they will still be looking good now....
Otherwise this is a lovely Wealden walk with gorgeous views and some hills to put the glow in your cheeks. The afternoon is a very familiar hill and woods walk into Westerham.
For a pub lunch one option is the quite small and rather cute Windmill in Sevenoaks Weald, 4.8 miles into the walk and requiring a 1km diversion off the walk route. It might be an idea to ring this pub before diverting to eat there, just to be sure it has room. Otherwise you are dependent on the Cock Inn in Ide Hill, 8 miles into the walk - a popular place which we usually manage to squeeze into somehow. It used to serve food all afternoon, which made life easier, but now only does so until 3pm.
Ide Hill also has a nice community shop, with some tables, which makes a tea or light lunch stop, and just 1.1 miles after Ide Hill you come to the National Trust-run Emmetts Garden, which has a cafe open till 4.30pm. At the end of the walk in Westerham there are lots of refreshment options - cafes, pubs, shops.
To get back from Westerham you get the 246 bus, which leaves at 22 and 52 past until 18.22 and then hourly (22, 23 or 24 past) till late. This gets to Hayes station in 30 minutes and Bromley South station 15 minutes later. It is a TFL bus, so you can use Oyster/contactless and you pay the standard £1.65 TFL bus fare. For holders of 60+ cards or season tickets extending to zone three it is free (** and for them there is there is therefore no need to get a return to Sevenoaks: you can just get a single, not that it makes much difference price-wise)
2 comments:
The person who does the walk report should be someone who actually walked with the group, and since it streaked away from me as soon as we left Sevenoaks station, I don’t qualify. But I was the one who did the numbers count, so I have to supply that.
N=27 on this walk, then. That is, 21 on the station, four (I think) meeting us outside, and I heard rumours of two arriving in a train that came in a few minutes later.
It was w=sunny-at-last after days of gloomy grey cloud. There was some fairweather cloud in the afternoon, but basically a lovely day.
Now someone from the main group has to fill in the details: how many lunched at the Cock Inn, whether the service was good….
What I can say from my perspective as backmarker (almost: three waited for/came on the later train and they passed me later) is that there were four or five newbies on this walk, all of whom got comprehensively left behind and so probably will not walk with us again. I did talk to one of them for a while but, what with checking the walk directions and looking at nature, lost touch with him after a bit.
Ah yes, nature. It was all lovely. Lots of lambs. Plenty of eye-ache green. I was chuffed beyond measure to pass a house which had two pairs of swallows nesting in its garage, only the second time I have seen any this year and the first time I have been able to watch them in flight. I did this, I confess, for some time. I saw two more (both very briefly) later in the walk. Swallow numbers in the south east are dramatically down in recent years, so it is good to know some still come. You just hope they find enough insects to eat.
There were also some nice patches of wild garlic in flower, and of course bluebells. The first wood on the walk, shockingly, has become full of brambles since I was last there. But once on the ridge there were some lovely displays, including in places I have not recorded them before. I think the explanation for this is that I have never done this walk towards the end of the bluebell season before. The bluebells on the slopes, which come out early, were definitely fading, but those on the top of the ridge, under sweet chestnut which has barely begun to leaf, are now at at their best.
I passed four picnickers (from the group) on the ridge who had chosen a beautiful spot for it. I carried on, intending to see if anyone was still at the Cock Inn. But at this point last night’s ready meal decided to have an argument with my digestive system…and let’s say I suddenly did not feel sociable. God bless Ide Hill for having a community loo where I could spend a penny (or rather 40 of them by contactless card: don’t worry, I got my money’s worth…).
After this I figured I might as well have a tea and sandwich from the community shop and then go to see the rest of the bluebells. Afterwards I hoofed it to Emmetts (attracted as much by their loo as their tea room…) and there I ran into the Walks Inspector, who had been touring apple orchards near Marden and came to Emmetts to see if any SWC walkers were about. Only I was, so we had tea and did a brief tour of the gardens.
As I was leaving Emmetts at 5pm I was texted that some walkers were having drinks on the green at Westerham. I got there at 6.30pm after an idyllic walk through the woods and of course they were long gone by then: doubtless already relaxing in the bath with a mug of cocoa. I am penning these brief lines on the bus.
Chatted with some of the newbies in the morning. Found ourselves behind a group of 40 or 50 from a gay walking group who seemed to be doing the exact SWC walk. Fearing the Cock Inn would be overwhelmed about 8 had lunch at the Village shop / cafe. Most of the gay walkers picniced on the green but the pub was very busy with long waiting times for food. I think about 8 had food and probably about another 12 stopped for a drink. Emmets looked very busy as well. Met three other newbies nearing Westerham who were close to front and not having any difficulty navigating.
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