10.04 train from Charing Cross (10.07 Waterloo East, 10.13 London Bridge) to Knockholt, arr 10.49
If you just miss this, catch the 10.15 Hastings train from Charing Cross (10.18 Waterloo East, 10.24 London Bridge) to Orpington, arriving 10.39, and pick up the above train at 10.43)
Train tickets
Knockholt is in zone 6 so you can use Oyster/contactless to there (don't forget to touch out, though, as there are no barriers). If you have a pass covering zone six, you only then need to buy a single from Otford to Swanley (if going to Blackfriars/Victoria) or Knockholt (if going via Sevenoaks).
If you don't have zone six coverage, either buy a single from Otford to London Terminals (I think this is valid via Sevenoaks, if you decide to come back by that route, but check...) or a day return to Sevenoaks which is the same price as an Otford return and valid for all the return routes mentioned.
Why this walk?
The 12th of December marks the earliest sunset of the year (see the last section of this page for an explanation of why this is not the same as the shortest day), so what better way to mark it than with this little gem, a fierce little terrier of a walk, which approaches the familiar Shoreham-Otford walking territory from an unfamiliar angle and makes up for its diminutive length with a fair quotient of hills, including big climbs mid morning and just after lunch.
On the descent to Shoreham and Otford the chalk paths can be a bit slippery, so do take care here.
Lunch and tea
Lunch is at one of the pubs in Shoreham - the King's Head is often favoured, but the George Inn has also reopened as the Samuel Palmer. For tea, the Hospices of Hope tea room (at the back of the shop) closes at 4pm, but the Pond View Cafe and Sally's Cake Emporium supposedly stay open till 4.30pm. The Bull or the Woodman are pub options
Extending the walk
The Shoreham Circular walk has a number of onward options from Otford in its walk directions (GPX, map)
- a short circuit of about 1km around the attractions of Otford (paragraph 37: section H in the walk directions)
- a short easy walk back to Shoreham of 3km (1.8 miles) (paragraph 57: section K in the walk directions)
- a 7km (4.3 mile) circuit to Shoreham including another steep hill climb (paragraph 37: sections H, I and J in the walk directions)
Trains back to London
Trains back from Otford are at 26 and 56 past to Victoria (40 mins) and 29 and 59 to Blackfriars (1 hour, but or 52 minutes to Victoria if you change at Bromley South). Or you can get a 18 or 48 minute past train to Sevenoaks and change there for a train to London Bridge/Charing Cross (36 minutes in all)
Trains back from Shoreham are at 02 and 32 past to Blackfriars (57 minutes, or 49 minutes to Victoria if you change at Bromley South). Or you can get a 15 or 45 minute past train to Sevenoaks and change there for a train to London Bridge/Charing Cross (39 minutes in all)
2 comments:
What a glorious day. W=Sunny-and-frosty. A day to make you think winter is not so bad after all…
N=14 assembled at Knockholt station. Contrary to my fears, no new housing construction has affected the start of this walk. Once we had crossed a busy road or two and navigated a tricky part-broken stile, made worse by slippery frost, we were out in the woods in the slow slanting sunshine.
Paths might have been gloopy here - had the mud not been frozen solid. The trees were bare, with just some oaks still left golden (they can hang onto leaves well into winter) and dribs and drabs on field maple and hazel.
After a steep hill climb and descent into Shoreham, eight of us decided to try the Crown for a change. They were super friendly and found us a secluded table in a side bar. It was just a pity the room was largely unheated - in contrast to the cosy saloons with log fires next door. The menu was fairly basic, but the dishes on the whole nice.
In the afternoon the sun played hide and seek - often hidden by tree or hill, but occasionally popping us to bathe us in gold. In places there was a permafrost, where the sun had not reached all day - cold, mysterious places, like something in a fairy tale.
The group had split up by this time. If anyone did any of the suggested extensions or had interesting tea experiences, do file a separate report. The group of five I was in descended to Otford just as the last dregs of gold were draining from the western horizon. Four of us went for puds and drinks by the fire in the Bull, and had a lovely walk in the starlit dark to the station. We got the 6.18 to Sevenoaks and from there to London enjoyed Southeastern first class seats on their first day of declassification.
A lovely day out with some wintery scenes some stiff climbs to keep our body temperatures up. Four of us had a picnic in the churchyard at Shoreham where the lack of wind and bright sunshine kept us warm enough. Later on we passed through a field of frisky bull calfs before the hardest climb of the day near Magpie Bottom.
We arrived at Otford in time for tea and cake at the Hospices of Hope and caught the 15.56 back to Victoria.
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