"The walk starts in Borough Green, and goes south through woods and along streams to the old village of Plaxtol with its Cromwellian church. Then through the park of Fairlawne House to Ightham Mote, a beautiful moated medieval manor, and lunch in its National Trust restaurant.
The route onwards is up a bridleway, through orchards and alongside a new lavender farm and along shaded woodland paths leading to the 1,000-acre Knole Park and its 365-roomed Knole House, then up by footpaths to tea in Sevenoaks, with the station some way downhill from the centre."
Trains: Get the 0955 from London Victoria to Borough Green & Wrotham arriving 1041. Frequent return trains from Sevenoaks to Charing Cross, though some are a lot faster than others. From the walk description: "Borough Green and Sevenoaks are on different lines but a day return to Borough Green is usually accepted for the return journey from Sevenoaks"
Lunch: The suggested lunch place is the National Trust restaurant at Ightham Mote, some 6.9 km into the walk. You could also divert to the Chaser Inn in Shipbourne.
Tea: The refurbished Brewhouse Tearoom has an entrance in the north wall of Knole House. In Sevenoaks, various tea places and the Chequers Inn.
1 comment:
#7 met at Borough Green Station on a #cloudy-but-bright-day, not really cold. We ignored the instruction to cross the A227 at the pedestrian crossing on the railway bridge, which meant we dashed across it later at the junction with the High Street, and then were in the wrong position to use another pedestrian crossing over the A25 so most dashed across that too. Everyone survived. 3 more emerged from a coffee shop on the High Street and another one a bit later so #11 in all.
The walk is a lovely mix of woods, streams, orchards, small roads (not too many) and fields. Plenty of beautiful leaves on the trees and also on the ground. Quite a few horses in fields and lots of deer in Knole . Boots were certainly needed but the mud level was not too bad. No one went to the pub and we all ate or drank at the National Trust café at Ightham Mote.
We all left Ightham Mote together but found ourselves behind, among, and eventually ahead of a very big group of young people. Some high speed Saturday Walkers disappeared ahead, the more moderate walkers finding them later in Sevenoaks Wetherspoons, but two slower walkers were lost and not seen again. Some got trains soon after 4.15pm.
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