10.04 train from Charing Cross (10.07 Waterloo East, 10.13 London Bridge) to Sevenoaks, arriving Sevenoaks at 10.37
*** Do NOT get the 10.01 Charing Cross, 10.04 Waterloo East, 10.10 London Bridge, as this is a STOPPER, arriving Sevenoaks at 10.58.
No prizes for originality this week, but the adventurous tendency seems to be well catered for by the other choices, and this SWC classic makes a very pleasant early autumn outing - not too demanding on either the leg muscles or navigational skills, and with some suitably autumnal scenery and views.
For lunch you have a choice of the National Trust cafe at Ightham Mote (sandwiches, soups, pasties, and hot dishes in rather small portions), or - if you do the longer 11.5 mile version of the walk - the very fine Chaser Inn in Shipbourne (busy but big, and with a garden if the weather is fine: you could phone to check they have space, however).
For tea, the Brewhouse Cafe at Knole House is open till 5pm. A later option is Gails in Sevenoaks, which is open till 6.30pm. Pubs are also available...
Trains back from Sevenoaks are too frequent to need enumerating - one every ten minutes or so.
1 comment:
21 and a dog at Sevenoaks station, and two more met en route, so at least n=23 on this walk. It didn’t feel like it for long, however, as the group seemed to quickly fragment. Or rather some of us streaked ahead (I am not used to being one of this group!) and soon there were none evident for a long way behind us. I hope none of the backmarkers got lost…
The weather was w=glorious-sunshine. Remember, oh remember this day in the dark months ahead!! (On the other hand forget that there was a fair bit of cloud bubbling up in the early afternoon: thankfully it soon bubbled down again.)
Lots of praise for the walk, which did indeed seem to suit the time of year very well. Near Stone Street there was an avenue of apple trees which presented copious scrumping opportunities. Sadly the lavender fields thereafter seem to have gone (not that they would have been in flower anyway).
Lots went to lunch at Ightham Mote (long queues, I hear) and several took the opportunity to tour the house and gardens. Three of us did the loop to Shipbourne, where the Chaser was not massively busy. We had a very nice table in the (mostly) sunny garden, and at length were joined there by two more lunchers and a sandwicher.
Even this small group got fragmented on the afternoon leg along the Greensand Way, with its lovely views to the south. When two of us got to Knole House we found a very long queue at the Brewhouse Cafe, and failed to look on the upstairs terrace where (as I learned later) some SWC-ers were having tea. Instead we went on to the Malabar cafe in Sevenoaks. Others went to a place called Basil and recommended it. Five of us eventually met for a drink in the Chequers Inn.
We finished the walk as the light faded, happy that we had made good use of the day. There must be plenty of other versions of the day from others in the group, so feel free to file supplementary reports.
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