18.5 km 11.5 miles Difficulty 7/10
A pretty, rural walk teetering on the edge of zone 6. It has hilly bits, stiles and some good views. In spring, parts of this walk are good for wild flowers and there are bluebell woods..(Last year, almost to the day, there was an impressive field full of cowslips and dandelions). Shortly after lunch, you pass Down House, once home to Charles Darwin and now open to visitors. (Admission £14.30) 
Trains: Get the 10:10 Sevenoaks train from Charing Cross (10:20 London Bridge, 10:35 Hither Green) arriving Knockholt at 11:01. Trains return at xx:44 and xx:14. Get a return to Knockholt. It is within London Zone 6, so a 1-6 travelcard would do.
Lunch: The Queens Head (01689)852145 or the George and Dragon (01689) 889030 across the road. Both in Downe village.
Tea: Arthur's at Coolings Garden Centre is almost on the route but it closes 4:30.
A diversion to the Rose and Crown Otford Lane, Halstead, (01959 533120) is another possibility, 600 metres off route. (see text). (The Cock Inn there seems to have given up the ghost)
No inns or cafes near the station -so allow, say, 45 mins from Coolings and 30 mins from Halstead T=swc.7
Walk Directions here
3 comments:
The. best bluebells of this walk are on the short cut through Newyears Wood. It and the next wood on the shortcut were a sea of blue on 23 April last year.
Nationwide alert test at 3pm may disable your phone till acknowledged. Just saying.
Q What’s long and slithery?
A This walk when it’s been raining.
N=7 hardy stalwarts gathered, undeterred by the gloomy forecast. There was w=light_rain-to-start-then-dry-then-sun There was also up, down and a lot of stiles, some impossibly high. But strangely enjoyable. Scenic and that. The Queens Head was welcoming and people got proper scoff. And they had Rosie’s Cider, which was enough to keep Mr Tiger happy despite his muddy paws, one of which was getting a bit sore. Well, sort of happy.
The others sped on after lunch into the shortcut and left poor Mr Tiger behind. But, don’t worry readers, they caught him up again later. The cowslip field did not disappoint but it is a bit of a slog up the other slippery side. Plenty of bluebells on the walk especially through New Years Wood.. Perhaps not quite at their best. Probably looked at today’s weather and decided not to bother.
The trouble with this walk is it’s a long way to the station. You think you must be getting there, then there’s another bit, then another. And so on. They should do something about that. :(
We were too late for Coolings. There was talk of diverting to Halsted but I doubt it happened. The others had shot off again, hadn’t they?
Post a Comment