Length: 12 km (7.5 miles) 8.5 miles if reversing Otford-Eynsford start after Shoreham back to Otford
Toughness: Main walk 6 out of 10; 7 out of 10 for alternative finish
London Victoria: 10-25 hrs SouthEastern service to Ramsgate Bromley South: 10-42 hrs
Arrive Otford: 11-01 hrs
Return
SouthEastern direct service to Victoria: 26 mins and 56 mins past the hour
Thameslink service to Blackfriars (change at Bromley South for Victoria): 29 mins and 59 mins past the hour
Recent walks posted have included sections of today's walk - but not this Circular walk in full - and not its steep start. Leaving the railway station we are soon ascending Otford Mount on the North Downs Way. Some paths will be muddy, particularly those before Romney Street, so please wear appropriate footwear. After Romney Street there is a steep descent, which can be very slippery - so a walking pole is a MUST today.
If not detouring to the quirky pub, The Rising Sun in Cotman's Ash, lunch is deferred until we reach the village of Shoreham, where hopefully the two pubs in the village (out of four) which survived Covid will be open to welcome our custom. Both make very satisfactory lunch stops: The King's Arms, a SWC favourite, and The Crown.
After lunch we have choice of routes back to Otford. The direct route, along the Darent Valley Path, will take you under an hour. The more energetic route, involving a climb up into Meenham Woods, takes forty minutes or so longer. Back in the village centre, you should find one of the pubs open for a post-walk libation. For a cuppa and nice cakes I would recommend the Pond View Cafe, at the top of the High Street.
T=1.43
Walk Directions are here: L=1.43
5 comments:
I must start my walk report by apologising to the n=16 walkers who showed up for today's walk, to be confronted with relentless, unforgiving mud all day. I have enjoyed this lovely walk in winter on many a previous occasion, but I have never before encountered so much mud on this walk, of the slippery, sloppy type. If I had known beforehand what we were in for, I would have posted a different walk. Given we had not had that much rain in recent weeks, it remains a mystery to me why the paths were in such a bad, slippery muddy state.
Fortunately for us, the day was saved - to a point - by the weather: we enjoyed another w=gloriously-sunny-winters-day, crisp but not cold, much the same as the previous Wednesday (Box Hill walk), so I'm doing something right in sorting the weather !
After ascending Otford Mount our group became a bit dispersed and spread out. Some of us opted to avoid the steep descent after Romney Street by walking along the road for most of the way to Shoreham, but later I heard that at least 3 walkers took the Romney Street route, and remained upright during the descent.
On arriving in the village of Shoreham, 2 had lunch at the King's Arms, where the mid-week pensioner's deal was on offer. 6 of us had lunch at the Crown pub in its cosy inner lounge, and very enjoyable, too. Picnickers had their lunches in the churchyard or by the river.
After lunch, some took the Meenham Woods route back to Otford, with views being especially good in the afternoon sunshine, whilst most others took the Darent Valley route back to Otford. Some enjoyed post walk refreshments in the Woodman pub, whilst I believe others popped in to the Pond View Cafe for a cuppa before heading to the railway station.
At the station I met up with 4 other walkers who had visited the Woodman, and the 16-26 hrs service took us back to London without incident - just good chat on the train.
Today we enjoyed some excellent views in winter sunshine on this lovely short but energetic walk. Yes - the mud was trying and tedious and relentless (again, sorry about that) - but I hope for many of you the walk was salvaged by the glorious weather.
Frozen out at the 'King's Arms' due to literally 'no room at the Inn'(inside) some of us wished there could have been more group cohesion on this walk..But never mind the welcome received at the Hospice tea shop in Otford was lovely as were the cakes and tea! top marks for this cafe and in a good cause too!
Could we please have some shorter walks nearer to London most of which have gravel paths or tarmac sections and few steep hills given the treacherous muddy conditions under foot. It is sooo painful for those of us with knee problems to deal with the stress of traversing copious amounts of mud on the hills and arthritic hands cannot
grip walking poles for long!! Please save the far distant hills for summer conditions where we have more chances of keeping safe from injuries.
Thanks Marion, and your comments - and request - fully noted.
Walk posters do try to take into account seasonal conditions when posting walks. Also, with Covid self-isolation, and the likelihood of reduced train timetables and train cancellations, most of us try not to venture too far from London. But that said, choosing suitable walks in January and February - particularly for "senior walkers" - is far from easy : we don't have many, if any, proper country walks seven miles in length with gravel paths and flat terrain just thirty minutes by train from London. But after the last two Wednesday walks which were admittedly "energetic," the walks provisionally planned for coming Wednesdays will be easier, to accommodate those of us with dodgy knees. But alas, avoiding mud seems to be near impossible at present.
May I just add that I walked the somewhat tame sections of the whole of the London Loop and Capital Ring during lockdown and only the Essex sections encountered mud with our very own Leytonstone to Chingford proving problematic with ankle deep Essex clay. But then it was Spring/Summer. I must say that walking poles will help but I’ve fallen backwards twice in waterlogged public parks and tripped over on the flat floor of Bushy park gardens courtesy of a vicious hidden bramble which lassoed my ankles. Not using poles obviously and not paying attention. My war wounds are getting worse sadly which is why I’d like a few easier walks please.
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