Length: 15 km (9.3 miles)
Toughness: 4 out of 10
London Victoria: 10-25 hrs South-Eastern service to Ashford International Bromley South: 10-42 hrs
Arrive Borough Green: 11-11 hrs
Return
Sevenoaks to Victoria: 19 & 49 mins past the hour, plus 05 & 35 mins past the hour (slow stopping service)
Sevenoaks to Charing Cross: 00 & 30 mins past the hour
Rail ticket a day return to Borough Green usually works. If your return ticket is queried, use your sweet talking skills to get through the barriers at Sevenoaks
Covid-19 Compliance: please note the current guidance on this website and observe social distancing. You should all come prepared to exchange contact details for track and trace purpose. You can either pre-register for this walk (not essential ) by e-mailing me at swc-marcus@walkingclub.org.uk or, if you prefer, please write your name, e-mail address and contact 'phone number on a small piece of paper for handing to me on the train or when we assemble at walk start. Thank you.
This is a pleasant, undemanding walk and modest in length which takes you through Kent countryside, a village with a Cromwellian church, parkland and by a moated Manor House before, in the afternoon, you walk through the vast Knole Park with its herds of deer. The apple orchards you walk though in the morning should be coming into apple blossom for a touch of colour, and the bluebells near Igtham Mote, the said moated Manor House, should be close to their best.
It's a picnic lunch today, although you can purchase hot (and cold) takeaway food from the cafe in Igthtam Mote if you wish. At the time of putting this walk up on our website, the only pub on this walk, requiring a detour to Shipbourne - the Chaser Inn - is reporting no outdoor table availability at lunchtime today - so there is little point in taking the detour today.
The afternoon leg of the walk takes you initially uphill though woodland, then through a lavender farm before it's over fields and down a long woodland track to come out beside Sevenoaks Preparatory School. You now head down between pitches in the school's playing fields, along a track which passes through a stud farm then up to a deer protection gate where you enter the 1,000 acre Knole Park. Having traversed the park you eventually exit the park through another deer protection gate to head up a path which takes you up into the heart of Sevenoaks. You should find somewhere open for outdoor refreshments or a takeaway. The downhill walk to the railway station is the only dull bit on today's lovely walk.
T=1.36
Walk Directions are here: L=1.36
9 comments:
Thank you. Could you please suggest a longer option/variation? Cheers.
With Explorer Map 147 you can plot your own route as long or short as you like diverting from the walk's directions. But this walk as posted is as it is - 9.3 miles - a distance which is quite long enough for many SWC walkers. We try to post 3 walks on a Saturday and walk posters try to offer a choice of distances and location. I am sure you will find on offer this Saturday a longer walk for those of you who like a more challenging outing.
Once you get to Knole Park you could switch to the Sevenoaks to Westerham walk.... Or a bit earlier you merge with the route of Leigh to Sevenoaks, which you could follow backwards (with the GPX) to Leigh.
Thank you both. Very helpful.
If anyone is not bored with bluebells by now, if you stay on the Greensand Way beyond Ightham Mote (Borough Green to Yalding walk if you need GPS or directions) the bluebells on One Tree Hill are now about as good as you will ever see them. There are also good displays of wild garlic on this route (National Trust owned and behind a fence, so leave your damned foraging equipment at home: pick one leaf and I will find hunt you down mercilessly....). Lots of yellow archangel too.
Although the weather forecast for the south-east improved slightly overnight, SWC's fair-weather walkers opted to play safe and stay away from today's walk. Hence only n=7 assembled at Borough Green railway station, to set out on today's adventure. Whilst it was still raining when the train left Victoria station, it soon stopped - and not a single drop of rain fell on us for the rest of the day ! OK, so the the weather was not brilliant, being w=overcast-all-day-with-threatening-skies-and-a-blustery-wind, but it remained dry.
The countryside was lush and lovely with Spring flowers in abundance, and lots of wild garlic lining the route. As I was book checking, my 6 companions were ahead of me. Apart from meeting up with one of them at Igtham Mote, I did not see them again - I hope they enjoyed their day as much as I did. Do feel free to file your own report.
Noting Walker's comment posted on Friday, after taking lunch in the cafe at Igtham Mote I switched to the Sevenoaks Circular walk on the Greensand Way, to enjoy the wonderful full-on bluebell displays either side of and in One Tree Wood. I'm now bluebelled out for this year.
On through Knole Park and a brief stop for tea, then through Sevenoaks centre to the railway station - and home in good time to watch Man.City-v-Chelsea on the box.
Lesson for the day - the weather forecasters don't always get it right.
"wild garlic lining the route": Just wonder if may share which part of the route... interested in picking some wild garlic...Thank.
From memory, it was most apparent on the stretch between Winfield lane and Yopps Green - more towards the latter.
Thanks a lot! I will try to go .
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