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Rule of Thirty: up to June 21 Ascent/Descent: 429/476 m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10
Take the 10.12 Margate train from St. Pancras I’nal
(10.19 Stratford), change at Ashford (Dover Priory train, 10.50/11.04),
arriving Sandling at 11.15.
The Dover Priory train changed onto
at Ashford is the 09.40 from Charing Cross via Waterloo East,
London Bridge, Orpington (10.05) and Sevenoaks (10.15).
Return trains: xx.18 to Victoria via Bromley
South, change at Ashford for Charing Cross or St. Pancras services.
Buy a Wye or a Sandling return, they are the
same price. Buy a High Speed-surcharge if travelling on the High Speed-trains
from/to St. Pancras.
This lovely walk follows one of the finest sections of the North Downs
Way along the edge of the North Downs escarpment with fine views for nearly the
whole walk. There is just one 3 km section mid-afternoon when you are away from
the escarpment edge. There can be intense displays of buttercups on this walk.
While the route for the most part follows the North Downs Way exactly (once
it has climbed from Sandling up onto the ridge), the creation of Access Land in
2000 has also opened up some escarpment sections that were formerly off limits
to walkers. Where these improve the walk, they have been included in the route.
Walk Option: above kilometerage assumes you descend from the Downs
to the lunch pub. Picnicking on the ridge cuts 1.1 km and a re-ascent up the
hill.
Note: while the North Downs Way is waymarked, it is not
always comprehensively so, and in places the waymarks are confusing or missing.
The path is not always as obvious as one might expect from such a major long-distance
footpath. Hence full written-up directions are provided in pdf form on the website
on top of the more-sparse directions at the bottom of the webpage.
Lunch: The Tiger Inn in Stowting will apparently re-open, but only on May 29; The Five Bells Inn in Brabourne
(11.7 km/7.3 mi, food to 18.00, a table has been booked for 14.00 hours).
3 comments:
Any short cut options please?
No, apart from the one mentioned in the walk post.
Changing at Ashford, there were 4 other SWCers on the platform, and we were then all surprised when during the 9 minute journey on the connecting train, there were raindrops hitting the windows! How dare they, this was not forecast!
The rain lasted only for about 20 minutes after the walk's start, and most of that we were in the woods, so let's forget about it. For the rest of the walk it was grey and overcast with occasional sunny breaks.
There were plenty of bluebells in those early woods, if just slightly past their peak (and some more in better state in that small wooded patch just b4 Farthing Common). Wild Garlic was present in several places and buttercups were practically everywhere.
The wind (and quite some wind it was) was blowing in from the left behind all day, so wasn't a nuisance at all. All in, not bad for a walk in November... (oh, it's May, is it?).
Passing the Tiger Inn, there were indeed about 10 workers on site, seemingly halfway through a grand inside and outside complete refurb of that pub (and it's looking promising).
On to the Five Bells then for the 4 lunchers (all on tarmac lanes as per the walk directions, although there seem to be footpath alternatives possible through the open countryside w/o adding any kilometerage?). We arrived 4 minutes before the booked time, and were quickly ushered to our table. This was then one of the rare (if not only) moments on a group walk I remember when the whole group agreed that all and any item on the menu sounded interesting, tasty and needed to be eaten. Now, we did not order all and everything of course, but what we ordered was all that was hoped for. Recommended. Very recommended.
The rest was a relative doddle, mainly escarpment paths with grand views (did I mention that we could see not only Dungeness and the Fire Hills between Rye and Hastings, but also France!?), and then we had about half an hour in Wye to waste before the 18.18. Cue the Tickled Trout, or so we thought. Only they had a Band Night on and all seats (inside and out) were fully booked. Baah! At least Wye Station has a waiting room...
Later I found out (by text) that 1 other had overnighted in Hythe and had done some of the route a bit later than us while bumping into another Sunday regular en route (off a later train).
n=7 w=windy-and-grey-but-dry
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