(there are various options to cut a few miles from this walk)
A walk exploring the North Downs. The route starts by passing through the Ranscombe Farm Reserve, known for rare wild flowers. It then heads south through woodlands, before heading up to Luddesdown (Golden Lion), Henley Street (Cock Inn) and finishes with an optional loop to Cobham (The Leather Bottle). There's also an option for a side trip to the Amazon & Tiger at Harvel.
Trains:
London Bridge 09:48, Strood 10:55, change for 11:04 to Cuxton, arrives 11:08.
London St Pancras 10:08, Strood 10:59, change for 11:04 to Cuxton, arrives 11:08. The quicker, but more expensive route.
Return trains from Sole Street: xx:01 to London St Pancras with change at Rochester. xx:32 to London Victoria.
The best advice for a ticket seems to be a return to Rochester.
t=SWC.35
2 comments:
Sounds perfect. Cheers.
Four arrived at Cuxton on the recommended 11:08, one 30 minutes earlier due to a National Rail recommendation (but couldn't get into Cuxton Marina to look around) so, "n=5".
Weather "w=warm-humid-no rain" and perhaps some of us regretted bringing rain gear. Lots of flowers in Ramscombe Farm Country Park, and also further on: purple thistle, yellow ragwort, red and pink poppies, blue scabius, white cow parsley, ox-eye daisies, honey suckle, and a field of flax with small blue flowers. (we discussed the use of flax for linen and clothes and tea-towels, but also maybe for flax seeds or linseed oil.)
As soon as one person mentioned the pleasant absence of mud, we met a fair amount, through not impassable and mostly in the wooded sections.
One of us had a coffee in Luddesdown, and 4 picnicced overlooking Luddesdown Court (the oldest continuously occupied house in England according to Country Life)and Court Lodge. Lots of wheat and barley fields and several vineyards, some looking quite new, but no sign of either grapes or grapes flowers, perhaps these aren't produced for the first few years. There were some great views of the Medway Valley - but it was a bit hazy. Some quite overgrown paths particularly along the side of Cobhambury Wood, and sadly the notice warning us that we were on camera had not deterred the dumping of asbestos roofing under the railway arch on the lane approaching Lodge Farm.
We admired some buildings in Cobham but didn't stop to visit Cobham church and the door to Cobham College (almshouses) was shut so kept going. We approached Sole Street on a narrow path through a large wheatfield - it felt almost like wading through water as the wheat sprang back as the person ahead of me pushed through it.
One went straight for a convenient train just after 4pm, 4 of us had a drink at the Railway Inn before getting the 16:32 back to London.
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