Length: 15.3 km (9.5 miles)
Toughness: 3 out of 10 Some gentle ascents in the morning
London Charing Cross: 10-10 hrs Southeastern service to Ashford International, Waterloo East 10-13, London Bridge 10-19, Sevenoaks 10-43 hrs
Arrive Tonbridge: 10-51 hrs Change trains
Leave Tonbridge: 11-04 hrs Southeastern service from Tonbridge to Strood
Arrive Yalding: 11-18 hrs
Arriva Bus 12 from Maidstone to Tenterden : Board at Sutton Vallance (outside Kings Head pub) and alight at Headcorn railway station: at Kings Head circa 15-54, 16-17, 16-42, 17-29, 18-37 and 18-57 hrs. Journey length 10 to 13 minutes.
Return train: Headcorn to Charing Cross: 15 and 45 mins past the hour
Rail ticket: a day return to Headcorn might suffice - but to be 100 % legit, buy a day return to Yalding, and a single from Headcorn to Paddock Wood. You choose !
Bus ticket: Those with Freedom Passes should be able to use their passes on the bus. Otherwise, it is a single fare of about £ 3-50
My apologies to those expecting to see posted today our Staplehurst to Headcorn walk via Sissinghurst, but a regular mid-week walker has requested a walk through apple orchards (she may - or may not - have in mind foraging for windfalls ! ).
So instead of the Staplehurst walk please try this nearby walk through lovely Kent countryside, which passes through or alongside a number of apple orchards where harvesting of this year's crop is probably nearing completion.
Lunch today is at the Bull Inn, Linton - popular with SWC walkers, particularly if it is warm enough to sit outside on the pub's large terrace with fine views over the Medway Valley.
The walk ends in the village of Sutton Vallance, where you take the bus outside the Kings Head pub (an acceptable walk-end refreshment stop). The journey to Headcorn railway station takes from 10 to 13 minutes.
T=swc.150
Walk Directions are here: L=swc.150
3 comments:
No need to change at Tonbridge. Stay on the 10.10 train from Charing Cross to Paddock Wood, arrive 10.58. The Yalding train then leaves from the same platform at 11.11
Ten assembled on the platform at Yalding, three or four having done the same platform change at Paddock Wood, the rest the footbridge hike at Tonbridge. Those of us at Paddock Wood experienced a somewhat chilly breeze, but this soon faded away and the day was essentially sunny; w=lovely-golden-sun.
After the village of Yalding this walk climbs up onto the escarpment and the lovely views from this were with us much of the day. Apart from some sloes there were no plums to be had, but the branches in the commercial orchards were groaning with plump red apples. One walker boldly picked one in full view of a house; the rest of us sampled more discreetly from an escapee hedgerow tree nearby. Cores were thrown into the hedgerow further on to create more escapee trees.
When this walk was done in similar weather in April, I was cruelly disappointed that no one wanted to stop for lunch at the Bull in Linton, with its terrace perched over a gorgeous valley view. But today I finally got my wish. Seven of us had a leisurely, sun-drenched lunch with very creditable food. Four presumably had sandwiches somewhere and were lost to history.
In the afternoon we made a stop to see the view from Boughton Monchelsea churchyard and were rewarded with a grandstand view of the fallow deer rut going on in the park below. The males with their implausibly large antlers, strutted and roared and occasionally bullied a hapless younger male. The females chewed the grass in apparent indifference.
Later, at the goat sanctuary, the entire flock came over to inspect us, suggesting the “Do not feed the goats” signs on the fence are often ignored.
On we went in the slanting sunshine, the ancient churches ticking by like mileposts. We got to Sutton Valence at 4.45pm, conveniently missing the bus, which gave us time to fluster the staff in the King’s Arms by ordering one tea…no, two…or in fact five, plus beer and wine, before getting the 17.29 bus and 17.45 train from Headcorn.
You think I have forgotten to provide an official tally for this walk, but I have not. One walker arrived at the pub having missed the train and started an hour later. She makes it n=11.
You can usually buy special food within the sanctuary to feed the goats, so I guess they are used to being fed by unfamiliar hands.
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