Bures to Sudbury

Bures to Sudbury Book 1, Walk 8
16.0km (9.9 miles) or 12.6 km (7.8 miles)
Difficulty: 4/10
An easygoing  walk through the Stour Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Much of it is along the Stour Valley footpath, which is well waymarked. The official lunch pub is the Bulmer Fox but the detour to the Henny Swan, a pleasant riverside pub in Henny Street, is recommended. The detour makes little difference to the overall length. (The shorter walk takes a more direct route, avoiding both of the lunch pubs). The churchyard at Great Henny is kept as a wildflower meadow - a pleasant spot for a picnic. The approach to Sudbury is across the ancient grazing lands of Sudbury Common. Thomas Gainsborough is said to have played here as a child. Have tea there in a converted millhouse on the banks of the river.
Train: 10:02 Ipswich train from Liverpool Street. Change at Marks Tey for Sudbury (arr 11:07 dep 11:15) arrive Bures 11:27
Return at  xx:42 changing at Marks Tey
Get a return to Sudbury.
Lunch :
The Henny Swan at Henny Street (tel 01787-269238) Serves food 12-8pm
or the recently re-opened Bulmer Fox  (tel 01787-312277) in Bulmers Tye, Serves food 12-3pm
Tea:
The suggested tea place is the comfortable Mill Hotel (tel 01787-375544) in Sudbury. As well, as serving tea, there’s a bar. Be sure to pay your respects to the mummified cat visible through the floor in the hotel lobby. After tea, allow 20 minutes to get to the station.
Venture further into Sudbury and you'll find the Black Boy (tel 01787-379046) and the White Horse (tel 01787-313508).

Walk directions: L=1.08 

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Didcot Circular: The tranquil Thames, a tragic tale, a sleeping knight..

Didcot Circular SWC walk 44

22 km (12.4 miles)

Difficulty 3 out of 10.

This walk, in an attractive part of the Thames Valley, started life as the Appleford Circular but Didcot has better trains. In fact, Appleford has none today.

After following a fairly pleasant cycle path out of Didcot, a quiet stretch of the Thames leads to lunch in Dorchester-on-Thames, once an important coaching stop but now sleepy and forgotten. There, Dorchester Abbey, one of the few large monastery buildings to survive the Dissolution, is worth a visit. In the floor, near a medieval wall painting, a touching flagstone hints at Sarah Fletcher's sad demise. The walk continues back along the river to Little Wittenham. The church there is also worth visiting if only to marvel at the sleeping knight near the window. Soon afterwards, you come to Wittenham Clumps, a nature reserve surrounding two Iron Age hill forts.

Trains 

Get the 10.00 train to Cheltenham Spa from Paddington. Arrives Didcot Parkway 10:51.(West Londoners: a stopping train calls at Ealing Broadway at 9:56, Southall 10:02, West Drayton 10:10, reaching Didcot at 11:11. Don't expect the others to wait. You can bend their ear in the pub.)

Trains back from Didcot are frequent but times vary slightly each hour, like so: 16:14, 16:59 17:13, 17:46, 17:57 and so on. There's also an xx:25 that requires a change at Reading and a slow stopping train at xx:50 that might be of use to those pesky West Londoners.

Get a return to Didcot Parkway.

Lunch: Dorchester on Thames still has a number of coaching inns and pubs, so there's plenty of choice. On past occasions, walkers have used the Fleur de Lys. 

Tea:  There is a pub, the Prince of Wales 01235 511380 opposite the station on Station Road. Used to be Greene King but I think it's recently changed hands.  

Otherwise there's a shop and refreshments inside the station.

Directions are here. From point 12, be sure to follow the directions back to Didcot, not Appleford. Not unless you’ve got a tent. 

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Ham Street to Appledore or back to Ham Street

SWC Walk 106 - Ham Street to Appledore or Ham Street Circular
Ham Street to Appledore: 18.3km / 11.3 miles
Ham Street Circular: 23.5km / 14.6 miles - an extension to the above returning to Ham Street along the canal

Gentle hills, the Royal Military Canal, historic buildings and the edges of Romney Marsh

Trains: take the 9:34 train from London St Pancras, change at Ashford (arr 10:11, dep 10:33), arriving at Ham Street at 10:41.  Alternatively take the 8:49 from London Bridge or the 8:52 from London Victoria to Ashford, changing onto the same train to Ham Street.  Return trains: Appledore: xx06, Ham Street: xx10.  Buy a day return to Appledore, or Ham Street for the circular walk.

Lunch:  The Woolpack Inn, Warehorne (01233-732900) is 9km into the walk, an attractive setting opposite the church, the food has good reviews so phoning ahead is advised.

Appledore has several choices for refreshments - the Black Lion, Miss Mollett's High Class Team Room (open til 5pm).  The station is a further 2km.

If finishing in Hamstreet, the Dukes Head pub has a beer garden and is close to the station.

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Tonbridge to Penshurst - a gentle stroll with lots of refreshment stops

SWC walk 235 - Tonbridge to Penshurst
Length: 18km (11.2 miles) - with shorter option (15.3km/9.5 miles) and a longer one (21km/13 miles)
Toughness: 3 out of 10

9.45 train from Charing Cross (9.48 Waterloo East, 9.53 London Bridge) to Tonbridge, arriving 10.28

Buy a day return to Penshurst.

For walk directions click here.

I have the most delightful memories of the last time this walk had an outing in March 2016. My impressions may have been skewed by the fact that it was the first sunny spring day we had that year, but I recall a gentle walk which took unfamiliar routes through well-loved territory and with plenty of places to refresh the stomach as well as the soul.

Those many walkers who did the Cowden to Hever walk in mid June might like to note that there is a small bit of overlap between that walk and this in the afternoon: but lots is different. The morning particular takes you on an interesting route along the River Medway though the Haysden Country Park.

Lunch is at the Leicester Arms in Penshurst, where you could also visit nearby Penshurst Place if you want. The pub is popular but has a history of accommodating us with reasonable efficiency. The walk directions mention a possible later lunch stop in Hill Hoath but this may not be serving food: you would need to check before relying on it.

For tea there is the well-loved Tulip Tree tea room in Chiddingstone mid afternoon, and the adjacent pub has also now reopened. At the end of the walk, the Little Brown Jug with its large garden is a walker favourite and is conveniently only a few staggers from the station.

The walk directions also have an afternoon short cut to Penshurst (the 15.3km/9.5 mile option) and a longer ending to Edenbridge (21km/13 miles), though there is warning of "poorly maintained paths" on the latter.

Trains back from Penshurst go direct to Victoria (far side of the footbridge) via East Croydon at 27 past until 20.27: then at 21.21 or 22.21 with a change in Redhill.

Just a few minutes slower, and so worth it if trains this way are more convenient to you, is the 31 past (until at least 21.31) in the other direction (this side of the footbridge) to Tonbridge, where you change (arrive 39, depart 49) for trains to London Bridge and Charing Cross.

If doing the longer option to Edenbridge Town trains go at 09 past to London Bridge via East Croydon. A return to Penshurst is valid on this route too. T=3.235

Chiltern Hills

CW2 Walk 1 - Wendover Circular
Length: 18.5km (11.5 miles)
Toughness 7/10.

Catch the 9:27 train from London Marylebone to Wendover, arriving 10:15. (Return xx:26 xx:56, until 22:26.)



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Wednesday Walk - Shoreham (Kent) Figure of 8 [New Walk]

Length: 19.8 km (12.3 mi)

Ascent/Descent: approx. 360m; Net Walking Time: 5 hours

Toughness:  6 out of 10         

Take the 10.00 Sevenoaks train from St. Pancras I’nal (10.05 Farringdon, 10.12 Blackfriars, 10.16 Elephant & Castle and all stations via Bromley South), arrives Shoreham (Kent) 11.04.

From Victoria: take the 10.22 Canterbury West train and change at Bromley South (10.38/10.44).

Return trains are on xx.10 and on xx.40.

New walk covering the familiar area of the Darent Valley between Eynsford and Otford: two loops centred on Shoreham, with plenty of options to shorten the walk, and even one to lengthen it (a wee bit).

“The northern loop initially follows the route of Book 1 Walk 23 (Otford to Eynsford) and takes a similar route through Lullingstone Park, an attractive landscape of chalk grassland and ancient woodland with an internationally important collection of veteran trees. It comes out by Lullingstone Castle, a historic manor house with limited opening hours, but its grounds contain an unusual parish church (open to the public at all times) and a World Garden. The route back to Shoreham is along the Darent Valley Path and passes extensive lavender fields at Castle Farm, while in Shoreham itself The Mount Vineyard is sometimes open for tastings.

The southern loop goes through a couple of small nature reserves on the hillside to the south-east of Shoreham and joins the route of Extra Walk 59 (Eynsford Circular) into and through the village of Otford, passing its scale model of the Solar System. The village has many interesting old buildings and the full route takes you past the ruins of Otford Palace, a rival to Hampton Court in Tudor times. The remainder of this loop follows the ‘longer afternoon’ route of Walk 59 along the wooded hills on the western side of the valley.”

Lunch: There are four pubs in Shoreham, passed after 9–10 km: the Crown and the Two Brewers on the High Street, followed by the Kings Arms and Ye Olde George Inn on Church Street.

Tea: Pubs as above plus - en route back to Shoreham - the Otford Tea Rooms at the back of the Hospices of Hope (open to 17.00) and the Pond View Café (open to 16.30). There are also two pubs on the High Street in Otford.

For summary, map, height profile, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here.

T=swc.289 Next Week: A Brockenhurst walk

Last Day of Whitstable Oyster Festival

SWC Walk 12 - Faversham to Whitstable

Length: 15.7 km (9.8 miles)
Toughness: 1 out of 10

Either: London St Pancras: 10-27 hrs   HS1 service
Arrive Faversham:  11-30 hrs

Or: London Victoria: 10-07 hrs   Dover Priory service
Arrive Faversham: 11-23 hrs    (please wait on station for arrival of St Pancras train)

Return: Whitstable to St Pancras: 50 mins past the hour    HS1 service..journey time 1hr 20 mins
             Whitstable to Victoria:  50 mins past the hour, changing at Faversham, and 15-24, 16-19,                   17-23, 17-39, 18-23, 19-23, 20-28 and 21-28 hrs. Journey time 1 hr 23 mins.

Rail ticket: buy a day return to Whitstable. To take advantage of South Eastern's Summer Offer of £ 10 return (by purchasing your ticket before 6 pm on Sunday) you may have to specify a return train time. Suggest you check at your nearest station.

Bank Holidays excepted, we do not usually post group walks on a Monday, but a fellow walk poster has suggested we take advantage of the staging of Whitstable's Oyster Festival - today being its last day.  So today we are coupling our flat, coastal walk from Faversham to Whitstable with the Oyster Festival - for a bit of fun at walk-end.

At the start of the walk it is worth taking in the historical sites in Faversham. Indeed, if oyster festivals are not your thing then there is a nice Faversham Circular Walk of 7.5 miles which explores the old town and then takes you out onto the marshes and back again. Pick up details of the walk from the Visitor Centre.

For those on the posted walk, having left Faversham you soon find yourselves on the Saxon Shore Way (SSW path) for a relaxing coastal walk. There is no lunch stop today, so either do the full walk in one go, or stop in Seasalter on the coast at the Sportsman's pub for a drink (lunch not served on Mondays) before continuing into Whitstable.

The Oyster Festival has moved this year from Whitstable's harbour eastwards towards Tankerton. Once there you can participate in the events and feed, or find somewhere nice on the coast for an afternoon swim. Or both.  After the excitement make your way back through Whitstable to its station for your journey back to London.
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Walk directions here: L=swc.12

Oxfordshire countryside, villages and a wildfowl reserve [New Walk]

NEW WALK – Islip Circular T=3.292
Length: 15.2km (9.5 miles) Toughness: 3/10

09:35 Oxford train from Marylebone arriving at Islip at 10:27.

Return trains are at 15:18, 17:18 and 19:18 (journey time 1 hour). If you get back to Islip too late for the 15:18, one option is to go to the pub for refreshments and then catch the 16:28 towards Oxford, changing at Oxford Parkway for the 16:47 to Marylebone.
If you find that the return trains from Islip are inconveniently timed, you could opt to finish the walk at Oxford Parkway, which has a fast half-hourly service to Marylebone at xx:17 (or xx:15) and xx:47.

This new walk explores the quiet countryside north-east of Oxford and is getting its first official walk check today. The route is mostly across rolling fields and woods and takes in several pretty villages, a couple of interesting churches, and a notable RSPB wetland nature reserve, Otmoor. Bring binoculars.

There is an option to shorten the morning part of the walk by 1.5km, though that omits the section through Otmoor. Later there is an option to finish the walk at Oxford Parkway station, though the final stretch here is less attractive than finishing in Islip.

The recommended (indeed, the only) lunchtime pub is the Abingdon Arms (01865 655667) in Beckley, an old inn that was threatened with permanent closure until a successful campaign to save it resulted in it being recently re-opened as a community-owned pub.

Tea can be taken at the Red Lion in Islip.

You will find the walk directions and other information on the Islip Circular Walk page. It can be downloaded as a PDF, but as yet a GPX file is not available.

Sunday Walk – Dorking Circular

Extra Walk 274 – Dorking Circular
Length: 18¾ km (11.7 miles), with shorter and longer options. Toughness: 6/10

10:02 Dorking train from Waterloo (Vauxhall 10:07, Clapham Jct 10:13, etc), arriving Dorking (Main) at 10:53. If there's a problem with this train and you can get to Clapham Junction by 10:18, you could take a Southern service to Dorking (on a different line), arriving at 11:09.

Dorking (Main) has an hourly South West Train service to Waterloo at xx:07 and Southern services to Victoria at xx:15 & xx:45. There is also an hourly Great Western service from Dorking Deepdene at xx:19 if you want to return this way (changing at Redhill for Victoria).

This walk takes in the area to the west of Dorking, with a long stretch along the chalky hillside of the North Downs in the morning and a more wooded section back across the Greensand Hills in the afternoon. If you want a pub lunch I reckon your best chance is shortly before 1pm at the Wotton Hatch, but all the pubs on the walk route could well be fully booked on a Sunday and you might prefer to have a picnic lunch by the picturesque Hammer Pond at Friday Street. The end of the walk is through Dorking town centre where there are plenty of refreshment places (and although it's likely to be closed by the time you get there, any Americans might like to seek out Mullins Coffee Shop).

You'll need to print the directions from the Dorking Circular Walk page. You can reduce the number of pages printed by clicking the 'Main Walk' option, or print the whole document if you think you might want to switch to the shorter or longer option. T=swc.274

Saturday Walk - Frant to Tunbridge Wells

Frant to Tunbridge Wells (long walk)

Length 13 miles (21km) 5/6 out of 10

"This longer route goes along the southern part of Broadwater Warren and then loops around the area's most famous sandstone outcrop, Harrison's Rocks, which are very popular with climbers. After a mid-afternoon tea stop in Groombridge you pass the grounds of Groombridge Place, a beautiful Jacobean manor house surrounded by a medieval moat. This option includes a much longer stretch alongside the SVR and if their steam trains are running you could round off the day with a ride from Groombridge (or High Rocks) into the old Tunbridge Wells West station, leaving just a 1¼ km stroll via The Pantiles to the mainline station".Don't be put off by the unpromising start to this walk! You can of course shorten the walk after lunch, by following the directions for the circular walk. T=swc.19.b

Trains: Get the 1015 Hastings train from Charing Cross (London Bridge 1023), arriving Frant at 1115. There are frequent trains back from Tunbridge Wells to Charing Cross and London Bridge. Buy a return to Frant.

Lunch: is the  Nevill Crest and Gun (01892-864209) in Eridge Green, open all afternoon, with a large garden 4.5 miles (7.25km) into the walk.

Tea: There is a lot of choice in Tunbridge Wells, but you might want to break up the afternoon with a stop at the pub in High Rocks.

It is around 7km from Eridge to Groombridge, around 2 hours walking, if you want a trip on the Spa Valley Railway. The 1536 is steam, the 17.01 is Diesel.
Groombridge dep              15:36   17:01
High Rocks dep                 15:43   17:08
Tunbridge Wells West arr 15:50   17:15

Lewes via West Firle - a South Downs classic (with lots of afternoon options)

Book 2, walk 25 - Lewes via West Firle
and/or
SWC walk 181 - Lewes to Seaford via West Firle

Length: Options from 16.8km (10.4 miles) to 23.6km (14.7 miles)
Toughness: 7 out of 10: two big hill climbs (fairly flat otherwise)

9.47 train from Victoria (9.53 Clapham Junction, 10.03 East Croydon) to Lewes, arriving 10.47.

Buy a day return to Lewes, unless you have definitely decided to return from Southease, Berwick or Seaford (see below) in which case get a day return to those places.

"Why haven't we had any South Downs walks this summer?" I was asked recently. The answers include: a) we have had a few, b) Southern drivers work to rule, c) charity events using the South Downs Way, d) the voracious enthusiasm of Meet-Up groups for doing South Downs walks.

This week c) and d) don't seem to apply. My answer to b) is that trains to Lewes are half hourly. If the specified train is cancelled, get the one half an hour later. (Venceremos!!)

So, the walk today is Lewes via West Firle and there now two incarnations of this. Book 2, walk 25 (directions) and SWC walk 181 (directions). Their routes to West Firle and up onto the downs are almost identical, except that SWC 181 has, in my opinion, a better and less strenuous route over the Mount Caburn massif. So I recommend you use that one as far as lunch.

Lunch is at the Ram Inn in West Firle, the Trevor Arms in Glynde being closed currently (and possibly permanently). The Ram is popular but does food all afternoon, so it might be an idea to get there after the lunchtime rush. There is a tea room in Glynde which might provide an early light lunch alternative.

After West Firle you have lots of choices (You know you love'em!)

*# 1) Switch to the Lewes to Berwick option for walk 25 (directions), which takes you along the bottom of the downs, passing Charleston, summer retreat of the Bloomsbury set (Virginia Woolf and chums), which is open to the public. This is a 17.5km/11 mile walk. Trains back from Berwick are at 17 past.

*# 2) Follow walk 25 to Southease, have tea in the YHA tea room (closes 4pm). Get train home (36 past to 19.36, then 20.39). This is the 16.8km/10.4 mile option.

The other options are all 23km/14.5 miles:

*# 3) Do 2) above and then do the river ending of walk 25 back to Lewes: flat, tranquil, perhaps a bit samey after a while. Trains back from Lewes are at 16 and 54 past

*# 4) Do 2) and then the Northease Ending to Lewes. For this you will also need these directions.

*# 5) Do 2) and then the extension to Saltdean, a suburb of Brighton, where you can swim in the sea (but see tide info in comment section). For this you need the second half of these directions. You return by train from Brighton: many trains an hour: your return to Lewes is valid.

*# 6) Finish walk 181, which goes over the heart of the downs (the book 2 Southease to Seaford route, essentially) to Seaford, where you can also have a swim. Trains back from Seaford are at 27 and 58, usually changing at Lewes, sometimes changing at Brighton. T=2.25

Saturday Walk - Whitstable Oyster Festival – Birchington-on-Sea to Whitstable [Easy Walk] [Swimming Walk]

Length: 22.7 km (14.1 mi)

Ascent/Descent: approx. 70m; Net Walking Time: 4 ½ hours

Toughness:  2 out of 10         

Take the 09.27 Margate train from St. Pancras I’nal (09.34 Stratford I’nal), arrives Birchington-on-Sea 10.53.

Return trains are on xx.28 to Victoria, and on xx.50  to St. Pancras I’nal (they leave Herne Bay 6-7 mins earlier). Buy a Birchington return.

This is the long version of an easy coastal walk - it is entirely flat - and the directions are straightforward and consequently minimal. It passes the dramatic landmark of Reculver, the remains of the twin towers of a 12^th C church set amongst the ruins of a Roman Fort (free entry) and ends in the delightful Whitstable, which has its annual Oyster Festival starting today. 
Note: this Festival has gained some notoriety for “excessive drinking, littering and over-crowding”, so we should fit right in.

There are opportunities for sea swimming throughout, and though the walk is almost entirely on tarmac or concrete paths, with only a 1km section beyond Reculver on grassy clifftops, there are still plenty of rural delights. After an initial section on the seafront promenade (or cliff top park) of Birchington-on-Sea you follow the raised sea wall over the flat marshland (a sea channel until the 12^th century), along an unspoilt shingle beach which has interesting wildflowers and seabirds, and also fine views of distant shipping and windfarms, and the ruins of Reculver church as an aiming point on the horizon.

Beyond Reculver your path takes you along the top (or bottom) of a very pleasant grassy slope facing the sea, which again has interesting wildflowers, to the charming, if slightly faded, seaside resort of Herne Bay (possibility of shortcutting here, as well as in Swalecliffe) and on to Whitstable.

This is a walk almost entirely without mud. But note that there is no shelter, however, so in rain and/or strong westerly winds, it can be fairly wretched.

Lunch: King Ethelbert Inn in Reculver (8.3 km/5.2 mi) or a seasonal café 1 minute away or one of many pubs in Herne Bay (14-15 km).

Tea: lots of choice in Whitstable, but expect every outlet to be very busy (as well as the trains).

For summary, map, height profile, some photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here.

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Evening Walk – Dulwich Summer Pavilion: Sydenham Hill to Dulwich Village

Length: 6.6 km (4.1 mi)

Net Walking Time: 1 ½ hrs

Meet: Sydenham Hill Station/College Road exit (Zone 3) at  18.45 (i.e. take the 18.30 Orpington train from Victoria, arrives Sydenham Hill at 18.44).  
Return: from West Dulwich (one stop closer to London), every 15 minutes  on xx.06

So, ‘Sarf’ London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery  has its own Summer Pavilion this year, rivalling the established West London one at the Serpentine Gallery ? And it’s got a Pavilion Bar and Free Friday Lates? Let’s be checking it out… (Note: a Pavilion-visit is free, but must be booked ahead. Book your ticket here.)

This walk takes you through Dulwich Wood & Sydenham Hill Wood (together the largest extant part of the ancient Great North Wood in the Borough of Southwark), the splendid Horniman Gardens (with fine views of the City of London) and Dulwich Park, finishing in Dulwich Village for refreshments. If you get disorientated in Dulwich Wood or Sydenham Hill Wood, don’t worry too much as wandering around, you will in time come across the car wide metal bridge, from which you may resume the directions. 

Tea: apart from the Pavilion Bar, one pub and various bars and restaurants in Dulwich Village, and Belair House Bar & Restaurant  on the way to the station.

For walk directions, map, photos, and gpx/kml files click here.T=short.9