Due
to the adverse impact of the strike timetable on the journey (lengthening both
journeys by at least 30 minutes) this walk has been postponed to 29 September
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SWC 299 – Teynham to
Faversham
Length: from
13.6 km/8.4 mi to 29.2 km/18.1 mi, main walk is 24.7 km (15.4 mi)
Ascent/Descent:
90/84m (main walk)
Net
Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours (main walk)
Toughness:
3 out of 10 (main walk)
Take the 09.10 Dover Priory train from London Victoria (Bromley South 09.27), arrives Teynham 10.20.
Or take the 10.10 if walking the very short versions (or indeed take the earlier train and have lunch in Oare).
Or take the 10.10 if walking the very short versions (or indeed take the earlier train and have lunch in Oare).
Returns from Faversham are on
xx.02, xx.22 and xx.37 to
Victoria and xx.30 and xx.58 to St. Pancras (High Speed
surcharge needed). Buy a Faversham
return.
This is a
flat walk leading initially through ‘The
Larder of London’, or the ‘Fruit
Bowl of England’, the area around Teynham, not only the home of English
cherries, but also with plentiful orchards of apples, pears, plums,
strawberries and raspberries, as well as foraging opportunities for cherry
plums, elderberries and blackberries. The area also used to be a large exporter
of timber, grain and oysters. The local brick earth and chalk make the area
fertile for fruit, but also were the foundation for the many brickfields in Teynham, Conyer and Faversham, remnants of
which are passed en route. The bricks were an important source in London’s
Victorian building boom, and were transported to London by the famous sailing
barges, ruined remnants of which can be seen on the walk’s Conyer Creek
option.
From Conyer
you follow the Saxon Shore Way along The
River Swale, a tidal channel between mainland Kent and the Isle of Sheppey,
and then along some creeks, with
mudflats, salt marshes and fishing boats on the one side and the stark but beautiful landscape of drainage
ditches and dykes, fertile meadows and windswept grazing marshes on the
other, an unspoilt and tranquil haven for walkers, livestock and wildlife
alike. Oare Marshes NR, passed late in the afternoon, is an internationally
important birdlife sanctuary.
You finish
in Faversham’s bustling streets past
the stunning Market Place and its many cafés and eateries.
Plentiful options enable walk lengths from as
short as 13.6 km/8.4 mi to as long as 29.2 km/18.1 mi.
See the route map here.
Lunch: The Plough Inn
in Lewson
Street (6.1 km/3.8 mi, food 12.00-15.00), The Ship at Conyer in Conyer (10.3
km/6.4 mi,
food to 14.30), The Three Mariners at Oare
in Oare (11-12 km into the walk if taking one of the early
morning shortcuts,
food to 14.30), The Castle Inn in Oare
(11-12 km into the walk if taking one
of the early morning shortcuts).
Tea: Numerous options close
to and in Faversham, see pdf page 2.
For walk directions, map, height
profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.
T=swc.299
3 comments:
And yes: I am aware that this is a strike day. As of Friday, the National Rail website will/should be showing which trains will run, and if this walk is not possible, I will replace it with one that is. So if you are thinking of staying overnight in the area and combine this walk with Sunday's Stargazer posting, book accomodation with free cancellation...
As for a replacement walk, if the strike does affect this posting: it is actually not easy to find a walk that's not dependent on SWT, not affected by track works (South Downs), different to what's already been posted for this weekend and beyond, minimum 20 km and right for the season. But this one is: SWC 299 Teynham to Faversham, The Fruit Bowl of England...
11 on the platform, one of which immediately 'turned left' to walk one of the shortcuts. The rest split 5 each into walking the morning extension or the main walk. The orchards were about a third harvested, so still loaded with apples, pears & plums, while the hedges and trees on public land offered plenty of delicious fruit themselves: there was even a hedge made from plum trees, or so it seemed!
The three arable field crossings were good to walk, the weather w=dry-and-warmish and Heritage Open Day meant that a couple of the usually locked churches (Lynsted and Lewson Street) were open, with St. Peter & St. Paul, Lynsted having a remarkable collection of monuments to the local Laird's family.
Lunch was taken at The Ship Inn, Conyer, where the two groups met again, plus one late starter (having managed to miss both the 9.10 and the 10.10!).
On to the seawall along The Swale, past disused brickworks, jetties and ruined Thames barges. Low tide meant plenty of wading birds, there was a breeze in the reed beds and we had far views. We were met/overtaken by a 13th walker, who has also missed the 10.10 but taken the 10.40 to Sittingbourne and started from there, so n=13 in total.
A drink at The Corner Tap, Whitstable Brewery's tap room, followed for about 7 of the group.
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