Wednesday Walk Ramsgate to Margate & The Turner Gallery

Ramsgate to Margate

Length: 15.7km (9.8 miles)

The Turner Gallery's current (free) exhibition is Seaside: Photographed (open until 6pm). There is a promotional fare of £20 return. High tide is 1200, low 1850. A swimming expert recommends Botany Bay or the seawater pool at Margate. (Note that this walk may also be on a Sunday in August)

This is a gentle coastal walk along low chalk cliffs with views over the channel, with several secluded coves. At low tide, you can walk along the beach between them. The resorts are very busy on sunny days, but the rest of the coast is much quieter.

For much of the way it is possible to choose between walking on top of the 20-30 metre high chalk cliffs ("cliff top level"), or at low tide, walking along the beach or promenade below ("beach level"). Although this stretch of coast is largely built-up, there is a wide strip of open grass along most of the cliff top. The beaches are sandy and flat - the tide goes out a long way.

Trains: Get the high speed  1009 Margate train from London St Pancras arriving Ramsgate 1127. There are various return trains to either Victoria or St Pancras. Choose the £20 promotional fare for flexibility. It can be done cheaper with advance tickets & railcards.

Lunch: after 7 km is The Captain Digby pub at cliff top level at Kingsgate Bay or 8 km is The The Botany Bay pub.

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BBC Prom at Royal Albert Hall

Prom 14 

Haydn’s colourful oratorio returns to the Proms for the first time in a decade. The BBCPhilharmonic is joined by the BBC Proms Youth Choir to perform the composer’s late masterpiece.

From its opening Representation of Chaos, through the creation of stars, seas and storms, a magnificent musical sunrise and of course every animal from whales to eagles and even a worm, The Creation is one of the great musical dramas, teeming with life and detail.

Haydn
The Creation 105’
(sung in German)

Sarah-Jane Brandon soprano
Benjamin Hulett tenor
Christoph Pohl baritone

BBC Proms Youth Choir
BBC Philharmonic
Omer Meir Wellber conductor

To book, please click here. Alternatively, you can just prom on the day. Meet at the steps of Albert Memorial for picnic from 6pm. 

Sunday Walk: St Margaret's Circular

19.5 km (12.2 mi) Difficulty 3/10
Follow ancient tracks and green lanes through fields and woods in rolling East Herts countryside. There are stretches along the Ash and Lea rivers. The final stretch leads along the Lea Navigation back to St. Margarets. We will be using shortcut 1 to do the shorter version with lunch in Wareside.
Trains Take the 9:57 Cambridge North train from Liverpool St. Change at Tottenham Hale onto the 10:25 Hertford East train (platform 11) arriving St Margarets at 10:51.
Buy a return to St. Margarets (Herts).
Return trains at xx:17 and xx:47 changing at Tottenham Hale for Liverpool St.
Lunch: Two choices in Wareside:
The White Horse, (01920 464 433). Open 12.00-22.00.
Chequers Inn (01920 467 010). 12.00-14:00
Note that Wareside is 8 miles into the walk. You might want to bring drinkies and snackies to keep you going. (A glance at the map suggests one could, if necessary, cheat to arrive earlier - something Mr Tiger would never EVER do).
Tea
The Jolly Fisherman 8 Station Road, St. Margarets.
The Oak 36 High Street, Stanstead Abbotts.
Walk directions here.
Take shortcut 1. This cuts out the outer loop of the walk.

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Sunday Walk: Pluckley Circular

Book 2 walk 21
Difficulty 1 out of 10 (3 for the longer versions)
Length 7.2, 9.2 or 11.2 miles (11.5, 14.7, or 18 km)
Pluckley, in Kent, claims to be the UK’s most haunted village. Until recently, the local area was owned by the Dering family who got given it by William the Conqueror. Distinctive Dering windows and their black horse symbol can still be seen on many of the buildings. It also formed the backdrop to the “Darling Buds of May” book and TV series.
The basic walk is 7.2 miles but can be lengthened. On Sundays, the Rose and Crown, visited on the extended walks, is a more reliable tea stop.

Trains

Get the 09:45 Dover Priory train from Victoria arriving Pluckley 10:56.
Return trains at xx:39 to Victoria. Get a return to Pluckley.
Lunch The Swan Inn in Little Chart (01233 840 702) is recommended . A bit later, in Pluckley, there's the Black Horse  (01233 841 948).
Tea For the short walk you have the fore-mentioned Black Horse, which is fine, unless you’ve just had lunch there.
The Dering Arms, 01233 840 371, opposite the station, closes early on a Sunday, most likely at 4:00.
Both extensions take you past the Rose and Crown at Mundy Bois 01233 840 048. From there, allow 45-50 minutes to the station.
The longest also passes the The Barrow House  in Egerton 01233 756 599.
Directions All three options are available online.
(Any of William the Conqueror's pals still using our Book 2 should note that, despite being 'inscrybed of the fynest vellome', it only offers the shortest walk).
If anyone is interested in a tour round the local ghosty hot spots, try adding in this offering. It’s not one of our walks. It starts in Pluckley and ends, 4 miles later, back in Pluckley at the Black Horse. From there, you can resume our original basic walk back to the station, a total 11.2 miles.
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Vanguard Way: Edenbridge to Forest Row

Vanguard Way: Edenbridge to Forest Row and onto East Grinstead
Length: 20.6km (12.8miles) to Forest Row.
including section from Forest Row to East Grinstead 25.9km (16.1 miles) via the Forest Way.  Route includes a 3.6km link there and back to Plough Inn, Dormansland for lunch.

Catch the 10:07 from London Bridge arrives at Edenbridge Town at 10:45. Buy a day return to East Grinstead. Return from East Grinstead xx:06 xx:36

This walk makes use of the online Vanguard Way walk directions by Colin Saunders. (The last SWC section from Oxted to Edenbridge was on Saturday 9th March.) Continuing: Set off from Edenbridge Town station using the Vanguard Way (North-South) fully revised Section 4 Edenbridge to Forest Row now avoiding a busy stretch of road walking. At the end of 4.7 take Dormansland link for 1.8km for Plough Inn TQ405 427

The Vanguard Way (North to South) From the suburbs to the sea! Section 4 Edenbridge to Forest Row (6th edition 2019) via new route in the Edenbridge area





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Saturday Walk: Mortimer to Aldermaston or Midgham or Theale

9.9 miles / 15.9 km to Aldermaston
(12 miles to Midgham, 14 miles to Theale)

The morning route of this walk passes the remains of the Roman town of Calleva, while the afternoon heads through commons and woodlands to Aldermaston, where you can extend the walk along the canal.

Trains: Take the 10:00 from London Paddington, change at Reading (arr. 10:24, dep 10:34), arrival time at Mortimer is 10:44.
Return times from Aldermaston are: 15:28, 16:28, 17:25, 18:31, 19:31 etc with change at Reading (probably faster even if the train is direct).  Trains from Midgham depart 4 minutes earlier, from Theale 5 minutes later plus there is an extra direct train per hour.
A return to Mortimer should be fine, if not you just need a single to Reading on the way back.

Lunch: The Calleva Arms, Silchester Common, 01189 700305.

Tea: The Kennet & Avon Canal Trust Information Centre serves tea at Aldermaston Wharf, The Rowbarge is by Midgham station, and if you finish at Theale, head 400m beyond the station to the High Street for refreshments.

Click here for full walk details

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Saturday Walk - Southease to Exceat - Downs and a Dip

Length: 18.6km (11.5 miles) or 12.3km (7.6 miles) T=2.26
Toughness: 6 out of 10

9.46 train from Victoria (9.53 Clapham Junction, 10.03 East Croydon) to Lewes, changing there (be quick! - arrive 10.53, depart 10.59) for the Seaford train to Southease, arriving 11.06.

Buy a day return to Seaford (Sussex)

For the morning: Directions, GPX, map

The idea of this walk is to do the shorter version of Book 2 Walk 26 Southease to Seaford - ie, omitting the river loop to Rodmell - as a 7.6 mile morning walk across the downs to the sea, arriving at Seaford for what my German friend Christoph used to call a “sea-bath” (swim), weather conditions permitting. Seaford has oodles of lunch options, including the Old Plough pub by the church, which serves food all afternoon. Also the favourite SWC fish and chip shop, Trawlers.

Those that wish could, of course, terminate the walk here. Otherwise an afternoon walk over Seaford Head and up the Cuckmere River to Exceat (3.9 miles) is highly recommended: possibly the most beautiful four miles in England. Directions/GPX are not really necessary for this: follow the seafront and then the cliff top path to Cuckmere Haven, and then turn left up the Cuckmere River to the road bridge. If you need more details see the start of the Seaford to Eastbourne walk. After 4.30pm or so there should be enough water depth for a second swim at Cuckmere Haven (high tide is at 7.30pm)

Tea at Exceat is possible either at the Cuckmere Inn or - by turning right over Exceat Bridge and walking 400 metres up the road - at the Saltmarsh Cafe, open to 5pm, in the Seven Sisters Country Park Visitor Centre complex.

From both the Cuckmere and the main road outside the Saltmarsh buses number 12/12a/13X go every ten to fifteen minutes (every half hour after 7pm or so) to Seaford, taking 10–15 minutes.

Trains back from Seaford are at 25 and 53 past till 22.53, connecting for London at Lewes. (There are no longer any evening trains where it is better to connect at Brighton). 

Evening Walk: Lovely Lavender near London

Evening Walk -- SWC Short 23: Woodmansterne Lavender Walk (Banstead to South Coulsdon) T=Short.23
Distance: Approximately 5 miles or 8 km for those more metrically minded
Difficulty: 1 out of 10

Meet: Banstead Train Station (meet arriving train at 18:56)

Train: Take the 18:00 Epsom Downs train from London Victoria OR take the 18:11 Epsom train also from London Victoria (changing at Sutton onto earlier train -- arriving 18:43; departing 18:49), arriving Banstead 18:56.  Return: Regular return trains from Coulsdon South until 23:25.

This walk has a surprisingly rural feel for being a short distance from London. It passes through Banstead Down with views to London and follows the London Loop for a spell before passing through the Mayfield Lavender Farms.  The walk takes you along Coulsdon High Street past the Pembroke Pub for post-walk refreshies on route to Coulsdon South station….More information about the route can be found here. As there are limited instructions for this walk, I would suggest also printing out the map page from the OS Map tab.

Enjoy the walk!

Wednesday walk Faversham Circular walk - a coastal walk with creeks and marshes

Faversham Circular walk  - a mixture of Faversham Council's  own walk and SWC 299 - Teynham to Faversham

Length: variable from 12 km (7.5 miles) to 19 km (12 miles) or longer
Toughness: 2 out of 10

London Victoria: 10-10 hrs  South-Eastern's Dover Priory service.  Bromley South 10-27 hrs
Arrive Teynham: 11-20 hrs
Arrive Faversham: 11-25 hrs

Return: 16-02, 16-33, 17-02, 17-41 and 18-03 hrs


You should have plenty of time today to explore the fascinating town of Faversham, with its many historic buildings - and Britain's oldest brewery (Shepherd Neame).

Your walk today starts with Faversham Council's "Walk on the Wildside" - download here - which takes you out onto Oare Marshes and along the coast before an inland return over farmland to Oare, where you can stop for lunch at the usually excellent The Three Mariners pub (booking ahead advised - your e.t..a is 13-30 hrs)
After lunch you can switch to the afternoon leg of SWC's own walk Teynham to Faversham with a sweep along the coast before you return inland to Faversham, with its choice of cafes for a tea stop before your journey home.
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Teynham walk directions here L=swc.299

Sunday Walk – Lavender fields on the Shoreham Figure-of-8

Extra Walk 289a – Shoreham Figure-of-8
Length: 15½ km (9.6 miles). Toughness: 5/10

10:12 Sevenoaks train from Blackfriars, calling at lots of stations in south London and arriving Shoreham (Kent) at 11:09. Or take the 10:25 Canterbury West train from Victoria and change at Swanley (arr 10:51, dep 11:00) for the Sevenoaks train. Make sure you buy a ticket to Shoreham (Kent), not S-by-Sea.

Trains back from Shoreham to Blackfriars are half-hourly, at xx:08 & xx:38. You could change at Bromley South for Victoria, but you wouldn't get back much quicker.

This is a figure-of-8 walk in the familiar surroundings of the Darent valley: a southern loop via Otford followed by a northern loop via Lullingstone, where the extensive lavender fields of Castle Farm should be in full bloom. As the village at its centre has four lunch pubs and two or three tea places as well, you shouldn't have a problem getting fed and watered en route.

Note that I'm suggesting the shorter version of this figure-of-8 walk, described in the text as the Alternative Walk. Contrarians who do the longer Main Walk instead (by accident or design) might not encounter the others for the rest of the day – a blessing or a curse, depending on your mood.

You'll need to bring the walk directions from the Shoreham Figure-of-8 walk page. Clicking 'Alternative Walk' under Walk Options will save two or three sheets of paper and hopefully make them easier to follow. T=swc.289.a

Sunday Walk - The Malvern Hills from Colwall (Colwall to Great Malvern)

Length: 18.8 km (11.7 mi) [shorter and longer versions possible, see below]

Ascent/Descent:  804/849m; Net Walking Time: ca. 5 ½ hours

Toughness:  9 out of 10 

From the direction of Worcester take the 09.06 Hereford train from Worcester Shrub Hill (calls Foregate Street, Malvern Link and Great Malvern  (09.21), arrives Colwall 09.26.

Form the direction of Hereford take the 10.05 Birmingham New Street train (Ledbury 10.22), arrives Colwall 10.28.

From London take the 08.48 Hereford train from Paddington (Slough 09.02, Reading 09.20, Great Malvern 11.20), arrives Colwall 11.25. With a Network Railcard (valid to Worcester Stations), buy split tickets (unless you have secured a cheap Advance Ticket).

(Direct) Return trains from Great Malvern: 15.05, 17.04, 19.12, 20.10 (from 166 mins). There are also several indirect, and often cheaper options.

This version of the walk will help you to cover all but four of the 22 notable hilltops in the range over the two days of walking. You are starting out along fields and through oak woods at the westerly base of the hills to then return north to Malvern along the top of the ridge.

From the blurb: “The Malvern Hills stand majestically above the Severn Plain in Worcestershire and the rolling wooded hills of Herefordshire, offering far reaching panoramic views across a variety of landscapes from a multitude of viewpoints. The area is famed for its steep dramatic hills rising out of flat vales and for the pure spring water that flows from them, but it also offers a rich cultural heritage of forts, castles and priories in a landscape of ancient woodland, rolling pastures and wild, open commons.”

Walk Options:

A Shortcut at the Silurian Pass cuts the tops south of British Camp and 5.2 km/3.2 mi and 305m ascent.
An Extension to the two southerly tops adds 3.4 km/2.1 mi and 180m ascent.
An Extension to the four northerly tops adds 2.0 km/1.2 mi and 111m ascent (same as on Saturday’s walk).

Finish at The Malvern Hills Hotel and take a taxi back.

Lunch: The Malvern Hills Hotel & Restaurant (food all day) and Sally’s Place (food all day), both either 2.7 km/1.7 mi into the walk if taking the early diversion, or 10.9 km/6.8 mi on the full walk.

Tea en route: The Wyche Inn  (open all day, food served to 19.30) and Café H2O  (open to 16.30). Both are 4.1 km/2.5 mi from the end of the walk.

Tea in Great Malvern: Plentyful options. Check the webpage or the pdf for details.  

                                                                                   

For walk directions, map, height profile, photos and gpx/kml files  click here. T=swc.324.a

Saturday Walk - Milford to Godalming - Stress-free Surrey

Length: 17.9km (11 miles) - with extensions possible

Toughness: 6 out of 10

10.15 train from Waterloo (10.22 Clapham Junction) to Milford, arriving 11.05.

Buy a day return to Milford.

For walk directions click here. For GPX click here. For map click here. T=1.20

This popular walk has varied scenery, some hilly bits and a pretty village or two. In short it is a classic English summer walk. There is a choice of an early or mid-walk lunch pub, and the latter - the White Horse in Hascombe - now does food all afternoon at weekends according to its website, so no need to stress about getting there in time.

In the afternoon you pass through the National Trust-run Winkworth Arboretum, which you cross on a public footpath, defying all requests from NT staff to pay or provide your name, address and shoe size. Don’t misuse this by wandering off the right of way into the gardens, however - unless you are a National Trust member or have paid the admissions charge. There is a cafe at the start of the gardens (just before the ticket gate) if you want to sneak an early tea.

Otherwise the best tea stop is Hector’s on the Wey at Farncombe Boat House, an idyllic spot, which as far as I can ascertain is open to 5pm. The last bit of the walk is a very pleasant riverside walk into Godalming, which has more tea options (including a Costa Coffee open to 7.30pm)

If you wanted to extend the walk, the Walk Options for this walk give some suggestions for climbing hills to views (or in one case, quixotically, no views: a hill climb just for the sake of it?). I add a suggestion of my own: going north along the Wey from Farncombe Boat House (rather than south to Godalming) brings you to Guildford in about three miles. This section of the Wey is festooned with interesting wildflowers at this time of year and there is a riverside pub garden at Farncombe fairly early in the route. I have also seen people swimming in the river, but I am not sure I recommend it (slow moving river water can carry Weil’s Disease: aka I was tempted to join them but chickened out...)

Trains back from Godalming are at 11, 25, 41 and 54 past: turn up and go, basically. All
These trains also call at Guildford. 

Princess Risborough to Wendover

Length 9.5 miles (15 km)

Toughness 4 out of 10

Getting there

Catch the 10:13 am Aylesbury train from London Marylebone to arrive at Princes Risborough station at 11:02 am.

Getting back

Trains depart at 26 and 56 minutes past the hour from Wendover back to London.  

Plan your journey here. 

Tickets

Buy a cheap day return to Princes Risborough. 

Maps

OS Landranger Map 165, Explorer Map 181.

Overview

This is pleasant undulating walk in the Chilterns taking the direct route to Combe Hill from Chequers described in Section 30, (when you have completed this section jump to section 44)
You may shorten the walk further to 7.8 miles by not detouring to The Swan pub at Smokey Row and instead opting for lunch at the Plough. 
However this walk is posted for those who prefer a more leisurely pace and I would recommend you choose the Swan Pub.
In the afternoon, the walk passes Chequers bristling with cameras before heading to Combe hill and the Boer War Monument there.  The final leg is a gentle decent into Wendover

Lunch

The preferred lunch stop is The Swan at Smokey Row t: 01844 275288, but as I mentioned you may also opt for the earlier pub, The Plough at Cadsden t: 01844 343302

Tea

Plenty of options in Wendover with Rumsey's Chocolaterie for tea and yummy chocolate delights or The Red Lion Hotel or the Shoulder of Mutton Pub (next to the station) for something stronger

More details about this walk may be found on the link below
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Saturday Walk Pulborough Circular

Pulborough Circular swc.14
Length: 21 km (13 miles), with shorter afternoon options. Toughness: 4/10

This walk climbs to give a panoramic view of the South Downs from the low hills above Pulborough, where it joins the Wey-South Path. This goes past two medieval bridges on the canalised River Arun, and continues across the extensive water meadows of Amberley Wild Brooks to the picturesque village of Amberley.

After lunch the walk goes through the landscaped grounds of Parham Park, with its dark-coated fallow deer and views of Parham House. You might see gliders taking off and landing at close quarters as you go along the edge of Parham Airfield. You then have the opportunity to  bird-watch in the RSPB Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve at Wiggonholt, which has a tearoom in its Visitor Centre, before a final stretch across the water meadows back to Pulborough.

Trains: 09:36 Southampton & Bognor Regis train from Victoria (Clapham Jct 09:42, East Croydon 09:52), arriving Pulborough at 10:51. You need to be in the rear portion, for Bognor Regis. If doing the shortcut, buy a return to Amberley, which is the same fare as Pulborough.

Return trains from Pulborough to Victoria are at xx:24 & xx:55. If you finish at Amberley, trains are hourly at xx:17.

Lunch: There are two pubs in Amberley, after 8½–9 km. First the Black Horse (01798-831183) has been fully refurbished and looks rather up-market, but its website points out that it is “perfectly located for walking on the SDW” so could be worth trying. You might also be able to get a light lunch at the nearby Amberley Village Tea Room (see Tea below), but the recommendation is to carry on for another ten minutes to the Sportsman (01798-831787), which has fine views over the water meadows from its terrace.

Tea: The RSPB Visitor Centre at Pulborough Brooks is conveniently situated for a mid-afternoon break and has fine views over the water meadows. Its tearoom stays open until about 4.30pm.

If you get to Pulborough in time the Little Bean Café open to 4.30pm is on Lower Street at the point where the route enters the village, about 1½ km from the station. The Oddfellows Arms a short detour off to the right.