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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 28 September 2019

Saturday Walk – Orchards and medieval bridges in the Medway valley

Extra Walk 336 – Wateringbury Circular
Length: 14 km (8.7 miles), with longer options (†‡). Toughness: 3/10

10:03 Ramsgate train from Victoria (Bromley South 10:29), changing at Paddock Wood (arr 10:58, dep 11:11) and arriving Wateringbury at 11:22. Buy a return to Wateringbury.

† You could also travel (more expensively) on the 09:25 High Speed train from St Pancras, changing at Strood (arr 09:59, dep 10:04: be quick!) to arrive at Wateringbury 46 minutes earlier at 10:36. That will give you just enough time to do the walk's 3½ km ‘preamble’ (a loop via Nettlestead) and meet the main group off the other train.

Trains back from Wateringbury are hourly at xx:36 and go to Tonbridge, where you change for stations to Victoria or Charing Cross. With a High Speed ticket you'd have the option of travelling in the other direction at xx:22, changing at Strood for St Pancras.

A few new walks in this attractive part of the Medway valley had their débuts in early spring when the apple blossom was just coming out, so here's a chance to see the resulting crop. This particular walk had its first outing on a Sunday in March, but as it was Mothers Day both of the possible lunch pubs were full and we didn't get much of a chance to try them.

If you want an early lunch stop you should reach the Good Intent in Farleigh Green by 12:30pm; about 25 minutes later the Bull Inn in East Farleigh is closer to the walk's midway point. Both are next to village greens or churchyards for those bringing sandwiches. At the end of the walk you can get tea'n'cake at the Ramblers Rest Café, just across the river from Wateringbury station.

‡ If the cake has revived you the optional post-walk extension is an extra 3 km alongside the river to the next station (Yalding; trains to Tonbridge at xx:40).

You'll need to bring the directions from the Wateringbury Circular walk page.
T=swc.336

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

N=15 walkers on a w=sunny-and-cloudy day. A lovely walk with great views and lots of longhorn cattle 'posing' - they are so aware of the cameras it truly is amazing.
12 used the Bull Inn for lunch and most seemed pleased with the fayre. However the one order of scampi and chips 'in a basket' was amusing for the youngsters 'in a basket?' and shocking for the olds who remember baskets NOT being plastic.
The man who pinches chips was there pinching chips and he complained that it was mentioned in walk reports.
Nuff said?
After lunch eggs potatoes and sweetcorn were bought from an honesty box and apples and pears were scrumped and chomped.
Two young newbies from the Baltic states walked with us and at the end when asked if they would be walking with us again said 'Maybe'
Nuff nuff said?

Brian said...

I think they were actually Highland cattle, rather than Longhorns! Anyway, n=2 sandwich eaters led the way after lunch, enjoying pleasant, if unspectacular, views of the Medway Valley, arriving at Wateringbury in good time for tea and (the last two slices) of coffee and walnut cake at the Ramblers' Rest, a small cafe in the Medway Wharf Marina. The rest of the group caught us up in time to demolish the remaining cakes before a five minute stroll to the station and the 16:36 to Victoria.