Extra Walk 59c – Eynsford (Short) Circular
Length: 14 km (8.7 miles), with longer afternoon possible (see * below). Toughness: 4/10
10:12 Sevenoaks train from Blackfriars, calling at lots of stations in south London and arriving Eynsford at 11:05.
Alternatively, take the 10:25 Canterbury West train from Victoria and change at Bromley South (arr 10:41, dep 10:48) for the train to Eynsford.
Trains back to Blackfriars are half-hourly at xx:11 & xx:41; change at Bromley South if you want to return to Victoria.
This is a straightforward walk in the Darent valley, southwards along its eastern flank as far as Romney Street and then across an abandoned golf course to the pretty village of Shoreham. This has four pubs competing for your custom so you should be able to get lunch at one of them without difficulty, but pick one and call ahead if you want to be sure of a table.
* The standard afternoon route is along the valley floor back to Eynsford, but if your New Year's Resolution calls for something a little more strenuous you could try the longer afternoon route (option d, an extra 2 km) up the western flank of the valley and along the top of Lullingstone Country Park.
If you want a mid-afternoon stop the standard route passes a café in the Country Park Visitor Centre. Both routes pass a nice tearoom by the river in Eynsford, but if you want to celebrate the end of a dry January there are several pubs nearby.
You'll need to bring the walk directions from the Eynsford Circular walk page. Clicking 'Short' in the Walk Options heading (or the line for options c or d) will hide the directions for the longer walk options via Otford. T=swc.59.d
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2 comments:
The Mount Vineyard at Shoreham may also be worth a visit and appears to serve food as well as more liquid sustenance...
On a W=mild winter's day N=10 walkers set off from Eynsford, plus a dog with boundless energy which shot off ahead and seemed to know the route rather better than some of the human participants. Once off the quiet lane away from the station we had to contend with the expected muddy stretches, but nothing was too awful. It was interesting to note that the defunct golf course on the first leg had almost completed reverted to nature, with hardly any trace of its tees and greens. A stiff climb out of the valley here would normally have reduced me to a crawl, but by cunningly offering to take the dog's lead I was whisked up the hill with no effort at all.
Arriving at Shoreham just before 1pm the pub lunchers plumped for the first hostelry which appeared. I haven't tried the George for a while but the Sunday roasts were excellent; they might have arrived a bit quicker if one of our group hadn't ordered something exotic which took a little longer to prepare, but no-one seemed to be in too much of a hurry.
Some of the sandwichers had gone on ahead and one or two others seemed to disappear after lunch, but a core group of six set off on the afternoon leg. At the other end of the village the two routes diverge and there was a palpable shock when the walk author announced his intention of doing the longer and hillier option. This didn't meet with unqualified approval but all acquiesced and we returned to Eynsford along the other side of the valley, pausing to admire the magnificent veteran trees in Lullingstone Park and trying to blot out the road noise from the M25, made worse by the stiff breeze coming from that direction. Three went for the 16:41 train, three stopped for a quick reviver in the Plough.
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