Length: 14.7km (8.7 miles), with extensions to 17.3km (10.7 miles) or 20km (12.4 miles)
10.10 train from Charing Cross (10.13 Waterloo East, 10.19 London Bridge) to Paddock Wood, arriving 10.58, changing there (same platform) for the (Strood-bound) 11.11 to Wateringbury, arriving 11.22.
If you just miss the above, get the 10.15 from Charing Cross (10.18 Waterloo East, 10.24 London Bridge) to Tonbridge, arriving 10.58, and hoof it across the footbridge to get the 11.04 to Wateringbury. T=3.336
For walk directions click here, for GPX click here, for a map of the route click here.
*** CONTACT TRACING: be prepared to share your name and contact details with those you walk with. Bring a pen and paper for this purpose. ***
This is not the longest of walks, but I am assuming that the stride-out crowd have all gone to the Peak District. In their absence, we can linger over this pretty outing, which includes tranquil riverside walks, low hills, ancient bridges, quaint villages and quite a scattering of pubs (see the home page for this walk for full details. I do not intend to trawl through their websites to find out all their Covid policies: we will see how we go on the day.)
If you want a longer walk, a “preamble” extends the walk to 17.3km (10.7 miles) and might be useful as a way to split up the group into parties of six - ie if one group does this and another doesn’t. There is also a possible extension to Yalding at the end: without the preamble this makes a walk of 16.8km (10.4 miles) and with it, a walk of 20km (12.4 miles) Finally, to have a drink in Yalding village at the end of the extension would add another 2km. So you should be able to find a walk length to suit you.
Trains back from Wateringbury are at 36 past, changing at Tonbridge
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It is a tribute to the hardiness of SWC walkers that n=17 turned up on this walk despite w=rain-in-the-morning. A signal failure at Charing Cross also led to the cancellation of the 10.10, but not, thankfully, the 10.15, meaning we still made the connection at Tonbridge.
We split rapidly into smaller groups. My little threesome took social distancing a stage further by staying on the riverside too long, thus ending up doing part of the afternoon route in reverse. We decided to continue around the loop in this direction, and ate in the Victory in East Farleigh, risking the garden even though the skies were still gloomy. But the rain did hold off from then on. The menu seemed to be pretty much whatever they happened to have in the cupboard. Sandwiches were suggested, then chips, then baked potatoes with beans and cheese, so two of us plumped for that.
The other walkers seem to have split between sandwiching on West Farleigh Green and eating at the Good Intent (a well-meaning sort of place...): we Victorians saw them pass on the road as we were finishing our lunch (over which we had dawdled). One walker got the train home at East Farleigh. We had tea at the Good Intent.
This was a very pleasant late summer walk. The riverbanks were awash with purple loosestrife, water mint, Himalayan balsam and common fleabane, and there were plums and blackberries to eat from the hedgerows. Some apple scrumping also went on.
Back in Wateringbury I think plenty got to the cafe in the boatyard for tea by the river. Three of us, who were just too late for this, went briefly to the rather basic Railway Inn, which nevertheless produced tea in china pots. Two of us then walked on to Yalding, where we met two others who had done likewise. Coming into London Bridge at 7.45pm the sky was getting dark. Autumn is coming...
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