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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 19 September 2020

Yalding Circular Walk

Walk 320 – Yalding Circular 
Length: 12.5km (8m)
Toughness: 2 out of 10

London Charing Cross 10.15, Waterloo East 10.18, London Bridge 10.19, arriving Yalding at 11.18
You will need to change at Paddock Wood in at 10.58 out at 11.11 probably arriving and departing from Platform 2 
Buy a day return to Yalding

This walk has been requested by a regular walker as the fruit foraging should be very good especially for apples pears and damsons.

Each time I have walked this walk there have been some lovely Scottish Longhorn cattle or some such grazing as we passed.

With a toughness rating of 2 out of 10 it is very gentle and being 8 miles this can be a relaxed walk and so quoting an extract from William Henry Davis 

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

Reminds me of the Nicholas Albery days when there was a relaxed walk each week.

Lunch is suggested as The Tickled Trout 01622 814 717 in West Farleigh however as with all the pubs at present lunch seems to be a movable feast as in, we are fully booked or we welcome you with open arms (Ed. poor choice of phrase in these restrictive times) so maybe have a snack to hand just in case.
As the walk is only 8 miles odd you could do it all and then have a late lunch back at Yalding.

Yalding offers 
Tea Pot Island at the lock between Yalding village and the station. Closes on weekends at 17:00 in the summer and 16:00 in the winter.  Fairly traditional cafe.
The Boathouse at the lock between Yalding village and the station.
plus apparently, others according to the walk page 


Trains depart Yalding at xx.40 with a change at Tonbridge
T=swc.320

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Boathouse in Yalding is newish, glossy, characterless and very overpriced for what you get.

Anonymous said...

I'm ok with the Boathouse but I'll bring a snack in case we can't get in. Menu is here: https://www.boathouseyalding.co.uk/menus

Anonymous said...

I know the Huntsman and tend to agree it is a bit soulless
The other pubs in Yalding are

http://walnuttreepubyalding.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Walnut-Menu-Autumn-2020.pdf

Walnut Tree
Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone ME18 6JB​
01622 814 266

http://thegeorgeyalding.co.uk/

Call 01622 814376

Bridie said...

Typo / memory problem there

I know the Huntsman and tend to agree it is a bit soulless

Should read

I know the Boathouse and tend to agree it is a bit soulless

Anonymous said...

The Boathouse. Oh yes. I like to support rural pubs, but it is beyond bland. Antiseptic, small portions, pretentious, expensive.

Marion said...

Never mind about the Boathouse pub I couldn’t find any listings for trains to Yalding on the TFL website. We’re there engineering works?

Anonymous said...

Trains are as listed and a few of us are on the train to Yalding

Mike A said...

Last of the Summer Wine
n=21 on a w=mostly_sunny_with_some_light_cloud_and_a_coolish_easterly_breeze.
There were some novel techniques to ensure correct social distancing
with one walker gesticulating and shouting "disperse, disperse" before leading some walkers off on the Yalding to Sutton Valance walk (and correcting shortly after)

Although the River Medway isn't as grand as the Thames, drooping willows and well mown sections of the route made the walk very pleasant and easy on the eye.
Long horn cattle were spotted as advertised.

Some picnicked and some used the pub in West Farleigh which was appreciated.
10 or so finished at Teapot island and one (maybe more) had a drink in the Boathouse

Damsons were plentiful but a bit light on apples and there was a vast area of raspberries under cover which were Verbotten

Apparently, one renegade (you know who I mean) took social distancing to
an extreme and continued on the tow path all the way to East Farleigh
where he took a mug of tea in the gardens of "The Victory"

With the possibility of more restrictions on the horizon and colder weather to come, this was a pleasant and memorable walk as we come towards the end of summer season