Sunday Walk – Eynsford Circular, via Farningham

Extra Walk 419b – Eynsford Circular, via Farningham (Short Walk 2)

Length: 13½ km (8.4 miles). Toughness: 3/10

09:44 Sevenoaks train from Victoria, calling at lots of stations in south London and arriving Eynsford at 10:36. If you just miss this at Victoria, take the 09:55 Ashford International train and change at Bromley South (arr 10:11, dep 10:19) onto the Sevenoaks train. Buy a day return to Eynsford (from St Mary Cray if you've also got a Zones 1-6 Travelcard; from Swanley with a Freedom Pass).

Trains back to Victoria are hourly this Sunday, at xx:41. There's not much advantage in changing onto a faster service at Bromley South, nor in catching a train in the other direction at xx:36 and changing at Sevenoaks (the latter probably needs a more expensive ticket anyway).

I wasn't sure about choosing this walk when another Eynsford Circular was posted a few Sundays ago, but the double whammy of Storm Darragh and major signalling problems at Victoria station seems to have prevented anyone from showing up (or at least reporting on it). In any case there's only a small overlap between the two walks, with this one covering a more northerly area around Farningham rather than Shoreham. I'm suggesting we skip the full Main Walk's northern loop since the river is prone to flooding around Franks Lane, but you could risk this if you want a longer walk.

Getting a pub lunch between Christmas and New Year is never guaranteed but this walk goes past no fewer than *five* hostelries in around 2½ km: three in Eynsford at the centre of its figure-of-8 shape, followed by two more in Farningham. There are several picnic areas if you prefer to bring your own provisions. As Eynsford's tearoom closed several years ago you'll have to revisit one of its pubs if you want some refreshment at the end of the walk, with the Plough Inn on Riverside being the most conveniently placed.

You'll need to bring the directions from the L=swc.419.b page. If you kept a printed copy after doing another version of this walk in January, note that the route has been tweaked and some of its loops are now done in the opposite direction.

Sunday Walk - Woods and rolling fieldscapes in Essex: Laindon Circular

Length: 20.9 km (13.0 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 336m

Net Walking Time: 4 ¾ hours

Toughness: 5/10

[shorter versions possible, see below] 

 

Take the 09.48 Shoeburyness train from London Fenchurch Street (Limehouse 09.52, West Ham 09.57, Barking 10.03, Upminster 10.12), arrives Laindon 10.22. 

Return trains : on xx.27 or xx.57.

 

This is an energetic and varied figure-of-eight walk through some tranquil, hilly parts of Essex, mostly through woods, both ancient and modern, and through flower-rich meadows and some farmland, which are all parts of Langdon Hills Country Park and the neighbouring Langdon Nature Reserve (which itself consists of five separate reserves). The hills form a crescent shaped ridge running West-to-East, giving panoramic views over the Thames Estuary from many points: out to Canvey Island and Fobbing Marshes in the East, across to Kent and to London’s Skyline in the West.

The lunch destination Horndon-on-the-Hill is a conservation area and features several noteworthy buildings as well as a multi award-winning pub. On the return you walk through more beautiful, undulating woods and then through the Dunton Plotlands part of the Nature Reserve, an interesting area formerly full of bungalows and chalets for Londoners, now with a brand-new large visitor centre and café.

This walk contains some arable field crossings around lunch (about 1km in total), where it is also afflicted by some road noise from the nearby A13 for a while.

Walk Options: 

Shortcuts cut out 2.4 km (1.5 mi) and 2.6 km (1.6 mi) respectively. 

Cutting out the outer loop to Horndon-on-the-Hill reduces the walk by 5.5 km. 

 

Lunch : The Bell Inn (food 12.00-18.00, a table has been booked for 12.45) or The Swan Inn (food served 12.30-16.00) in Horndon-on-the-Hill (10.4 km/6.4 mi). 

Tea : Langdon Visitor Centre in Dunton Plotlands (café open to 16.00, 3.1 km from the end of the full walk).

 

For summary, map, height profile, some photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.114

Saturday Walk - Knockholt to Otford

12.9km (8 miles)

Toughness: 7 out of 10 short but energetic walk, taking in the pretty village of Shoreham

Travel and tickets: Knockholt is in Zone 6.  On the return journey buy a single ticket from Otford to Swanley (Swanley is covered by 60+ Oystercard) or, if you have a Zone1-6 travelcard, you should buy a single from Otford to St. Mary Cray.    Otherwise a day return to Sevenoaks will suffice. 

 Train times:  Take the 10.01 from Charing Cross; 10.10 London Bridge; 10.19 Lewisham.  Arrives Knockholt 10.50

Return trains from Otford are at xx01; xx15; xx31; xx.45

 Walk Description:  This walk approaches the familiar walking territory around Shoreham and Otford in Kent from an unfamiliar angle, passing at first over wooded hills, then climbing up and over a steep ridge to get down to Shoreham.

In the afternoon the route goes into a lovely hilly area of woodland and fields, passing through the lovely hidden valley of Magpie Bottom, a nature reserve, with fine downland flowers and butterflies in the summer.

 Lunch and tea:  Shoreham, 5.3km (3.3 miles) into the walk, has three possible lunch pubs. Serving more standard pub fare (and also being on the walk route) is the Kings Arms (01959 523100), with the more upmarket Samuel Palmer (01959 525442) just up the road. Both have some outside seating, but for a more tranquil garden the Crown (01959 522903) is recommended, reached by a small diversion off the walk route and also serving standard pub fare.

The village also has the Shoreham Aircraft Museum (01959 524416), open 10am-4pm on weekends year round, which has a tea room set in a pleasant garden, while the Mount Vineyard (01959 524008) in the heart of the village has a restaurant (booking advised) serving pizza.

 In Otford:  Hospices of Hope charity shop has a tea room at its rear, which is open till 4pm on Saturdays. 

Almost opposite the Hospices of Hope there is also Sally's Cake Emporium, open to 4pm Tuesday to Sunday.

 Otford also has two pubs, the first one you pass being the more basic Woodman by the roundabout, with the Bull, a cosy chain pub, 150 metres beyond the roundabout on the left.

 For walk directions click here, for GPX click here and for a map of the route click here. T=swc.37

Saturday Walk - Dormans to Lingfield

Length: 16¾ km (10.4 miles). Three hours 45 minutes walking time. 2 out of 10. T=swc.329

This walk in the south-eastern corner of Surrey essentially consists of two near-circular walks linked together. The first loop is around the fringes of a historically interesting housing development to the south of Dormans station, with the outward path showing the cuttings, embankments and viaducts needed to build a railway through this undulating countryside. The second loop goes through a Local Nature Reserve and farmland in the low-lying countryside to the north of Lingfield.

After a circuit of the estate and a brisk gallop up the long straight of Lingfield Park Racecourse, a woodland bridleway brings you into the large village of Lingfield. The suggested lunchtime pub is on the edge of the Old Town conservation area, which contains many well-preserved 16th–18thC buildings clustered around the grand parish church.

Trains: Get the 0950 East Grinstead Train (Clapham 0957, East Croydon 1010) arriving Dormans at 1044. Return trains at xx10, xx40. Buy a return to Dormans.

Lunch: In Lingfield the walk route goes past The Star (01342-832364) after 8 km. It is just outside the picturesque Old Town, has a large garden and serves good food all day. There is a churchyard by The Star for picnics.

Tea: The suggested tea place in Lingfield is Costa Coffee open to 6pm on East Grinstead Road, near the village pond. A nearby alternative is the Red Rum Caffé open to 4pm or the Greyhound pub. You could also make another visit to The Star, the closest place to the station.

Note that the station is at least 1 km from the centre of the village; 2 km if you take the suggested route via the water meadow, though water meadows may not be ideal at this time of year....,.

Saturday Walk - Haslemere to Midhurst via Lurgashall or Lickfold

Re-post from early August, when all lines were closed out of Waterloo in that direction...

Length: 21.7 km (13.5 mi) or 20.8 km (13.0 mi)

Ascent/Descent: 469/587

Net Walking Time: 5 ¼ hours 

Toughness: 6/10 

 

Take the 09.30 Portsmouth Harbour train from Waterloo (09.55 Woking), arrives Haslemere 10.20. 

Return to Haslemere Station from Midhurst by Bus Line 70 (26 mins journey, relevant buses: 16.05, 17.05, 18.10 and 19.15 (or by taxi). 

Return trains from Haslemere are on xx.00, xx.32 and xx.37 (slower).

 

The route leads from Haslemere station through the town’s centre and along the waymarked Serpent Trail through a small Nature Reserve to rise steeply out of town and back down through Camelsdale to then rise with the Sussex Border Path through pastures and pine and heather covered slopes up to the Black Down. Following the crest through open heathland, with far views across West Sussex and out to Hampshire, you reach the Temple Of The Winds viewpoint, with further panoramic views over the Rother Valley to the South Downs escarpment and easterly across to the West Weald.

A long descent through the sloping open grounds of Blackdown House and through woods carpeted in bluebells in season, leads to either the classic Sussex village of Lurgashall, with its pub and church at the corner of a picturesque village green and cricket pitch, or to the hamlet of Lickfold with its renowned Three Horseshoes Inn.

The afternoon takes you through a mix of flat farmland and wooded hills to the Cowdray Estate, with its golf course-with-views as well as several polo fields, to the romantic ruins of Cowdray House, as captured by JMW Turner. Climbing from the River Rother’s banks, Midhurst's Norman castle ruins are passed en-route to the old market town's attractive centre with its many tea options.

Lunch : The Noah's Ark in Lurgashall (10.3 km/6.4 mi, food to 14.30, a table has been booked for 12.45). Or The Three Horseshoes Inn in Lickfold (11.0 km/6.8 mi, food to 16.00, booking recommended). 

Tea: lots of choice en-route to and in Midhurst (see the pdf for details), recommended are The Halfway Hut (3 km from the end), Cowdray Farm Shop & Cafe (2 km from the end, open to 17.00), Garton’s Coffee House, The Wheatsheaf or Fitzcane’s. 

 

For summary, map, height profile, some photos, walk directions and gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.48