Stage 10 Shepherdswell to Dover (14 miles) - to the coast and beyond...

A slow start today; due to slow trains that run only once per hour. However, the train from Bekesbourne to Shepherdswell was on time so I have no complaints for the 15 minutes or so journey to the start of my final walk.

Shepherdswell was originally part of the estate of St Augustine's Abbey in Canterbury, grew with the coming of the railway between Dover and London in the 19th century and was further expanded by coal miners in the early 20th century. Today it is a picturesque village with a green and a pub and a thriving football team, Shepherdswell Spartans and a cricket team in the, not so imaginatively named, Shepherdswell cricket club.

Shepherdswell

The route passes through Waldershare Park, originally part of the estate of Waldershare House, now converted to apartments. This was the 18th century seat of Sir Henry Furnesse and is thought to have been built by the architect William Talman who was a pupil of Christopher Wren and also designed, among other buildings, Chatsworth House. Knowing Chatsworth as I do, I can say that Waldershare and Chatsworth appear to have very little in common. I did not take a decent picture of Waldershare as, at the time, I did not know that it shared a common architect with Chatsworth otherwise I would have taken more of an interest.

The "Great Storm" of 1987 uprooted many trees on the Waldershare estate; I was in London on that night and slept through it, storm what storm? Over a thousand new trees were planted post 1987 by a group calling itself The Kent Men of the Trees and funded by the legacy left by Mary Hornsby, maid of Kent. All this is from a sign on the route passing through the estate. I cannot find out who Mary Hornsby was but the Kent Men of the Trees go back to 1931 and are dedicated to promoting the love of trees and encouraging the planting and protection of trees in Kent. 

Tree planting on the Waldershare Park estate

Shortly after leaving the estate the route turns South and joins a Roman road and follows this into Dover. This was the road that connected Richborough, a port near Sandwhich to the port of Dover and is, innevitably, a straight line to the coast at Dover. The road is part tarmac, part track until the outskirts of suburbia.

The last milepost

Path into Dover

On the outskirts of Dover the path runs in a gully between Charlton Cemetery and Connaught Park; I do not know what the history of this path is but why is it here; why in this gully?

Now, I have to admit that I got a bit lost in Dover's town centre. There were trail markers almost all the way to Market Square where I thought the NDW ended and then I made my way to the seafront before heading North East and then North to our overnight campsite at Martin Mill. It wasn't until writing this that I realised that I had missed the end of trail marker! So, no grand finish photo, just a view of the ferries coming into Dover and Dover Castle on the cliff top.

Port of Dover

I will have to go back and find that end of way marker. Apparently it is made of granite and is 8 metres long set in the ground; how did I miss that? I also want to visit Dover castle so a revisit wont be wasted.

I set out to complete the NDW over the winter and by the end of March 2017. I arrived in Dover on March 25th; job done; what next?

North Downs Way in spring, Walderhsare Park

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Stage 9 Canterbury to Shepherdswell (10 miles) - dragon's teeth, coal mining and the Colonel's Cafe

I am now back in sync with the official National Trail guidebook, for the first time since stage 4 when I extended that beyond Oxted to Westerham. The significance of that is that today was going to be a short one at only 10 miles and with very little climbing it was going to be a very easy day after the 26 miles (the Garmin number) in inclement weather on my walk into Canterbury two days ago.

Heading South East from Canterbury to Dover the NDW shares the route with a number of other named rights of way. There is the Elham Valley Way which leaves the NDW and heads south to Hythe at Patrixbourne and St Augustine's Way which traces the route of St Augstine (first Archbishop of Canterbury Cathedral and founder of the English Church in the 6th Century) from Ramsgate to Canterbury. There is also the wonderfully named "Via Francigena" (road from France) which is an ancient walking / pilgrim route from France to Rome via Switzerland and obviously with a connecting route from Canterbury.

Sharing the route with the Via Francigena (rectangular way marker)

I had a short diversion in order to connect my overnight stop at the Canterbury campsite and at the point I crossed the railway line that runs between Dover and Canterbury and onto London I spotted what can best be described as a large concrete Toblerone. These are Dragons Teeth or WW2 anti tank defences, placed at strategic locations, presumably here to stop advancing German tanks from accessing the rail line and providing them with a direct route into London.

Dragon's Teeth at the rail crossing near Haystack Wood

Today's route was largely across fields, either sown with crops or pasture for livestock. I was struck at how large a couple of the fields were and wondered how much this landscape must have changed over the hundreds of years that pilgrims have been walking these routes. I like to think that the landscape has changed but the routes and the motivation for people to travel them have not.

Crossing huge fields, hedges long since removed

The guidebook refers to a final view of Canterbury Cathedral as you leave the city. My own route deprived me of this view and so I still have not seen the Cathedral, although given the mist today I probably would not have had the pleasure even if I had been on the official path.

A lunch stop was provided by the village of Woolage in the form of a large village green and picnic area. This reminded me of villages and towns in France that often have such facilities but are rare in the UK. Woolage Village was built in 1912 to house coal miners at the nearby Snowdown Colliery on the Kent Coalfield. I wonder whether the park / green area was part of original design or a later addition. Like most other mines in the UK it closed in the 1980s.

Woolage village green

My route ended today at Shepherdswell rail station where I was to get a train back to Bekesbourne for a short walk back to the campsite. Shepherdswell station is also the location of a branch line built to serve the collieries connecting them with the main line. The branch line is now run by the East Kent Railway running heritage trains for tourists. The terminus houses the Colonel's Cafe, named after Colonel Holman Fred Stephens the engineer who built this part of the railway.

East Kent Railway at Shepherdswell

 The Colonel's Cafe was a large, works canteen sort of affair and on my visit its only customers were indeed workers from the railway. One large tea and huge slice of fruit cake later I left to get my train back up the line towards Canterbury.

Today, was a very short day and I was left thinking that I could have completed Canterbury to Dover in one go, returning to Canterbury by train from Dover. However, it was nice to have a leisurely stroll rather than a forced feat of endurance. I was back in camp before 1500 hrs.

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Stage 8 Lenham to Canterbury (24 miles) - away from the roads and into the wood

Today was going to be a long day. By combining two stages into one, getting to the start by train and picking a day with the worst weather forecast for a while I set myself up for quite a challenge.

The Lenham Memorial Cross

 Having left home at 6:45am and arrived in Lenham at 8:30am I was ready for a break and a feed shortly after leaving the outskirts of Lenham. The town memorial cross cut into the local chalk with its fenced garden and seat provided just the spot for an early break. This cross was constructed in 1922 in memory of the fallen of the First World War. It had to be grassed over to prevent it being a navigational aid for the visiting Luftwaffe in the 2nd World War and had further names added for the fallen of that conflict when it was later restored.

There is an alternative path just beyond the outskirts of Lenham, taking in the remains of the local chalk mines / quarry which are now home to a protected species of snail called the Roman Snail; probably because it was introduced by the Romans? This snail needs to be protected from those who wish to eat it, including those Michelin starred chefs in their fancy restaurants. I have to admit that in the past I have eaten common garden snails from my own garden and were the Roman snails not protected I would definitely want to try them too as they are larger. As a culinary experiment the garden snails were a success but the fact that I only did this twice and I have no desire to do it again should say enough. Today the snails were still in their winter hibernation and I did not see a single one.

Spring on the North Downs Way

 Having done the majority of this walk in the winter months there was a definite feel of spring today with many spring flowers in evidence. There were Primroses, Cowslips and Wood Anemone in abundance. I even saw a couple of rabbits squaring up to each other in the middle of the road.

Spring Rabbits

Some might say that I have become obsessed with way markers. They are too few in numbers, in the wrong place, too many to take the fun out of navigation, too old and illegible but today I came across a Grand Randonee sign post. Not a way marker, definitely a sign post. The sign says that the North Downs Way is a Grand Randonee or GR. This is very strange as the GR routes are long distance footpaths in France. Yes, the NDW is part of the European footpath network and has its own designation of E2 but surely it is not a GR - because it is not in France. Now, living in the south east of England, as I do, I know that I buy my electricity from France (EDF), I travelled today on a Southeastern Train which is 35% owned by French state rail and I regularly pay tolls to cross the Thames at Dartford now owned by SANEF a French motorway company. However, I draw the line at being told that my footpaths are now GR routes!  Go away, we already have one.

Grand Randonee sign...?

By lunchtime the forecast rain had turned up earlier than expected and I was looking for a suitably sheltered spot to dine when I walked past All Saints Church at Boughton Aluph. I was keen not to miss this church as this was the last overnight stop for Pilgrims on their way to Canterbury and their is apparently a fireplace in the porch to give them warmth as well as shelter. This was also the place Pilgrims used to gather in order to cross the upcoming Kings Wood in larger groups, affording them some protection from the robbers who stalked them there. So it was appropriate that in the pouring rain I was very pleased to see some beautifully carved seats beneath a huge overhanging Yew tree in the church yard and I took advantage of having lunch here. Sadly, there was no welcoming fire to warm me today as both porches were locked. There were also Portaloos in one corner of the church yard, which I could well have done with but these too were padlocked shut.

Kings Wood is one of the largest woodlands in Kent at 1,500 acres and the NDW crosses it for 2 miles. It is a splendid bit of woodland and I could see that in a couple of months time it would be carpeted with bluebells. I made a note to come back here in May with my camera. I took no pictures today as my camera was tucked away in the rucksac away from the deluge that was now upon me.

The cafe stop was all important today, much more than just a mere indulgence of other stages. At the 16 mile mark with 9 miles to go I was relying on Shelly's at Chilham to sustain me until Canterbury. Thankfully, Shelly's did not disappoint. No French influence here; cream tea, Earl Grey, Victoria Sponge, bacon sandwhich, beans on toast. I just had the beans on toast with a pot of Early Grey. Very hospitable, despite my best impression of a drowned rat.

Pilgrim Milestone by Steven Andrews

The village of Chilham is quite famous. Due to its abundance of historical buildings it has been used as a film set a number of times including for an episode of Poirot including fake snow. In the picture above is a wooden sculpture of pilgrims and in the background you can see Shelly's Tea Room with the blue oval sign.

There then followed a fairly uneventful walk into Canterbury. Uneventful, apart from a chance encounter with only the second person I had met on the path today. I had a charming conversation with a gentleman who was just out for a walk from a nearby village. I say gentleman deliberately because he must have been about 90 years old, wearing a shirt and tie and smart jacket. We chatted for abut 10 minutes about walking (he had walked The West Highland Way and St Cuthberts Way but not the NDW) and how surprising / sad it was that I had only seen two people in 20 miles of walking. By now it was getting late and I was keen to get on and so I had to cut the conversation short but I hope I brightened his walk a little as he had brightened mine.

Canterbury was surprisingly quiet at 5:30pm as I walked past the Cathedral gate. I did not stop to take a photo but I wish I had as it was deserted. I am not sure if that desertion was normal for that time of day or whether it was a reaction to events in London earlier in the afternoon, of which I was oblivious at this time. I did notice an occupied Police car blocking one of the side roads and I wondered what it was doing there.

Strangely, I have never seen Canterbury Cathedral despite visiting Canterbury a number of times and indeed walking past it today. It is hidden behind a gate and other buildings. I was promised a view of it today from Kings Wood but the cloud spoiled that. One day I will have to pay the extortionate fee and go beyond the gate.

I arrived in camp at just after 6:00pm to be met with a welcome mug of tea.

We had the next day off and walked into Canterbury to have lunch at the Goods Shed and  take advantage of the market there to provision for the next few days.

Canterbury's West Gate

Cathedral Gate, the entrance to the Cathedral

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in sculpture

 All in all Lenham to Canterbury was a fine walk. Only one major road in the A2 and that was a mere country lane compared with the multi-lane highways of previous stages.

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Stage 7 Blue Bell Hill to Lenham (17 miles) - neolithic burials, a medieval castle and more busy roads

I am beginning to dislike the Pilgrim's Way. The North Downs Way is fine; it is a great walk when it sticks to the top of the ridge or follows the contours around its slopes. However, it has a habit of dropping to the valley floor and taking a route along the Pilgrim's Way. I admit that I started this journey wanting to follow the Pilgrim's Way, because of its history, but now after more than 80 miles walked I have started to loathe the monotony that is the Pilgrim's Way. The modern Pilgrim's equivalent of wearing a hair shirt I suppose.

The Pilgrim's Way that survives today is either a tarmac road or an unsurfaced byway open to motorised traffic generally running in very straight lines. Apart from the tedium and the hard pounding on the feet, the byways are used by vehicular traffic leaving them riddled with water filled potholes and, for the walker, the constant danger of being knocked down by a speeding vehicle. Not that I have seen many motorised vehicles, in fact only a few, but those that I have seen have shown little empathy for a pedestrian with little room to get out of their way.

The Pilgrim's Way also sits at the bottom of the North Downs and the North Downs Way's preferred route is, naturally enough, on top of the North Downs. So, each time I head downhill to the Pilgrim's Way I know that I will be regretting the loss of altitude later in the day.

There was a lot of the Pilgrim's Way today and the weather was not kind. Miserable even. A strong and cold southerly wind blowing fine but very wet drizzle in from the side as I am travelling East. I suppose I should be grateful from the shelter that the hedges of the Pilgrim's Way gave me. Today's photographs are consequently rather lacking in decent lighting.

The Pilgrim's Way, long and straight with little room for escape

I set off from the Blue Bell Hill picnic site after a vehicular drop off and realised that I missed talking about the prominent memorial stone in the car park. This is a large stone dedicated to the memories of the three man crew of an air ambulance who died when their helicopter crashed nearby in July 1998.

Memorial stone at Blue Bell Hill

Shortly after leaving the car park and negotiating around the numerous busy motorways and dual carriage ways in that area the route passes Kit's Coty House.

Kit's Coty House

Needless to say, this is not a house. It is a well preserved example of a stone chamber which once formed the entrance to a barrow or burial mound built in Neolithic times (4,800 - 5,500 years ago). I have to say that I am a little sceptical myself, the stones may well be original but this looks distinctly like a Victorian Folly to me. However, English Heritage claim that this is original and would have formed the entrance to a mound of earth and chalk dug out from ditches nearby. Apparently the ditches are still visible from the air. There would have been more stones, and these may still be buried in the field. Kits Coty gets its name from an association with a Celtic leader called Catigern (Kit) who died in a battle with the Saxons in 450AD, thousands of years later than the true origin of the stones.

Just around the corner from Kit's Coty is another large stone. The White Horse stone, after the 5th Century Saxon warlord, Horsa. However, this too is believed to be part of a Neolithic burial chamber laid down thousands of years prior to Horsa.

White Horse Stone

The trees around this stone were decorated with strips of cloth; Druids? This stone has been the subject of controversy in recent years after Orange applied to build a telephone mast within a few metres of the stone in 2004. This and a subsequent proposal were thankfully rejected by local planning committees on the basis that it would be an unsightly intrusion in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (I have heavily paraphrased that).

My complaints about the roads in the area and along the route in general were proved to be justified when I got to Detling. Here the A249, a busy dual carriage way built in 1962 linking two motorways, cuts the village in half. Quite bizarrely the planners and builders of the road made no provision for a crossing for the villagers. In the 1960s no doubt the road was quiet by today's standards but now it is anything but. As you approach the road you cannot miss the huge footbridge that now climbs and crosses the road. This is Jade's Crossing, named after Jade Hobbs aged 8 who was killed along with her Grandmother whilst crossing the road in December 2000. This wasn't the first tragedy, two others had died in similar circumstances in 1974 and 1986; Jade was however the first child and that seemed to galvanise the community to do something about the issue themselves in the absence of any official recognition of the dangers. The footbridge was opened in 2002 having been paid for by public subscription.

Jade's Crossing at Detling on the A249

As if to add insult to injury there is a memorial plaque explaining the above with a collection box to continue with the fund for other needy crossing points. I donated a pound only to find that round the back of the collection chamber the collection box has been partly chiseled out of the wall exposing its contents. Unfortunately, my hands were too big to retrieve my coin; I suspect the work of thieves with small hands and I doubt my well earned cash will be building any bridges.

Memorial to Jade Hobbs, Detling

Scum bags...

Having been saddened by the tale of the road crossing and feeling somewhat ripped off to the tune of a pound I was pleased to find that the other side of Detling was very welcoming with a handy bench seat next to an RAF war memorial. RAF Detling was a Spitfire base during WW2, no doubt playing a critical role in the Battle of Britain, closing in 1959. It is now a showground and hosts the annual Kent County Show.

Memorial to RAF Detling

Detling, The Cock Horse and Raf Memorial and bench seat mid left

Detling also had a very fine gateway to an old Tudor resting house for Pilgrims on the Pilgrim's Way. This marked the start of one of those long, boring, trudge sections for me.

Tudor Gateway at Detling on the Pilgrim's Way

This is typically Tudor, with its ornate brickwork similar to that seen at Hampton Court Palace. This is all that remains of the resting house that once stood behind it. Strange that the gateway survives but the house does not.

Shortly after Detling I took a short detour off the route, uphill, to visit to the remains of Thurnham Castle. This is thought to date back to the 11th Century, originally built by Bishop Odo of Bayeux who was William the Conqueror's brother. It had a commanding position on the top of the ridge overlooking the Weald of Kent and consisted of a circular earthwork and ditch with a bailey within. By 1540 it was a ruin and later chalk quarrying put it at risk of disappearing altogether until Kent County Council began a project to conserve it 1999. There is very little left now, just a few remnants of walls. I have not included any photographs here, because in the dwindling light there really was not much to look at.

Further along the Pilgrim's Way I was further cheered by some appropriate and recent artwork in the form of Brother Percival. I sat next to him for a while for a snack and a drink; I think he was asleep.

Brother Percival on the Pilgrim's Way

I headed off the Pilgrim's Way into Lenham at about 3:30 and made my way to the station to get the train home. The train worked well for me, changing at Bromley South and getting home at about 5:30.

Now, the next two stages are Lenham to Chilham and Chilham to Canterbury at 15 and 9 miles respectively. For logistical reasons I have decided to combine them into one long stage. It will be a long one but with an early start and cafe stop in Chilham (Shelly's tea room, please be open) it will be a good challenge. From Canterbury it is then only two stages to Dover and the plan is to complete the rest of the walk from Lenham in one Campervan supported trip. No date set yet, depends on the availability of my support crew.

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Stage 6 Wrotham to Blue Bell Hill (16 miles) - crossing the Medway

Despite dressing for the forecast of strong and cold winds I was today sweltering in spring-like warmth. Leaving Wrotham after a 0900 drop off I walked past St George's Church, believed to be one of the first in England to be dedicated to our patron saint. I noticed that there were some war graves in the church yard and went in to examine them closer. There are 5 of them, 4 from the first world war and one from the second, including one from the RAF from 1918. I am curious why they are here in Wrotham, was there a hospital nearby, I wonder? Sergeant E. C. Hood of the RAF was from 40th Training Depot Station which was in what is now South East Croydon, less than 20 miles away by air; a crash during training perhaps?

Today's cafe stop was a bit of a guilty pleasure because the only opportunity was only a mile and a half in. This was the visitor centre at Trossley Country Park. I was their first customer after opening at 9:30 and, given by the choices, I suspect the daily cake delivery was yet to arrive. Not to worry though, I had a delicious slice of apple pie, which would not have been my first choice given a wider selection, but it didn't disappoint.

Trossley Park Visitor Centre

The visitor centre is an award winning eco-friendly building constructed from the park's own Sweet Chestnut timber. It has a water recycling system, natural ventilation (gaps in the windows and doors? I have lived in a few houses like that) and a living green roof.

The walking here was easy going along the top of the downs ridge in the now familiar woodland of mixed deciduous and the occasional Yew trees and I shared the route with usual variety of dogs and dog walkers.

North Downs Way or "E2"

 For the first time on the route I spotted the European Union sign "E2" on a finger post way marker. I now understand that this designates a Pan European long distance footpath with E2 creating a 3010 mile footpath that is intended to run from Galway in Ireland to France's Mediterranean coast and currently runs through Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. It takes in the West Highland Way, the Pennine Way, the North Downs Way and others. I like the idea but who would walk such a path, or is that not the point?

There was clear evidence of the management of the woodlands with felled timber at the side of the track awaiting collection. I fully appreciate the need to manage the timber for the benefit of the woodland and its wildlife. However, I do not appreciate the damage the vehicles have done to the track and the unhelpful signs instructing me that I am to stay on the track when said track is now knee deep in mud.

Timber awaiting collection

Stay on the Path? You are joking, right?

Knee deep may be an exaggeration as I did not intend to test the depth, which reminds me of a tea mug that one of my old work colleagues used to have "I am always in the s..t, only the depth varies". Needless to say that I wandered off the path and bushwhacked through the woods avoiding the slurry pit. Sorry Mr Landowner but if you want me to walk responsibly you have to fulfil your responsibility too. I assume the signs were there to keep me safe during logging operations however there were no such operations in progress today.

At a small hamlet called Upper Bush I passed the third of the milestones informing me that I am now over halfway to Dover. I wanted the mid-way point to be where I crossed the River Medway in order to make a catchy title but it wasn't to be (mid-way over the Medway?).

Milestone number 3

I have come to the rather belated but perhaps obvious (had I thought about it sooner) conclusion that the whole route will be dominated by motorways or busy dual carriage ways at best. There is no let up; this is not a wilderness walk. But lets enjoy the countryside and the engineering. Today's engineering feat was in the form of the Medway Crossing where the M2 motorway and the High Speed Rail link from Europe to St Pancras (HS1) cross the River Medway. It is quite a sight, or an eyesore depending on your outlook. I found it quite a wonder to look at but walking across on the service road, 116 feet above the murky tidal waters of the river, was purgatory.

The Medway Crossing of the M2 and HS1

There are in fact 3 bridges here. The first was a single motorway bridge built in 1963 which was joined by a second road and a rail bridge in 2003. The footpath is on the service road of the South East bound M2, separated from the 70 mph traffic by a simple steel mesh fence. It is deafeningly loud and hard on the feet. There are signs advertising the services of The Samaritans and the occasional bunch of dead and dried flowers tied to the railings marking someones demise, as if to keep you moving forward. Despite the views of Rochester to my left I was very glad to get off it.

The footpath and service road across the Medway

Thankfully I did not have a train pass whilst I was on the bridge. A plaque on the northern side commemorated the UK rail speed record of 208 mph which was made here in 2003.

View from the Medway Crossing

At the southern end of the bridge the route passes over Borstal, a village, now part of Rohcester and home to the first prison for young offenders established in 1908 and still serving a similar function today as HMP Rochetser. The prison was built on one of those Victorian forts that we passed on stage 3 at Reigate.

Just as with  sections of the NDW in Surrey, managed by Surrey Wildlife Trust I am now seeing large tracts of chalk grassland being managed by Kent Wildlife Trust. One such area is Nashenden Down Nature Reserve where they are creating 90 acres of new chalk grassland, presumably by rescuing it from years of intensive agriculture and returning it to a "natural", albeit highly managed, state.

Blue Bell Hill picnic site is a similarly managed chalk grassland area and served very well as my rendezvous and pick up point.

Blue Bell Hill picnic site

 Next up is Blue Bell Hill to Lenham which I hope to do on Wednesday 22nd, transport willing.


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Stage 5 Westerham to Wrotham (15 miles) - Tea Loaf in the Pond View Cafe

I missed out a week on doing a stage because the weather just too inclement. This week I was determined to get out despite a poor forecast. So it was that I set off from Westerham in cold fog and fine drizzle without much prospect of improvement. There were not going to be any fine views today. I was also armed (legged?) with gaiters from the off, as whilst today was going to be cold it wasn't freezing and the ground was going to be well and truly muddy, and the mud on the NDW is very sticky indeed.

A stile near Knockholt Pound, not much to see here.

 The route passes Chevening and Chevening House. This is a 115-room mansion, in a 3,500 acre  estate. It is a three-storey, symmetrical red brick structure in the English Renaissance style. It may have been designed by 17th-century British architect Inigo Jones. Staying there as a guest in 1911, the former Prime Minister Lord Rosebery crossed out "Chevening" at the head of a piece of writing paper and substituted "Paradise".  The house was the family seat of the Earls Stanhope, and was bequeathed to the Nation by the 7th and last Earl Stanhope. The Chevening Estate Act of 1959 stipulated that the future resident should be the Prime Minister, a Cabinet Minister, the widow or lineal descendant of King George VI, or the spouse, widow or widower of such a descendant. Today it is a rather nice country pile for David Davis (Secretary of State for Leaving the European Union), Liam Fox (Secretary of State for International Trade) and  Boris Johnson (Foreign Secretary) when hosting official events. As a result it has acquired the nickname Brexit Towers. [Wikipedia (10/02/2017)]

A bench looking down an avenue of trees (the Chevening Keyhole) on the Chevening estate.

This bench is a memorial to Rowland Oakeley who was the founder of the Footpaths Section of the Sevenoaks Society, leader of 234 walks between 1971 and 1982, and author of the first four volumes of the Society's walks booklets. A special walk was held in July 2014 to dedicate the bench. Some 30 walkers celebrated with champagne, and the tape was cut by Rowland’s son Dr Henry Oakeley. Pity I missed that.

I could just about make out the large stately home through the fog in the valley below but attempts to capture it in my camera were futile. Given the nature of its inhabitants I was also expecting to be snatched at any moment by a heavily armed and camouflaged police officer possibly lurking in the bushes.

Having then walked down Star Hill, off the downs and into the Darent Valley, I met up again with the M25. This time the path joins a road the footpath of which is a mere 10 metres from the inside lane separated by a small strip of woodland. It was here in this woodland that I spotted today's fascinating discard. You may recall that on the last stage it was smoked salmon and Thomas the Tank Engine Wellies. Today it was Nitrous Oxide gas cylinders, about 5 of them. The sort of gas cylinders that have become fashionable amongst those seeking chemical based thrills and with a lust for risk. There have been a spate of thefts of such cylinders from hospitals throughout the UK and Kent is no exception. Yes, I have reported them to the police but I was left wondering why I bothered when I got the impression that they would treat it as an act of fly tipping rather than recovery of stolen goods (and administering of a noxious substance, supply of illicit drugs etc) for forensic analysis. Hopefully, someone at Kent Police will see the significance when it pops up on their screen.

There then followed some road walking and along part of the Darent Valley path to the village of Otford where I had been promised a choice of tea rooms. The problem with winter walking and going into civilised tea rooms is that my boots were by now well caked with the finest of local clay. I passed the first establishment on the basis that it had a carpeted floor but was pleased to see that the second one had a laminate floor and a large and very effective door mat on which to at least attempt to clean my boots. This was the Pond View Cafe overlooking the village pond and duck house. Capuchino and Tea Loaf. When I enquired about the recipe for the tea loaf, expecting it to be a family secret I was offered the opportunity to assist in the production of the next batch! I don't think the proprietor was joking. A very nice cafe with a fine view, very friendly owner and a good menu. They did omelettes - I think any cafe that does freshly made omelettes has a good menu.

Pond View Cafe (on the right), Otford.

Unfortunately I missed Uranus on the way in to Otford, I was so intent on finding that cafe. Apparently, there is a representation of the planets in our solar system, as aligned at 00:01 on 1st January 2000, on a scale of 1:5 billion with Uranus represented by a concrete pillar on the route as I entered the village. The sun is 649 metres away on the recreation ground.

This part of Kent, being not that far from London has many large country piles and next up was Otford Manor. This is not very old, built in the 1930s for one of the Lyle family as in Tate and Lyle. I guess it was close by the treacle mines. It is now owned by Oak Hall who organise Christian Holidays and bible study groups.

By now it was lunchtime and as I know this area reasonably well I already had a particular bench in mind for my lunch stop. I was planning to sit on the top of Kemsing Down chalk grassland overlooking the village of Kemsing. However, my plan was thwarted by a fence between the NDW path and my bench. Clearly that bench is only meant for use of people following the path though and from the village as I have done many times. I thought for a moment of climbing the fence but thought better of it; its there for a reason and I should respect that. Luckily, I shortly found a felled tree stump that served well as seat and table.

Just after lunch I came across the second milestone. This one was curious because it was only in miles; the Km appear to have been very neatly chiseled off. I hope this was because of some schoolboy error in the conversion from miles rather than some Euro phobic prejudice against kilometres.

The second milestone

The second milestone, no metric please we're British.

The good news is that I am now about half way along the route from Farnham to Dover.

The route now joins the Pilgrim's way along a track open to walkers, horses, bicycles, motorbikes and cars, although the track is only one car width wide. I saw plenty of evidence of the four wheel drive enthusiasts enjoying this off-road opportunity in the form of discarded cans and bottles and churned up soil. Thirsty work this driving off road. I also met today's top dog walker; Jemima was a small Scottish terrier type, refusing to fetch his / her ball, preferring to sniff my legs instead. Jemima had an interesting friend in the form of another terrier in a push chair being wheeled along by it's keeper. Jemima's friend seemed happy enough in the perambulator and barked as I went past, showing no sign of giving up his / her privileged position.

The Pilgrim's way took me all the way to Wrotham and my lift home. Wrotham is (or maybe was) a quiet little market town along the pilgrims way. It is now wedged between the M20, M26 and the A20 and the market has long since ceased to be.

Next week I hope to walk from Wrotham to Blue Bell Hill (and across the river Medway and the M2).

Snow drops in the woods on the right

Wooden cross near Otford Manor, not far from the Pilgrim's Way

Nearly time to harvest the wool trees

Stage 4 Merstham to Westerham (15 miles) - just follow the M25

I began my previous post claiming that "the beauty of doing a long distance path as day walks, rather than in a single continuous event,  is that I can choose the days according to the weather"; I should not have been so confident. This week I chose the day according to the weather forecast on the BBC home page, as usual. Yes, they said it would be cold but they also forecast sunshine, at least in the afternoon and I though sunshine equals warmth. They were right about the cold but there was no sunshine, which made the cold wind all the more penetrating. I can confirm that it was bitterly cold; winter waterproof jacket, number 2 gloves, hat and hood, sort of cold. I guess a forecast is not a promise.There were positives, however, in that the mud of last week was frozen hard and remained so all day. There was a satisfying crunch underfoot.

I am now out of sync with the guidebook which had stage 4 going from Merstham to Oxted. However, that is only 8 miles and not worth the travelling to the start in my view. So I worked out a route to Westerham which takes me some way into the next stage. I wont get back in sync until stage 9 with the walk into Canterbury. Having said that, travelling today was relatively easy as I did not have to go through London; and despite being at the mercy of the strike ridden Southern Rail all was well, arriving in Merstham before 0930.

This was not to be a day of picturesque scenery. Apart from the low cloud and fog, motorways would dominate the scenery and the sounds today. The M25 and M23 were crossed by footbridge shortly after the start and then the M25 followed for the rest of the day. At some points the M25 was no more than 200 metres away, all 8 lanes of it.

Trig point on Hill Top Lane above Bedlams Bank, Merstham. Today was not a day for views.

There was an information board just beyond the trig point above Merstham extolling the virtues of the chalk grassland on the North Downs. This was at Park Ham, part of the Quarry Hangers Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). I knew how special chalk grass land was but I did not realise the significance worldwide of these areas in the UK. Apparently, chalk only occurs in North Western Europe and Central Texas in the US. Consequently, the chalk downs in the UK are hugely significant with the UK having 50% of the world's chalk grassland. Long may it continue to have protected status and thank you to Surrey Wildlife Trust for the very informative board.

Whitehill Tower on War Coppice Road

There was more evidence of the strategical importance of this part of England in the road name of War Coppice Road. This refers to another of those Victorian Hill forts (War Coppice Fort) built to repel the French. This fort was not visible or accessible from the path but nearby was Whitehill Tower, a folly built by Jeremiah Long, a local farmer, in 1862 to commemorate his son who was killed at sea. Being described as a folly, I am not sure whether it was built in this ruined state or whether it was once a habitable building.

Whitehill Tower

One thing I have noticed about the North Downs Way is that there is no shortage of seats and benches on which to sit and admire the view. I have taken advantage of a few of them for lunch stops already. Today was no exception and there were a multitude of benches at Caterham View. You may be surprised to hear that Caterham View does not afford a view of Caterham although it does sit on the ridge above that town. The grass bank on which the viewpoint sits is so called because people from Caterham come here to admire the view and have a picnic. There were no picnickers out today, probably put off by the layer of ice covering the seats and the bitingly cold wind in the face of anyone foolish enough to look south.

Caterham View, not much to see today

The path faithfully follows the North Downs ridge sometimes following a contour line half way up its scarp slope, sometimes descending down or ascending up it. Above Oxted there is a good view along the ridge from the path about half way up; with Oxted Quarry in the distance and the M25 on the valley floor.

The North Downs ridge. Oxted Quarry sprawls out in the distance.

Oxted Quarry is a chalk pit that has been worked since the mid 19th Century and is still very much in use today with a combination of chalk extraction and landfill. As well as chalk there are also sandstone mines around here too, which was news to me. The Wealden Cave and Mine Society explore, record and maintain a number of mines in the area. The mined sandstone was known as "Firestone" because it was used for fire surrounds or hearths. The path is diverted around the quarry bringing it to its closest point to the M25. The DANGER signs of the quarry and the constant roar of the motorway do not make for a pleasant ramble. However, I guess chalk has to come from somewhere and this will be the industrial archaeology of the future.

On any walk I am often surprised, amazed and fascinated by what I see lying on the path or at the side of the road. I think I could start another blog on the topic (strange how Google's spell checker on their blog platform picks up "blog" as a misspelling offering bog or log amongst alternatives). Today I came across a side of smoked salmon and some Thomas The Tank Engine wellingtons. Smoked Salmon? Yes, lying at the side of the road packaged in a tartan trimmed plastic bag; the strangest road kill to date. Had it not been previously squashed by vehicular traffic I might have been tempted to retrieve it.

Thomas The Tank Engine Wellies, waiting to be retrieved by their careless owner

On one of the many woodland sections of the path today I spotted a white deer in the trees. I don't think he saw me as usually they run off quicker than I can get my camera to my eye. I was probably helped here by the noise of the M25 drowning out my footsteps. It appeared to be a White Hart; the beast of legends. It was probably less than 200 metres away but with a couple of barbed wire fences between me and it, maybe it felt safe. It just sat there staring into space.

A White Hart? I think its a Fallow Deer, although not sure

The North Downs Way is entirely within the boundaries of two counties. Today I passed a milestone (literally) of passing from Surrey into Kent. Apparently I have walked 48 miles from Farnham and have 65 miles to go to Canterbury and 77 miles to go to Dover. As usual with these things that does not quite add up to match my own calculations. According to this milestone Dover is only a short 12 mile walk from Canterbury; I make it much nearer 20.

Milestone at the Surrey / Kent border

There were no cafes on the route today. On a day when a hot cuppa would have been most welcome  not a single facility was to be had. Lunch was a brief affair, in fact two brief affairs, as it was far too cold to sit and admire the view whilst eating my frozen sandwiches. I did have a flask of hot soup, which is just as well, but by the second stop this was more tepid than hot. My hands suffered after each stop and I had to resort to warming them inside my jacket. I was beginning to question why I was doing this in winter; why not wait until spring when the orchids will be flourishing in the chalk grassland? However, it will still be there in spring and winter adds a certain challenge.

Today I had the luxury of a lift back from Westerham as I was now only 10 miles from home. Next up is Westerham to Wrotham (pronounced "Rootem"), a combination of stages 5 and 6 of the official guidebook. I have not yet worked out the logistics of travelling to / from the start / finish but it may require the assistance of the support crew.

AW