Walk 36 : Borough Green to Sevenoaks

Plaxtol, Ightham Mote & Knole House

Length	15.5km (9.5 miles), 4 hours 40 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 8 hours 30 minutes.
Toughness	4 out of 10.
OS Landranger Map	No.188. Borough Green, map reference TQ 608 573 is in Kent, 9km east of Sevenoaks.
Features	Nine of the 15.5km are before lunch; the walk goes south from Borough Green through woods and along streams to the old village of Plaxtol with its Cromwellian church. Then through the park of Fairlawne House and past its Japanese garden to Ightham Mote, a beautiful moated medieval manor. The route onwards is up a potentially muddy bridleway and through orchards to lunch at Stone Street. In the afternoon, the walk is through shaded paths and woods leading to the 1,000-acre Knole Park and its 365-roomed Knole House, and then up by footpaths off to tea in Sevenoaks, with the station 1km downhill from the centre.
Shortening the Walk	You could order a taxi from Plaxtol or from the lunch pub. There are occasional buses from Plaxtol to Borough Green Station but not at weekends.
History	The Cromwellian church at Plaxtol, built in 1649, and has a fine seventeenth-century hammer-beam roof that was originally painted blue. Thomas Stanley of Hamptons, later beheaded for his part in the execution of Charles I, contributed money for repairing the church. There is a slab in the nave floor recording the death, within one month in 1771, of four young children of the Knowles family. Knole House was a palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury from 1456 until it was seized by Henry VIII in 1532. In 1566, Elizabeth I granted it to the Sackville family. It is described as a calendar house, with 365 rooms, 12 staircases and seven courtyards. The house, with its tapestries, paintings and collection of seventeenth-century furniture, is open to visitors from mid-March to the end of October, Tuesday to Sunday (plus bank holiday Mondays and August Tuesdays) with last entry at 3.30 pm. Admission is £8.10, children £4.00. The garden is open on Wednesdays only. Refreshments are available at the Brewery Tearoom and you do not need to pay the entrance fee to use it or the nearby toilets. The house stands in a park of 1,000 acres. There is no charge for walking in the park and in any case the route described in the follows public rights of way. Ightham Mote (pronounced 'item') is a lovely Tudor and medieval moated manor house and garden (tel 01732 810 378), and it can be seen clearly from the public way, without paying to go in. It is open to view10.30 am to 5.30 pm from March to October, Thursday-Monday. Tickets cost £8.95, children £4.50. There is a restaurant for teas and light lunches which may also be open at weekends during the winter months even when the house is closed so worth checking; you do not need to pay the entrance fee to use the restaurant and toilets.
Saturday Walkers’ Club	Take the train nearest to 9.45 am (before or after) from Victoria Station to Borough Green Station. Journey time 45 minutes. There are several trains each hour going back from Sevenoaks, journey time 35 minutes to Charing Cross, about an hour to Victoria.
Lunch	The suggested place for lunch is the Padwell Arms, Stone Street (tel 01732 761 532) which serves food from 12 noon to 2.15 pm Mondays to Saturdays and to 3.00 pm on Sundays. An earlier lunch could be taken at the Ightham Mote restaurant. A further lunch option, is the more formal bar-restaurant at Stone Street, The Snail (tel 01732 810 233) where lunch is provided Tuesday to Sunday 12 noon to 2.00 pm, booking advisable.
Tea	The Brewhouse Tearoom (tel 01732 450 608) has an entrance in the north wall of Knole House, without the need to pay an entrance fee. It has the same opening hours as Knole House (see above) and serves cream teas. There are various options in Sevenoaks: Caffè Nero at 112 High Street (tel 01732 779 050), Coffee Republic at 2 Blighs Rd (tel 01732 742245) and Costa Coffee at 142 High Street (tel 01732 465 171).

Travel by Train	Out: (not a train station) Back: (not a train station)
Travel by Car	Start: Borough Green & Wrotham Station is near : TN15 8AJ [gmap] Finish: Sevenoaks Station is near : TN13 2JA [gmap] Return to your car by train: (park at the start) at 4pm (park at the end) at 10am
OS Explorer Map	147 : Sevenoaks & Tonbridge [Amazon] 148 : Maidstone & the Medway Towns [Amazon]
Revised	This walk was fully revised in : Aug-08. Download the PDF (link above) for the revised instructions, but for the map, you'll still need the book.
Updates	Lunch now at The Padworth Arms (as The Snail is a restaurant) [details]
Other Greensand Hills Walks	Leigh to Tunbridge Wells, Hever to Leigh, Leigh to Sevenoaks, Otford to Eynsford, Otford (round walk), Yalding to Borough Green, Hurst Green to Chiddingstone Causeway, Sevenoaks to Westerham, Sevenoaks Circular, Yalding to Sevenoaks, Oxted Circular, Edenbridge to Westerham, Staplehurst to Headcorn,

Walking Instructions 

[Numbers in square bracket refer to the map in the book.]

1. [1] Turn right uphill (eastwards) out of Borough Green Station’s ticket hall to a T-junction (Wrotham Road) and follow this road to the right, over the railway bridge, your direction 205° initially.
2. In 60 metres you come to the main Western Road turn-off to the right; cross it carefully Carry straight on, soon passing the driveway to the village hall and public toilets on your left. In 150 metres cross over the A25 (there is a pedestrian crossing nearby) to a fish and chip shop on your right and carry straight on, now on Quarry Hill Road, your direction 220°.
3. [2] In 50 metres, opposite the church on your right-hand side, go left into The Landway, following the public footpath sign onto a tarmac car road , downhill, your direction due south.
4. You now keep heading south on this footpath and its successors for the next 3km until you come to a T-junction. But in more detail: In 175 metres you come to a car road and cross it to continue straight on along a public footpath, now a path between fences, soon going gently uphill. In 280 metres cross a car road to carry straight on between wooden fences. In 275 metres the path bends left, going steeply downhill for 160 metres to cross a stream by a brick-and-concrete bridge.
5. [3] 80 metres further on you come up onto a car road. Go on this road, leftwards (due south initially) with a wide grassy bank and then a lake on your left. Next there is a residential development on the left where the pavement starts. After 120 metres the pavement ends but go straight on (along Basted Mill), ignoring the Mill Lane right turn opposite. Instead, continue past a grassy area and then Bridge House on your left; 20 metres on, turn right on to Mill Lane at the junction with Plough Hill, your direction 205°.
6. Pass Orchard Cottage on your right with the stream on your left. In a further 80 metres you pass Basted Cottage on your right. Another 130 metres brings you past Glen Cottage, also on your right, after which the earth road becomes a potentially muddy path.
7. In 350 metres you come to a concrete public footpath marker with an arrow to the right and a tiny stream behind it but keep on your path as it bends left.
8. In 325 metres ignore a fork left (which crosses the stream) to come to a T-junction, a car road by a public footpath sign [5].
9. Go right on this car road, uphill, your direction 275°.
10. In 115 metres, once over the steepest part of the hill take the stile by a concrete public footpath marker, leftwards, your direction due south through the orchard.
11. In 150 metres, near the end of the orchard, pass straight on, along the right-hand edge of the copse ahead of you. In 30 metres you enter the wood downhill, your direction 140°. In 25 metres you cross a stream and a wooden bridge with wooden rails, then go over a stile and up the other side to emerge from the wood in 50 metres.
12. Follow the field fence on your right, your direction 220°. You then continue in more or less the same direction for 1.3km till you come to the church in Plaxtol.
13. But in more detail: After 180 metres go through a gap to the left of a wooden fieldgate and pass a bungalow on your right. In 600 metres ignore a footpath to the left. In a further 200 metres your earth car track meets a tarmac car road [6]. Continue in the same direction, due south initially. In 80 metres pass an oasthouse on your right. In a further 100 metres ignore a car road to the left called Grange Hill to continue on your road, now called Tree Lane, soon coming to the Cromwellian Plaxtol Church on the right.
14. Here turn right up Church Hill, also known as Plaxtol Lane, your direction due west. 300 metres up this hill and with the strange, disused, isolated gateways of Fairlawne Estate 150 metres off to your left, turn left over a stile on a signposted footpath, your direction 170°.
15. Continue towards a five foot post with yellow paint, heading well to the left of the gateways. Once at the yellow post, pick up the footpath to the right, 215° initially, which passes up beside the gateways on their left-hand side and then goes slightly down the other side, keeping the same direction, to the nearest group of four trees, 50 metres away.
16. From these trees you can now see other posts with yellow paint ahead to your left (215°). Continue towards the first of these posts, with a group of four mature trees ahead on your left and then an enclosure of young trees on your right. Carry on to the second post, and then a third post where you cross a stile. Head towards a fourth post some 150 metres away. Impressive Fairlawne House can be seen on your right-hand side.
17. [8] At the fourth post, turn right on the bridleway, westwards (ignore the yellow arrow pointing ahead). Follow the bridleway as it curves right and in 200 metres go through a wooden swing gate. Turn right down a tarmac lane towards a pond and buildings but in 20 metres turn left on a tarmac lane away from the houses, your direction 205° with a screened Japanese garden on your left-hand side.
18. In 70 metres by the wooden bridge on your left, turn right uphill on a tarmac lane, your direction 290°. In 225 metres exit by a wooden swing gate (a wooden fieldgate to its left) and cross the A227 with care to keep straight on, along the earth road opposite, your direction 290°.
19. In 150 metres turn right on a car-wide earth road, your direction 15° and 30 metres further on go through a wooden swing gate (a wooden fieldgate to its right) into a field where you continue straight on. In 150 metres go left over a stile with a stone step (next to a wooden fieldgate on its left) to go on a bridleway, your direction 280°.
20. In 650 metres you come to a tarmac road and the entrance on your right to Igtham Mote. The restaurant here is an early lunch option (but see the note on opening hours in the introduction).
21. If not visiting the house or restaurant, continue up the lane, your direction 250°, passing along the side of the manor. Follow the lane as it turns sharply to the left away from the house and in 50 metres go out through the gateway and turn right on the car road, your direction 300°, passing Mote Farm on your left and a row of cottages on your right.
22. metres along this car road and just before a cottage on your right-hand side, turn left on a signposted car-wide public bridleway, your direction 285°.
23. [9] After 600 metres, with a wooden barrier ahead and a pond to the left ignore the permissive path next to the barrier and turn right up a steep and potentially muddy, slippery path, your direction 330°; a way can be found parallel to the bridleway, a metre or so above it to the right which may be slightly less muddy.
24. In 250 metres you emerge from the wood and continue straight on, your direction 350° on a wide track though the orchard and ignoring all ways off. In 900 metres you come out on to a car road junction. Cross both roads to a gap opposite with a metal fieldgate on its left.
25. To reach the recommended lunch stop, the Padwell Arms, go ahead down the wide track (formerly signposted as a bridleway but the words have been greened out), your direction 330° for 450 metres to a road; the pub is just opposite. After lunch retrace your steps to the beginning of the track and take the path half right that leads diagonally across the field, your direction due west.
26. To reach the more up-market The Snail turn right uphill without crossing the road when you leave the orchard, your direction 70° for 350 metres. After lunch retrace your steps.
27. If you do not go to either pub, take the path that leads diagonally across the field, your direction due west (this is to the left of the track to the Padwell Arms).
28. At the corner of the field, carry on to a narrow path next to a field with a fence to the left (do not go on the grassy path to the right of the hedge along the orchard). In 150 metres you go over a stile and cross a car road [10].
29. Continue straight on, along an earth car road signposted as a public bridleway, your direction 280°, past Lords Spring Farm Cottage on your right and in another 100 metres past Lord’s Spring Oast, also on your right.
30. About 1km further on, you come to two small houses on your right (the first marked as number 2) and you carry straight on, going along the earth driveway of these houses. In 90 metres ignore a fork to the left (which has a concrete public footpath marker) but in a further 50 metres, opposite some wooden stables, take the footpath left into the wood, (it too has a concrete public footpath marker), your direction 220° [11].
31. Go more or less straight on for the next 500 metres. In more detail: In 160 metres cross a path and then another in a further 185 metres; continuing straight on, you have black chainlink fencing on your right for 180 metres. You come out on a tarmac driveway and follow this for 50 metres to a car road.
32. Turn right on this car road, your direction 345° and in 100 metres turn left on a signposted public footpath across the playing fields of Sevenoaks Preparatory School, your direction 260°.
33. Turn right at the top of the playing field and continue to the corner of the field with a copse on your left. Exit between the three posts to the road. Here you turn left, your direction 210°, to go gently downhill [12].
34. In 200 metres you pass two houses on your left and bearing right uphill for a further 100 metres you enter Knole Park through a fenced kissing gate.
35. You have two paths forking ahead of you; take the wider one to the right, your direction 265° (not the path to the extreme right). In 75 metres leave the fence to fork left on an unclear path just before the third large tree on your left (they are oak, beech and oak), your direction 245°. There is immediately a swathe of grassland on your left.
36. In 85 metres, after passing a large fallen tree on your right you come to a tiny pond (winter only) on your left and then a large dead tree trunk on your right. Keep straight on, along the path from the tree, your direction still 245°. You can just see the garden wall of Knole House at 260° by the top of the far hill. Note your onwards path that leads steeply downhill from you, then uphill towards the house.
37. metres down from the tree trunk, cross a wide avenue and continue up the other side on the wide grass path, going due west. 200 metres up from the avenue pass through a cluster of ten young oak trees.
38. In a further 85 metres cross a tarmac path to continue straight on despite a ‘Danger - Golf Course’ sign on your right. In 90 metres you cross a fairway (beware golf balls coming from the right). After a further 50 metres, you see Knole House’s garden walls on your left. Carry on along these walls. You pass the entry to the Brewhouse Tearoom. At the end of the walls turn left for the Knole House entrance if you want to go inside.
39. To continue the walk from the end of the high wall go straight ahead on to the grass, heading with no clear path for the largest oak tree at the top of the hill, your direction 315°. You will probably need to weave your way round parked cars. Once at this tree which now see is actually two trees, though the one in front is dead, carry on in the same direction, downwards, still with no clear path, your direction 310°. In 150 metres keep a crater depression on your right. You are now on a clear path that lead down to a tarmac drive. Cross it to carry straight on, along a clear path downhill, your direction 300° [13].
40. In 200 metres leave Knole Park by a fenced kissing gate to go steeply uphill, your direction 265°. In 5 metres you pass the entrance to Sevenoaks Environmental Park on your right.
41. In a further 200 metres keep to the tarmac path as you pass the Sevenoaks Leisure Centre car park on your right. Continue past the end of the car park with a wall on your right and railings on your left, coming out at the Waitrose car park entrance. Cross the road and continue to the right of the toilets (Akehurst Lane) your direction 255°. This leads out to Sevenoaks High Street.
42. (Alternatively you could cross the Sevenoaks Leisure Centre car park diagonally to the opposite corner where you turn left, following the sign for the Tourist Information Office. After 50 metres you come to a road; cross it and carry on straight ahead past the bus stops to arrive at Sevenoaks High Street.)
43. There are various possibilities for tea in Sevenoaks. For Caffè Nero or Costa Coffee turn right down the High Street. For Coffee Republic, cross the High Street, turn right and continue to Brewery Lane where you go left to come out into the large square that is the Blighs car park; Coffee Republic is at the corner, to your left.
44. After tea you will need to get to London Road which runs west of the High Street for the station. From Coffee Republic continue ahead along the edge of the car park to the far side where steps lead down to London Road; turn right downhill. From Caffè Nero or Costa Coffee cross the High Street, go ahead down one of the side streets to London Road and turn right.
45. Continue about 1km down London Road to reach Sevenoaks Station. The station has its own snack bars and frequent trains to London.