Stephen quite liked to offer foraging opportunities on the walks he led for the Ramblers. When this walk was posted in late summer back in the day, it was possible to pick up an apple or two after entering the orchard off Winfield Lane (about a kilometre on from the sleepy picturesque village of Basted). Some had heavy rucksacks as they left the orchard and headed towards Plaxtol!

22 on this walk, with Stephen Backes also one of the party in spirit, referenced in conversation multiple times during the day. The weather was frankly a bit autumnal - windy and cloudy. The sun tried to come out in the afternoon, but only managed it to any degree once we were back at the station.

During the crossing of the Fairlawne Estate there was a parting of the ways, about half going directly to Ightham Mote and the others taking the extra loop to the Chaser Inn in Shipbourne. This was weirdly empty - I had expected it to be rammed. Appropriately for Derby Day, the five of us who ordered food were given a nice table in “the Jockey Room”. We were later joined by an equivalent number of picnickers for drinks.

I have in the past criticised the vegan/vegetarian offering in this pub, but the menu has now been revamped. I was very satisfied with my bean chilli and there were no complaints about the vegetarian nachos to my right. A walker who ordered salmon was unhappy with the portion size, however.

At Ightham Mote three peeled off briefly to have a look at the house: the rest of us carried on through the woods, up the hill, and across the lavender fields (not out yet, but alive with twittering larks). Perhaps it was the flashes of sun, but at this point all looked particularly lush and lovely, and I started to worry we would finish too early (which we did, really…).

Getting to Knole Park around ten of us braved the tea queue, the well meaning staff a bit of a case study in dither and disorganisation. We went onto the upper deck, whose existence I confess I had previously not noticed, and which we (and the occasional scavenging jackdaw) had to ourselves. Here we had a great view of the old rooftops of the house as we wolfed our scones and debated if it should be jam or cream on top. (Cream, obviously: end of discussion!)

Then by the park route rather than the town to Sevenoaks station, which we reached at 5pm. The fast train to London was busy. Back in Charing Cross by 5.30pm. How strange…

The Malabar Coffee House, 81 High St, Sevenoaks, an independent operation, does excellent tea, coffee and cakes. It has outside seating and is facing you as you enter the High St.

2 walked the first half with warming soup at Igtham Moat. Then another 2 joined who had lunch at Godden Green. BTW the Vicar at Plaxton church gave us a vivid history talk.Rain before lunch and then moody skies..

4 rain before lunch

17 at the station and 2 joining later made for 19

The day was breezy sunny mostly with some cloud Although we had been promised mud, there was little to go round. Hardly enough to make a pie. And only the faintest hint of autumn colour.

The group split after Plaxtol. 4 headed for the Chaser, the rest went straight to Ightam Mote. 3 of the 4 ate at the Chaser 1 just drank. The Ightam posse were not seen again.

And so to Knole Park where the deer were at it. The stags bellowed, the hinds pretended not to notice.

Then home

Thank you. Could you please suggest a longer option/variation? Cheers.

With Explorer Map 147 you can plot your own route as long or short as you like diverting from the walk's directions. But this walk as posted is as it is - 9.3 miles - a distance which is quite long enough for many SWC walkers. We try to post 3 walks on a Saturday and walk posters try to offer a choice of distances and location. I am sure you will find on offer this Saturday a longer walk for those of you who like a more challenging outing.

Once you get to Knole Park you could switch to the Sevenoaks to Westerham walk.... Or a bit earlier you merge with the route of Leigh to Sevenoaks, which you could follow backwards (with the GPX) to Leigh.

Thank you both. Very helpful.

If anyone is not bored with bluebells by now, if you stay on the Greensand Way beyond Ightham Mote (Borough Green to Yalding walk if you need GPS or directions) the bluebells on One Tree Hill are now about as good as you will ever see them. There are also good displays of wild garlic on this route (National Trust owned and behind a fence, so leave your damned foraging equipment at home: pick one leaf and I will find hunt you down mercilessly....). Lots of yellow archangel too.

Although the weather forecast for the south-east improved slightly overnight, SWC's fair-weather walkers opted to play safe and stay away from today's walk. Hence only 7 assembled at Borough Green railway station, to set out on today's adventure. Whilst it was still raining when the train left Victoria station, it soon stopped - and not a single drop of rain fell on us for the rest of the day ! OK, so the the weather was not brilliant, being overcast all day with threatening skies and a blustery wind , but it remained dry.

The countryside was lush and lovely with Spring flowers in abundance, and lots of wild garlic lining the route. As I was book checking, my 6 companions were ahead of me. Apart from meeting up with one of them at Igtham Mote, I did not see them again - I hope they enjoyed their day as much as I did. Do feel free to file your own report.

Noting Walker's comment posted on Friday, after taking lunch in the cafe at Igtham Mote I switched to the Sevenoaks Circular walk on the Greensand Way, to enjoy the wonderful full-on bluebell displays either side of and in One Tree Wood. I'm now bluebelled out for this year.

On through Knole Park and a brief stop for tea, then through Sevenoaks centre to the railway station - and home in good time to watch Man.City-v-Chelsea on the box.

Lesson for the day - the weather forecasters don't always get it right.

"wild garlic lining the route": Just wonder if may share which part of the route... interested in picking some wild garlic...Thank.

From memory, it was most apparent on the stretch between Winfield lane and Yopps Green - more towards the latter.

Thanks a lot! I will try to go .

Thanks for scheduling, Pete.

A lucky number for some - and for all us with the weather today - as 13 gathered on the platform of Borough Green Station to set out on today's walk in lovely Kentish countryside on a mild sunny winters day , ideal for walking - and walking off the excess turkey and Xmas pud.

Paths and bridleways were muddy all day but I hope this did not spoil the walk for the participants. It just made a Toughness 4 rated walk a 6 on the day.

In the grounds of the Fairlawne Estate 4 of us broke away from the group to head for the Chaser Inn for lunch, leaving 9 on the main route to head for Ightham Mote. We never saw the main cohort again - I hope they enjoyed the remainder of their walk. Please add a brief report to mine.

The Chaser Inn was fully booked but the management took pity on 4 mud-splattered walkers and found a table for us, which we much appreciated. The staff were all friendly despite being busy and they served us very acceptable meals without any long wait for the food to arrive. We left in good time for the table to be reset for the reservation to be honoured for others.

Post prandial we encountered the worst of the slippery mud on bridleways and paths leading to Ightham Mote, slip sliding all the way through sloppy, slubberdbub mud.

On reaching the Mote one of us opted to take the Sevenoaks Circular walk route back to Sevenoaks via One Tree Hill, leaving 3 of us to continue on the Book 1 route. We thought we might catch the main group at the cafe in Knole Park, but they were gone by the time we got there, if indeed they had stopped for a cuppa.

Deer were everywhere in the Park - I do not believe I have seen so many before - with coats in so many different colours. A lovely sight in the setting sun for us Chaser Inners.

Onwards through the Park and straight down Sevenoaks High Street to the railway station, where we picked up teas and coffees from the franchises before catching fast trains to Charing Cross around 4-28 pm.

A lovely day's winter walking, mud notwithstanding, in the best of SWC company.

"Take the train nearest to 10am from Victoria Station to Borough Green & Wrotham"

This would be the 09.55, arriving 10.40, alternatively the 10.25, arriving 11.06.

Any votes? Should be a nice walk, weather permitting!

The Alpina Patisserie is permanently closed, and there is nothing beyond the High Street on the way to the station. Anyone needing a pitstop before their train will need to fill up at the top of the town.

10 met at Borough Green in brilliant sunshine and walked to Plaxtol through woodland and across fields, then to Fairlawne where a unanimous decision took us to Ightham Mote for lunch - picnickers joining those using the cafe at outside tables. 6 then set off ahead, 2 taking an alternative route round Knole Park leaving 4 to enjoy tea and cake at the Malabar cafe in Sevenoaks before catching trains just before 16:00

Like many pubs, The Padwell, which lost its 'Arms' a few years ago, does like advance warning if a crowd of walkers plans to descend on them for lunch. The idiosyncratic chef prefers customers to pre-order if possible, so take a look at their online menu before ringing them: http://www.thepadwell.com/menu-2/. The food is excellent and comes in generously-sized portions.

Not sure if anyone counted but there was a large group. I'd estimate 30. Nice walk as always. Lovely weather, and plenty of spring blossom, with bluebells starting to appear.

30 nice and sunny

The refurbished NT cafe at Knole is on route but it closes at 4pm in winter...

Rich

12 I think, including 1 on a later train. The weather was very calm and sunny . The group split for lunch, with 4 going to Shipbourne and the rest to Ightam Mote. Ground and foliage had a light dusting of frost and would be muddy patches were also frozen making for easy walking. Nice day out as always in this neck of the woods.

This was a beautiful walk - could be muddy but better on a day of deep frost. I was glad I was part of a breakaway group (led by Maggie) who had lunch at the Chasers pub at Shipbourne, quite pricey but delicious and in front of an open fire. Good varied walking across open fields and through woodland.

I am increasingly frustrated with Southern trains, having been delayed for 1-2 hours quite regularly mainly due to late adjustments to schedules.

This is because of a covert industrial dispute - see Forum for an explanation

Just 3 on this walk with Max the K9, quite sunny with a couple of brief showers

Lots of late spring growth giving the walk a verdant feel especially through the Fairlawne Estate.

The Antiques Road Show had set up at Ightham Mote for a shoot on Thursday 16th June. Antique buffs may like to repeat this walk tomorrow! (Quite interesting to have Fiona Bruce behind me in the queue for food and then on the table next to us).

The lavender fields in the afternoon section set out by Mitchell and Peach were not quite in bloom, but I'd say certainly worth a visit in a couple of weeks or so.

At Knole house, work appears to have restarted with new contractors for the new café there.

Back at Sevenoaks, two had tea at the Malabar Coffee shop and one went off to check out the local Waitrose.

Plenty of trains back to London despite Southern staffing issues!

Sevenoaks is Southeastern and so not affected by the Southern "staff shortage"

35 plus two dogs on this walk. Lovely to walk in warm sunshine through this pretty corner of Kent. It may be an oldie, this walk, but it bears repeating. Fallen apples were scrumped (translation for non-native speakers: stolen) by some. Some diverted to The Chaser pub, which was curiously deserted, its lovely garden having a fine view of the church. At least one stuck to the Greensand Way, the rest of us stuck to the book route. The contractors rebuilding Knole Park's tea room have gone bust, so who knows when their tea room will ever reopen?. We avoided the temporary kiosk and went in search of a promised "garden tea room" which was in a poky indoor room: why not the spacious Orangery next door?

In Sevenoaks some of us went to the pub, and some of those went on to a nice curry by the station. And after all that it was still only 8pm.

Sign of the season: on all this gorgeous long sunny day I only saw two butterflies. Even a week ago I saw two dozen.

Of the Ightham contingent, most opted for the Greensand route. As far as I know, only one (yours truly) opted for the proper book route. I got to Knole kiosk exactly the same time as the Greensanders. Ighthams catering facilities are getting tedious. The kiosk (handy if you just want a drink) seems permanently shut. In the cafe a longer slower queue. At Knole House, we managed to get tables inside but yes pokey and chaotic.