Shoreham Circular (Figure-of-8) walk

A figure-of-eight for this eight and three-quarter miles around the delightful village of Shoreham, Kent. Undertaken on a reasonable Winter afternoon, with sunny intervals, a brief shower (that produced a wonderful double-rainbow!) and a south-westerly breeze.

The walker leaves the station and does the southern loop first, passing through a couple of small nature reserves to eventually pass by the scale model of the solar system at Otford. This 'alternative' variant then follows the Darent Valley Path (DVP) to return to Shoreham, where lunch is had at the Church of Saint Peter and St Paul.

Thereafter, the DVP is followed all the way to Lullingstone Country Park, where this walker diverts off it and then ascends for some delightful views over the valley. It's then into some ancient woodland (mainly beech here), prior to some field edge walking and quiet country lanes back into the village.

A very good return to walking with a good amount of variety, albeit on some familiar terrain. Considering that it had rained overnight, the paths weren't too bad. The hum of the M25 is never too far away, and there's some occasional jet-noise.