Yalding to Sevenoaks SWC Walk 41, switching to Book 1 walk 36
Length 13 miles, 20.9 km.
Difficulty 5/10
The published walk follows the Greensand Way all the way through orchards and woods, passing Ightham Mote and crossing Knole Park.
Nothing to stop you doing the main version, but here's a suggestion. After Ightham Mote, switch to the ending of the Borough Green to Sevenoaks walk. This will take you through the lavender fields near Stone Street where the orchards were. The lavender could already have been harvested so donât get too excited.
Trains Take the
09:10 Ramsgate train from Charing Cross to Paddock Wood and wait on the platform for the 10:21 Maidstone West Train (arr. 10:01 dep 10:21)
If you miss the 9:10 or its just too plain early, take the
09:25 Hastings train from Charing Cross, sit at the front of the train (but not the driver's seat) and dash across the footbridge at Tonbridge to platform 1 for the same Maidstone West train (arr. 10:10 platform 3, dep 10:14 platform 1). This is the officially advertised connection but it's a bit tight. Note that the 9:25 does not go via Paddock Wood. Either way you get to Yalding for 10:29.
Several trains an hour back from Sevenoaks. The fastest are at xx:00 and xx:30.
Get a return to Yalding.
Lunch etc. The earliest pub, perhaps a little too early, is the
Swan in West Peckham 01622 812271, 3.4 miles into the walk. It is âfestooned with plauditsâ. Lunch here (served from 12) would leave you with a long afternoon but there are convenient refreshment stops to break your journey. Pudding perhaps? Then tea?
The recommended stop, the
Kentish Rifleman in Dunks Green 01732 810727 is 6 miles into the walk . It serves food till 3.
The
Chaser Inn in Shipbourne is a little further than the Rifleman.
Further still, the National Trust Restaurant at
Ightham Mote is open till 5
After Ightham, if you are on the lavender route, itâs also possible to divert to the the
Padwell 01732 761532 for a quick snifter.
Nearer the end, at Knole House there's a kiosk and seating area open till 5 (the Brewhouse tea-room is closed at present) and there are numerous tea places (eg Caffe Nero) and pubs (eg the Black Boy) in Sevenoaks.
Directions Main Walk,
Alternative ending (from Ightham Mote)
Where is the meeting point at Charing Cross?
Vicky
Earlier than that, if you walk down the train you may find a group of us, yabbering away.
If you have not done already, read this page about how our walks work, because they are a bit different from other groups
https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/swc/index.shtml
People are free to take the 10.10/10/15 train if they like, of course, but just to point out that the 9.10 train was not chosen without careful thought. The first pub you come to, the Swan, is from memory quite posh and booked up. The Kentish Rifleman is a more traditional pub but is 6 miles into the walk and stops serving food at 2pm. If you are starting at 11.19 (ie taking the 10am train), then you need to walk at a fairly smart pace to be sure of getting there in time. The 9.10 was chosen because it allows for an easier pace and/or to linger looking at bluebell woods.
True the Chaser provides a backstop, providing it still serves food all afternoon, which I have not been able to check, and faut de mieux there is Ightham Mote and its tea room as a late lunch option.
For the record, some will DEFINITELY be getting the 9am train.
Enjoy the walk whichever train you get. Pity the weather forecast is not as springlike as last weekend....
I will leave others to do the walk report
Bridie
The weather was grey and slightly drizzly but at least it did not rain. The bluebells were out throughout the walk but seemed a bit weedy for reasons I could not fathom. There was apple blossom and oilseed rape and the swallows were sitting on the same telephone wire they were on when we did this walk two years ago (in similar weather, alas). Two of us were inexpressibly delighted to hear a turtle dove at one point. (I canât tell you what a BIG DEAL this is: this once common harbinger of spring has declined 93% since 1994).
Those who lunched at the Swan probably made a wise choice. The Kentish Rifleman was in headless chicken mode and some of us abandoned hope of eating there right away. Others waited ages even to order drinks and made the same choice. Ten of us eventually ended up in the heroically busy Chaser Inn, which could not accommodate us till 2pm. A fabulous pub and if you are a red meat eater the menu is great and well portioned. The vegan sandwich was a bit of mushroom between bread with some wilting lettuce, however, and my potato rosti was a starter at a main course price: to give you some idea, I tripled its size by adding a âsideâ of vegetables. Why the idea persists in pub kitchens that vegetarians are not hungry, I do not know.
All if this was a big incentive to stop for tea at Ightham Mote a mile later, which seven or eight of us did. After this the turtle dove and a big wild garlic wood in full flower. Five of us later had a drink in Sevenoaks and then a very nice Indian meal. So weather apart, a grand day out.
Monica