Length: 21km (13 miles) - (for shorter option see ** below)
Toughness: 4 out of 10 (gently undulating)
Catch the 9.10 (Ramsgate-bound) train from Charing Cross (9.13 Waterloo East, 9.20 London Bridge) to Paddock Wood, arriving 10.00, changing there (same platform) for the 10.11 to Yalding, arriving 10.19.
If you just miss the above, catch the 9.15 Hastings-bound train from Charing Cross (9.18 Waterloo East, 9.24 London Bridge) to Tonbridge, arriving 9.58, and pick up the Yalding train there, departing 10.04.
Buy a day return to Yalding.
For walk directions click here. For GPX click here. The route is entirely on the Greensand Way, apart from a couple of minor deviations for scenic reasons.
A slight change from my original plan to post the Sevenoaks Circular: given that bluebells, apple blossom and oilseed rape all look likely to be at their best weekend, I could not resist this fine walk, which combines all three of them (and which has not had an SWC outing for two years). The bluebell woods are scattered throughout the walk, some large, some small, so that by the end you will be completely blasé at the sight of them.
Refreshment opportunities are also abundant. There are three lunch pubs, the first one (the Swan) quite gourmet, the second (the Kentish Rifleman) a good straightforward pub serving food to 2pm, and the last, the Chaser Inn in Shipbourne a glorious and capacious place which nevertheless can be quite booked up: on the plus side they serve food all afternoon (as far as I am aware: sadly they have let a whizzy design company loose on their website, so this information is impossible to find there) so it may be a good idea to arrive after the main lunch rush.
For tea, there are the National Trust tea rooms at Ightham Mote and Knole House, and in between is one of the loveliest stretches of path on God's earth at this time of year - butterflies, spring flowers, views. "Heaven must be something like this", to quote the Lake District guide writer AJ Wainwright (though he was talking about rather different scenery...)
Trains back from Sevenoaks are very frequent - every 10 minutes or so. T=3.41
** SHORTER OPTION If 13 miles sounds too much, there are buses (route 222) from Shipbourne at 14.24, 17.24 and 18.41 to Tonbridge railway station and 16.15 and 18.12 to Borough Green railway station. Your Yalding return would be valid from either station. Doing this you would miss the lovely last bit of the walk, however. You could also use this bus to do a late start to the walk (there are several morning buses) going to either Shipbourne or Dunks Green (for the Kentish Rifleman).
History
This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.
| Date | # | Post |
|---|---|---|
| Sat, | 28 |
|
| Sat, | 23 |
|
| Sun, | 6 |
|
| Sat, | 20 |
|
| Wed, | Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Sat, | 25 | Yalding to Sevenoaks |
| Sun, | 7 | Yalding to Sevenoaks |
| Sun, | Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Wed, | Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Sat, | Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Sat, | Greensand Way 7 : Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Sat, | Greensand Way 7 : Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Sun, | Greensand Way 7 : Yalding to Sevenoaks | |
| Sat, | Greensand Way 7 : Yalding to Sevenoaks |
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 can’t 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 “side” 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