Knockholt to Downe Circular

Knockholt to Downe - 9 mile circular

Another great English summer day and ideal for walking. We had not walked this area before and it turned out to be wonderful rolling countryside - amazing to think that we were only 15 miles from central London.

Parking up at Knockholt and using the route directions from "Fancy-free walks" we set off towards Berry's Green, passing through a mixture of woodland and open fields. Then, heading north we picked up paths to the village of Downe and passing only about a mile away from Biggin Hill Aerodrome.

Downe is famous as the home of Charles Darwin and where he famously wrote his book on the Evolution of Species. Ivan did go up and touch the gates of Darwin's house to see if he would evolve into a Stallion but I told him it wouldn't work as he had already evolved into a Hobbit.

It being noon-time we entered the village to find not one but two nice pubs almost opposite each other. Should we enter the "Queens Head" or the "George & Dragon" - or both. Well the George got it and because we still had 5 miles walking ahead of us we decided we would leave the Queens for another day.

Leaving Downe we walked down a famous ridge called "Downe Bank" where Darwin did a lot of research on wild flowers and orchids. He must have been a fit old man because we found this one of the steepest climbs we have walked for a long time and we had to stop for a breather half-way up the hill. Why is there always a steep hill after a pub stop eh!

This was a delightful circular walk and one that we need to try out in the spring when the wild flowers come into season.

The house where Charles Darwin lived and died



Plaque to Darwin on the village church

The "Origin of the Species" evolved here

 

Lunch stop



Typical rolling North Downs countryside



City of London sits in the background

Stats for the day were ...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (Hr)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)
19/08/2013	15,207	9.2	3:40	1,043	2.6	1,354	1,286

Sevenoaks to Westerham

Sevenoaks to Westerham along the Greensand Way

We have often passed or met up with sections of the Greensand Way so this seemed a good opportunity to walk a section of it. The entire walk goes from near Alton in Hampshire right through Surrey and Kent, following a natural sandstone ridge - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensand_Ridge

We chose to start out at Knole park just to the edge of Sevenoaks and follow it westward to Limpsfield - except we chose en-route to divert to Westerham because of the bus timetable!

This turned out to be a very pretty section with some steep inclines as the trail took us down Hubbard's hill at Sevenoaks; across and up Ide hill (where we stopped for lunch at a favourite pub "The Cock Inn"); then down Ide Hill and up Toy's hill, the highest point in Kent; before dropping down into Westerham via French Street.

Very pretty scenery throughout but some of the way-marking was a little wayward and the GPS came into its own on several occasions.

Walking towards Ide Hill with Bough Beech reservoir in the distance

Westerham in the distance as we leave French Street



Winston Churchill lived on the outskirts of Westerham

Westerhan Church

Stats for the day were ...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (Hr)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)
12/08/2013	21,112	10.9	4:00	1,200	2.6	2,298	2,358

The White Cliffs of Dover and beyond

Dover to Sandwich over the cliff-tops

Phew - a long walk at 17 miles, but very enjoyable. Carol, my favourite weather lady, was pretty positive that the far eastern corner of Kent would miss the deluge of rain that most other parts would get and she was right because we didn't put on waterproofs all day and walked in a mix of high cloud and sunshine.

Making an early start and driving to Dover meant that we started the walk about 10-00am from central Dover and parked close to the rail station as this was where we would return on the train. Walking through the town we hit the sea-front and basically kept the sea on our right all the way.

Dover docks are simply massive and as we made the big pull up the cliff path we had a view directly down into the docks with the cars and lorries looking like ants as they scurried to and fro the ships which were loading.

Dover Priory where we started the walk



Climbing up to the top of the White Cliffs
 

Looking down from the cliffs into the Port of Dover

The views along the cliffs and over to France from the cliff tops were amazing. The path was good and undulated  as we walked "The Tops" and then started the drop down into St. Margaret's Bay. It would have been absolute heaven if Trevor hadn't insisted on a continuous rendition of his Vera Lynn favourite  "Their will be Bluebirds over...."

Looking back at Dover Castle



Stopped for a well earned Ice Cream in St Margaret's Bay



South Foreland Lighthouse

The climb up out of St Margaret's Bay was hard as it was a stepped path which went almost vertically up the cliff face but once up the views and walking made up for it.

Finally we descended down again to sea level at Walmer and from here on the cliff section finished and it was a flat straight walk through Walmer and onto Deal promenade where finally Ivan decided at 1-30pm and 10 miles walking that we should stop for lunch! We found a local pub, "The Anchor" but there was nothing much to say about it, being a seaside place and full of tourists! But two pints and a lunch later meant we could head off for the final 7 miles to Sandwich.

Deal in the distance. The wild flowers were amazing.

Looking down at St Margaret's Bay



Back at Sea Level again at Walmer

Walmer Castle built to keep Napoleon out!

Tl
The Old Lifeboat House at Deal

The Deal Timeball - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deal_Timeball

I can't say the walk around Sandwich bay is very exciting.  The path followed the sea defence wall and basically we had a shingle beach on our right and golf courses on our left.  The path was compacted gravel which was very hard on the feet! Eventually we took a left turn, walked through the Famous "Royal Sandwich Golf Course" and followed the path a couple of miles into Sandwich and the train station where we caught a train back to Dover and the car. It was a very quite journey home in the car as 17 miles was the longest walk we have attempted so far.


Stats for the day were ...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (Hr)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)
05/08/2013	33,676	17.0	6:05	1,931	2.8	1,507	1,521