Lamberhurst

Wher do you go on a cold autumn day when you have explored much of East and West Kent and do not fancy freezing on the coast or wanderinbg around a city such as Canterbury pretending to go shopping? We have enjoyed much of our local area and have sorted some routes so that we can travel quickly to favorite places. We decided that Lamberhurst was a good place to go with the intention of exploring the village or town casually and plan further visits when the weather and the season is more friendly to casual walkers. It proved to be a pleasant trip although with not a lot of walking but enough to enjoy. We also discovered a leaflet in the local shop described as the 'High Weald Welly Walk' that guides the walker to Scotney Castle estate and to places of interest around Lamberhurst and Kilndown.

Lamberhurst, just off the A21, not far from Goudhurst and close to Scotney Castle. A pretty place in the summer and naturally we visited it in the late autumn. The day was sunny and cold and therefore ideal for walking although we did not want to tromp in mud. We are not that intrepid without a guide either in the form of a map or a walk plan. We stopped in the car park in town and strolled the main street taking a look at the wonderful church built of sandstone.

The rain during the week and the night before was so heavy that golf courses were closing for play so when we walked across the course on the buggy path and public footpath we were glad there was nobody at play. We did not linger in the church as there was a group inside doing what groups in churches do but it is worth a visit.

Lamberhurst has managed to do something unique with its buildings in most of the places we saw close to the centre. Firstly the old houses are well preserved and tidy which is a great asset for the place given the number of visitors it has in the summer, and secondly many new buildings have been tastefully designed to fit in with the older styles and do not look out of place. There are some modern styles but these are gratefully suppressed and the whole place is a picture - a photographic delight. The new mixes with the old gracefully.

With sunset getting earlier the problem with our jaunts is, apart from the walking conditions, is time. We have to adjust so if we want lunch we have to work it so that we have a return to the car with a short walk and make the longer one before. The problem with that idea is we often need a warming cup so this day we walked from the centre up to the church and back and stopped in the Chequers Inn for a coffee intending to eat there if needs be. The Chequers is a grand place with a polite and pleasant welcome, a good lunch menu if somewhat on the high side for price but quality seems excellent.

The bars of the Chequers are hung with paintings by local artist Jane Grey and worth a look. She uses colors and adds a wonderful excitement to her scenes. The paintings are well framed

and for sale. We didn't lunch there as it turned out finding the rest of Lamberhurst more interesting than hurrying back part way for a meal. Instead we nipped into the Swan where the locals were watching the Irish beat the South Africans at Rugby. A pint of local Sussex ale and a light lunch was taken and recommended as a place to go for food. We were treated to a pleasant, unobtrusive service, good food served by cheerful staff and heated by a warm open fire with a gentle reminder that Christmas is coming.

In all the day was pleasant and intruduced us to another part of the Weald that needs to be visited. Filled with history of Iron making, charcoal burning and clay work this area also has the Scotney estate and was once a Hop Growing area. I am glad because the beer in the Swan was good.