Speldhurst - walking with bluebells

First things first - the George and Dragon pub is child friendly and dog friendly complete with a water bowl in the bar (for the dogs) We sailed in, had a sniff around the village and returned to order a light lunch.  Excellently presented and extremely palatable with a wide range of starters, main courses, desserts and wines on the menu.  The menu is changed regularly but as they do not do bar snacks as such this could be a downside if you want a sandwich.  Bite the bullet and eat a lunch - enjoy because the chef knows what he or she is doing.  Top quality for reasonable prices.  Again, be polite and let them know you are going for a walk and will be dining and imbibing of refreshments. Harvey's ale is on sale.

Above: The George and Dragon Pub

Next:House next to St Mary's Church

The old Farmhouse Bullingstone Lane

The walk we elected to do was suggested as a one and a half hour trip but we took much longer (Anno domini and fussing about the dog who needs to learn what my sister wants from him regarding walking) but no matter it was pleasant.  Start at the pub and turn left walking along the road to a gate marked by public footpath sign leading to Bullingstone Lane.  The path is obvious from there and will lead you out to the lane where you turn right and find the path next to Holly cottage.  This leads down through the woods and you can take the left or right fork - we took the left up thorugh the woods to Coopers lane and down there to the path on the right on a tight bend that leads across fields with views of Penshurst Place and the Medway river below.

The route then goes down to the bottom of Coopers lane where you will see Poundsbridge church which is well worth the visit and back again up the hill on a footpath to a road where you turn right and go back to the top of Coopers lane and return along the path you came. 

The day was a scorcher for this time of the year and although it was pleasant walking the sun was hot brightening everything and creating a heat haze in the distance.  This area of Kent is steeped in history - as indeed is most of Kent - and has retained some of its finest old buildings and some of its most quaint and although Speldhurst has a few the impression we had was of a village that had developed with the ages giving off a mixture of ancient and modern and a feeling that here is a village with life. 

St Mary's church was rebuilt in 1890 but according to the records there was a church there at least 900 years before.  We did not go inside with the dog but the place looked interesting.

Walking around Kemsing - west kent

Literally check out the Chequers Inn at Heaverham, enjoy a drop of ale or a coffee remember that lunch is served between 12:30 and 2:30 and take a walk around the area from the pub to Kemsing.  We took the dog but if you do be aware that there is a sheep stud farm on the route so please keep your dogs on leads especially this time of the year (Spring) when lambs are bopping around full of the joys of the said season.  We walked the dog steadily and slowly giving sheep and lambs time to amble away and that seemed to work.

The route for the first walk was along the Heversham road from the pub toward Kemsing ignoring the first public footpath and taking the next one that leads down through the fields to the motorway.  The noise from the road can be a bit obtrusive but the walk is worth it.  The pleasant valley with tall trees on the edge of the fields and the little clumps of shade trees for the sheep make this route a delightful walk.  Getting the dog over the stiles was fun - I chucked  him over one - and as we progressed so he got less interested in the sheep and lambs and more manageable.  Follow the fence line and yuo will see the stiles and eventually reach the road again returning to the pub. 

Instructions: have lunch and a beer - Earlybird this time of the year.

Next we set off after a light and excellent lunch back toward Kemsing past the junction and took the diagonal path across the filed up to the Pilgrims Way.  We turned right along that and took the path up to the North Downs Way - go straight up keeping left and work around the shrubs to the trees where you will find a post with white markers on it up a slight rise to the right.  Follow the edge of the woods and you will meet the North Downs Way. As you climb the open hill watch out for the view of St Clere's which you will see in the woods below. 

Follow the Way along the top of the ridge.  It passes through woodland and out onto horse pasture and to a farm to cross the Cotman Ash road.  Turn left and a few hundred metres down that road the Way continues on the right.  Be aware that this is Private Property on the right and will have wire electric fences. We reached the end of the woods and turned down past the old Otford Manor and there we left the Way and took the track down the hill to Kemsing - Heaverham road crossing the Pilgrims Way.  And so back to the pub. 

A word or two about the pub.  It will get busy in the summer. It has a large beer garden and a smallish car-park.  It is set in a pleasant spot and the staff and locals are friendly.  Above all it is a dog friendly pub but be ware that the dining area is out of bounds for canines.  Food is good and there is a local charity that supplies small dog biscuits for a donation.  Good stuff.

And a word about the views.  Almost from anywhere the scenery is magnificent and from the hills it is wonderful with views across the valley to the Otford road and beyond and the edge of Sevenoaks.  Ignore the M26 and enjoy the rest - it is worth it. 

An Afternoon walk in Aylesford

Again, a spring Saturday and we, my sister and I headed off for the equestrian supply store in Aylesford with the intention of choosing gifts for niece who owns horses.  Aylesford is a place of family memories with St Peter's School and the Church being a part of our lives and our family history.  Our father went to the primary school there.  I was married in the church.  A favorite aunt once lived in Pratling street and my mother's family lived at the Aylesford Forstal close to the Pottery and Brick Works.  The village is now an isolated enclave of history surrounnded by industry and encroaching suburbia.  Thankfully the ancient packhorse bridge is no longer part of the main highway and the traffic lights on the other bit of road from Eccles and from Maidstone are working properly.

Aylesford has a free car park near the new bridge and from there you can walk around the village and to The Friars if you are so inclined.  Aylesford boasts the smallest pub in the county and the Hengist restaurant.  The former a rough drinkers pub and the latter a most up-market but worth it place.  Most friendly pub is The Bush but then it always was.

The team taking a well earned break

We decided to walk up past the school and was pleasantly surprised to see that the Jubilee gardens, once overgrown and neglected, are to be converted to a grand entrance, playground and gardens to the school.  The local scout troop and volunteers were working on the area to begin the tidying up - we will no doubt take a few moments to follow progress. 

We walked past the school on the road which leads back to the bluebell hill road and then onto a footpath behind the houses that follows the stream where once we used to gather watercress.  On our left was the snad quarry with its machinery and warning notices reminding us of friends and others who had died there in the cold water trying to swim or raft on the treacherous water. The path followed the perimeter of the quarry and sad to say we saw people there - about fifteen or twenty - taking their chances.

The path leads out oward the edge of Eccles and Burham where we turned down toward Aylesford keeping the tower of St Peter's on our left.  The Blackthorn was bursting to show off and looked pink and white which when we looked at the blossom we realised how the effect was achieved. The centre stamens of each bloom are red and pale yellow with white as the dominant color.  The blossom was falling giving the impression of snow introducing the entrance to Aylesford Priory (The Friars) where we took a stroll. 

We lunched late on snadwiches bought in the cafe and walked around the Priory taking time to stop in the chapels.  Peculiarly the sanctity of the place grips you and reverence for the holiness of the Priory permeates your thoughts and suggests a devotional attitude.  Sister Daffers lit a candle for a friend. I was moved to say a prayer of thanks. 

We walked back to the village and enjoyed a game of memory when viewing the Alms Houses where our Grandmother May lived for a time and me trying to recall where a perforance involving my cousin Cherry took place. 

Painters in Yalding and Wateringbury

It was a sunny day on Thursday 8th of April so my fellow artist and myself took off for the Medway to do some sketching in the village of Yalding.  We drove off with high hopes of a good day and had a look at the locks on the Medway first to see if we fancied drawing and painting the scene but discovered the watering holes were not that close so we went on to Yalding itself.  First stop. The Pub. It was closed so we walked out into the village with our pads and pencils and took up positions ready to draw.  Friend Bob Collins drew the Walnut Tree pub and I with my Fuji in hand took photographs and settled down on the steps of the war memorial to sketch my impression of the main drag. 

Yalding, you will have daffodils growing on your grass and your village will appear to have been taken with a fish-eye lens.  However, the place was pretty and well worth a visit for the artist who wants to sit and paint a village scene.  The people were friendly and talkative and we noted that although there are pubs in the village the centre for people to gather is the cafe near the memorial. 

We walked the streets, admired the church and took a stroll across the medieval bridge admiring the stonework and of course the view of the village church.  Bob, being a fat bloke and needing rests at times took it easy so I adjusted my pace and enjoyed the scenery even the more so having to stroll rather than walk.  We did a couple of sketches and I did a little intrepid exploring along a muddy bank to take pictures of the bridge. 

We had a pint and a half at the pub and some salted beef sandwiches.  They were delicious and I noticed that others who were dining seemed to enjoy their meals as much as we did.  The service was friendly and the place was a pleasant lunchtime experience. 

We waddled off after lunch to Wateringbury where we parked near the mill pond to do a couple of sketches of the pond and the houses around it.  I took pictures and drew the old mill house.  We walked up to the church where I used the camera and Bob did a sketch of the church itself.  The churchyard looked beautiful with its display of daffodils and primroses and the white blackthorn, pink almond blossom and the fine spring sunshine.  A note that in january 2009 my sister and I saw a brave primrose  in flower near a gravestone and I took the opportunity to find the plant and see how it was doing. I can report that it is in full bloom and doing well. Good on you primrose!

Sevenoaks - Kent

Sevenoaks was one of those places that we passed through or around with the occasional trip to Knole Park and the magnificent Knole House.  This day we were expecting rain so decided that going to a town where they may be ready shelter was a good idea.  As it turned out the day was not as wet as we expected to instead of dodging the showers we ambled around the town enjoying the early spring blooms and the experience of seeing the town from the sidewalks.  The first problem was the car parking and missing a few so we ended up parking behind the theatre, cinema complex close to the pedestrian area.

Sevenoaks is an old town with a history that as we explore the area we will discover.  The river Darent passes through to Dartford via Otford, Shoreham and Eynesford where the Lullingstone Roman Villa is displayed and well preserved.  The town centre, once a market and trading centre complete with a labor market where tradesmen would sell their wares and services, is pedentrianised although old much of it has been modernised.  I am not a fan of the clean lines that tend to make all buildings look like a kit set company has supplied modules to a limited range of designs but at least the older parts have been integrated with a little care.  The newer sections have arches and narrowish lanes. 

However, all towns and cities develop as the centuries pass and like many others Sevenoaks has done just that.  The treat for lovers of buildings is the many magnificent house on the wide streets whose ages range from the 1700's to 1900's and of course the more modern structures of the later 20C. 

Sevenoaks school, a secondary and boarding school that claims an international touch and has among its students some who are capable of places at Oxford and Cambridge and the Ivy League Universities of the United States appears to dominate part of the town.  It's core buildings are ancient but the school itself seems to be progressive offering places that are well sought after.  It reflects the tone of the town - genteel sophistication with the knowledge of its part in history. 

Dominating the Tonbridge end of the High Street is St Nicholas Church opposite the Knole Park entrance and parts of the Sevenoaks school.  Beside the church is the Chantry House built in 1720 which was itself built around a much earlier place in 1542 (I wasn't around then so I have no idea what it looked like).  We walked into the church yard but unfortunately the trusting community has chosen to put security on the entry and bar all who do not have the codes.  What does one do to worship the Lord at Easter? Seek his spirit in the nearest pub?

The little lanes around the church led us through Six Bells Lane (Above) and past some delightful dwellings and back to the main road.  From there our stroll led us past the Constituional Club building to the Sevenoaks Cricket Club grounds from where we had good views of the Darent valley.

Earlier we stopped at a market stall and bought cheese and some delicious organic bread rolls as a walking lunch.  The cheese was delicious and the bread tasted like real bread.   As you can see from the reflection of the stall in the Chequers Pub window the bread looked delicious. We decided to walk and from the cricket ground (above is a view of the flower gardens near the grounds) we took to the Vines and down onto a suburban road, turning left St Botolph's road back to the grounds and then on back to the car park, ascertain the time left on the ticket and discovered we had enough time left to get a cappucino and an ale.  So, it was back into the Shambles for a cafe or a bar.  We found a bar and sat in there putting the world to rights as you do. 

Shoreham - a village on the Darent

We took the dog with us to Shoreham to give him a treat and so it seemed a day for everyone else and their dogs to be out and about.  Spring weather, flowers not yet ready to pop out and the trees still bare of leaves but tentatively pushing out buds, Blackthorn showing its white flowers, Forsythia and Peach in bloom and the inevitable Daffodils.  Shoreham is emerging like the rest of us from the dull winter and as a first time visitor was a most welcoming place. 

Delightfully pretty, an unusual church and house that date back to Tudor times and a pub that claims to exist since 1500, it is a place that in summer is no doubt swarming with visitors.  The river is the attraction if only for its wandering clarity and at this time of the year the menace of flooding and of course the valley in which it runs.  Barely green the trees are still magnificent and as we walked up the hill to the cross on the bank we were delighted by the view that displayed the village including a clear view of a man wheeling a barrow to collect compost from the heap that serves the allotments.  Naturally I spoiled the illusion by describing the village as a super Lego display. 

Now spring is truly on its way we were delighted to see clumps of wild violets on the bank beside the woodland walk.   We met people with children and dogs and our canine companion, my nephew's dog Zoid, almost loved every moment of it - I say almost because he seemed a little nervous of other dogs when he was on the lead.  If we took him off there is no knowing where he would go so he had to subdue his feelings and put on a brave face. 

However, the village was a place we need to visit again.  There are no less than five pubs in Shoreham so this means that there should be another four visits plus another for the attractive Honey Pot tea room.

A View of the High Street and the Tea Room

The main attraction is the walk along the river which can be followed at least to Eynsford where there is the Lullingstone Roman Villa and the Lullingstone Country Park.  We walked the village and turned down into Mill Lane with some delightful houses to view and of course the river.  We took the footpath beside the river past the Old Mill Cottage to the bridge and weir and turned up toward the church from there.  It was a pleasure to walk the avenue of Yews past the church where a couple of artists were painting pictures of the porch and to the field beyond. 

We turned left out of the gate and walked back in a circular route back to Mill Lane via footpaths and then along the High Street to turn left again down to the bridge before which we stopped for lunch at the Kings Arms.  I would not say the food was excellent but for the price it was more than value for money and earned praise as good.  We sat outside with the other dog walkers as dogs are banned from the inside (must watch that in future) and enjoyed a chat with a group of people and their dogs and a young couple who had walked along the river from Farningham with their Spaniel.

After lunch we set off back along the High Street and chose the footpath leading up out of the village past the sports ground and play centre to the woodlands and hills above.  There, once we had staggered up the top using the dog to pull us up in turns - he hasn't yet learned to walk and not drag the lead - was a terrific view and the violets mentioned earlier.  We turned right at the top and walked past the cross, viewing it and then from there back down to the end of the village and back to the car park for the drive home feeling much better for the experience.

Shepherds Well - a mining village

We went to Shepherds Well - a village in the heart of what was once the coal mining area of Kent.  The village boasts a functioning branch of the East Kent Light Railway with a station close to the mainline station in its centre.  We parked at the village hall and walked into the village exploring the roads and a few of the footpaths discovering a pleasant prospect as we walked around the houses.  The village is built on a hill with a church, St Andrews, at the top across the village green from the Bell Inn.

Good beer, good reasonabley priced food and a warm fire which we did not need but it was cheerful.

The church was worth a visit - we arrived during a cleaning session and learned that the gift box had been jemmied open and rifled.

We have not explored this area before but now that Spring is upon us and Summer on its way we might take the plunge and explore the small villages that were once serviced by the EKLR and learn the history of the miners.

The village, just off the A2 Dover road has a charm that on this March day was beginning to show with a display of daffodils and rural activity such as horse riding, the traffic being sparse, and the unfortunate banging away of shotguns. Such is life. 

The drawback to the peace and tranquilty, excluding the summer weekends when the railway is operating, was the wind driven sound of the Lydden Autosport track.  I like the sound of motorcycles having ridden them for many years and at times visited the track when it was used as grass track racing venue, but the of racing engines straining to beat each other around a circuit is not conducive to a quiet walk in the countryside.

Okay, so gripe over, the price we pay for diversity. 

The village is attractive and with part of the North Downs Way passing through it and many public footpaths that will take the walker on a trip around the village the place is worth a visit.  For casual walkers we reccomend stopping at The Bell Inn for a meal and a pint or two (plus and excellent pot of tea) and enjoy the downs which here give views of gently rolling farmlands and lines of trees. 

Right: The old bakery house.

As for the shotguns and the aftermath; we walked, now in the rain, to the outskirts of the village heading along West Court Lane.  We turned around when the road became exposed to the weather and returned to discover two rabbits, one recently bloodied and dead and the other dying and close to death.  As the two animals were not there on our way out we could only conclude that they were dumped from a vehicle or maybe dropped from a sack as the shooting came froma  distance and this was near a some very urban looking houses.  Most unpleasant.  You shoot an animal to eat it.  You do not let it suffer.  If you do you have no right to be in charge of a gun.  

But that was not what impressed us as you can imagine.  The surprise was the friendliness of all those we met and the attractive gardens just beginning to come alive and the views as we strolled around.  For a place randomly selected with no real intention of spending that much time there when we first arrived it gave us a pleasant afternoon's walk. 

Right: enjoying a ride.

As it turned out we enjoyed the views and took a little excursion to Eyethorne where the EKLR museum is housed with intention of paying the place a visit later in the year.  If we do we will post it.  

A view from the West Court Lane.