Walk 8: Shoreham/Otford circular

An idyllic village set in a pastoral valley is the start and finish point of this walk with a trout stream, water meadows, hills and woodland

THE WALK IN SHORT How long? 2½ hours/5.5 miles Leave Shoreham station and walk under (5km) bridge down Station Rd, past golf club Public transport: Thameslink entrance and car park to footpath on left and Southeastern trains run a Point 1-2: 550m. Follow Darent Valley regular service to Shoreham footpath through trees, across golf fairways (and Otford) station (on the (take care) and by a cricket pitch to narrow London Blackfriars to Sevenoaks lane line). Arriva Kent’s 403 bus from Point 2-3: 1.4km. Cross lane, continue on Bluewater to Tunbridge Wells is Darent Valley path to Otford, passing recreation hourly. ground and village car park Parking: easy: car park in Filston Point 3-4: 100m. Turn right on high st then Lane or park near station right again by river on footpath heading north Start of walk: footpath 80 metres parallel with previous path west of Darent Valley golf club Point 4-5: 700m. Continue on path across Steep slopes? One short, quite fields, river disappears to your left, hidden by steep uphill section. Moderately vegetation easy walk. Point 5-6: 1km. Go straight over path Kid friendly? The walk might be ‘crossroads’ and enter ‘tree tunnel’ which takes long for younger children but you through part of the golf course to lane they’ll love wading in the river at Point 6-7: 100m. On reaching lane turn left. the war memorial and picnics in Going downhill you pass converted oast house, the meadows (best picnic spot at pond fed by stream and other Home Farm Point 9 on hillside). buildings Point 7-8: 400m. After Home Farm and Mill Walk and local highlights Cottage, cross little bridge over river then Superb 15th-century village bear left alongside river with plantation houses in both villages; the of broadleaf trees on your right. Pass 16th Water House, associated with century Kennel Cottage on right on more ▲ early 19th century landscape recent houses on left and reach Filston Lane N ½ a mile painter Samuel Palmer of the Point 8-9: 400m. Cross lane and walk up Ancients fame; Shoreham rough farm track opposite, stay on path up Aircraft Museum, with tea shop right hand side of large field on steep valley attached; the Archbishop’s side until you see a bench ahead. (Points 9A his is a superb walk around Shoreham and Eynsford, but Palace ruin in Otford; sparkling and 9B are on a parallel path at the top of the particularly if you like to see there are no guarantees; populations wine specialist Mount Vineyard hill, in quiet, atmospheric Meenfield wood, beautiful old cottages and of the bird vary from year to year. (open on Sundays); Castle indicated by blue line on map). houses along with countryside. The river nearly disappeared in the Farm shop and lavender fields Point 9-9C: 1.3km. Turn right along path on There are loads of wonderful, 1980s-90s as extraction from bore holes nearby; solar system scale side of hill just before bench and stay on this Tunshowy, old buildings from the and a run of dryish years reduced it to a model in Otford. Also the path above white cross, all the way to junction medieval era onward in Shoreham and trickle. The river is managed a bit better Darent river, hillside views, wild with Shacklands Rd. Otford so add on extra time if you aren’t these days, and it’s a lot healthier in flower meadows, hedgerows Point 9C-10 200m. Turn right on path along familiar with the villages. The ruins of wildlife terms. It rises on the greensand and old, flint and wooden edge of field back towards village. what was once the Archbishop’s Palace ridge south east of Westerham and houses and a great church. Point 10-11-12 1km: When the path comes in Otford, which fell victim to Cardinal disappears into the Thames near Four pubs in Shoreham, two in out on the High St, cross, then walk down Mill Wolsey’s rise to power under Henry Dartford after joining forces with the Otford. Lane nearly opposite. Cross river on bridge, VIII and the decline of Archishop river Cray. Covered on Ordnance Survey then turn right and walk along river path to Warham’s influence, is particularly The walk is easy to extend further; Explorer 147 map war memorial (alternatively follow blue route interesting to see. to the east to Meenfield, Pilot and More info on Shoreham on on map; ie, walk straight on after bridge, then Shoreham is the prettier of the Andrews woods; to the west to Romney localkentwalks.wordpress.com curve round the back of the vineyard and the villages, but Otford is very intriguing St (covered in Walk 5). Kemsing, and shorehamvillage.co.uk church). From war memorial, explore village, with its nooks and crannies, especially round the corner from Otford at the or turn left to return to station (go through the area around the old palace, but also base of the escarpment also makes an churchyard for slight short cut) with its to-scale solar system model, interesting extension, along footpaths Ye Olde George pub is opposite church which makes a decent walk in itself. used for time immemorial through but there are other pubs, too. Aircraft The river Darent at Otford is a good curiously untamed vegetation behind museum is on the High St side of place for spotting kingfishers, which are the station. Pickmoss Cottages, Otford Shoreham probably disturbed a bit less here than Adam McCulloch, [email protected]

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