Читать книгу The North Downs Way - Kev Reynolds - Страница 9

INTRODUCTION

The soul of a journey is liberty, perfect liberty, to think, feel, do just as one pleases… Give me the clear blue sky over my head, and the green turf beneath my feet, a winding road before me, and a three hours’ march to dinner – and then to thinking!

William Hazlitt (1778–1830)

I'm one with Hazlitt, when it comes to long-distance walks. Except, perhaps, my preference would be for an eight or nine-hour march to dinner, rather than just three. Spread the day thinly, I say; set out soon after breakfast with a cheese roll and an apple in the rucksack, dismiss from mind any thought of the next night's rest – and simply wander. Let the trail ahead guide your feet, leaving each of the senses free to absorb whatever the countryside has in store.

Walking the North Downs Way provides ample scope for the liberty to think, feel, do just as you please. Mostly the trail is clear, waymarking adequate, the spacious Downs edging a far horizon as they make that long, generous arc round the low-lying Weald, so that there are few (if any) demands to check the map or compass, and you can free the mind to drift with the clouds. Others have done just that, for generations.

‘From the Straits of Dover to Farnham,’ said Hilaire Belloc, ‘Nature herself laid down the platform of a perfectly defined ridge, from which a man going west could hardly deviate, even if there were no path to guide him.’ And we, going east, could hardly disagree.

The North Downs have acted as a highway since before Neolithic times. Because the Wealden forest was too dense and tangled to allow easy access, the high and broad-backed downland gave an opportunity to hunt, to travel, or to drive livestock from one pasture to another, and (much later) from pasture to market. Drove roads gave way to green lanes, while some of the footpaths and trackways adopted by the North Downs Way in the 21st century may well have been stamped out long before the Romans came to these shores. Now there's food for thought…

Today the line of the downland scarp is traced here and there by motorways and a high speed railway, and nothing can better underscore the frenetic nature of modern living than to view in the distance the haste of wheeled traffic while you stroll across a rabbit-cropped meadow, birds singing from a nearby spinney, as you let the hours drift slowly by. Walking day after day for a hundred miles and more is the perfect antidote to the stresses of workaday life; it's the best of all exercises, a relaxation, and a means by which to get life in perspective. And along the North Downs Way you can discover something of our ancestry, learn from the past and balance those lessons with the present.

The North Downs Way

Exploring every aspect of the Surrey Hills and Kent Downs Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Downs Way (NDW) National Trail offers the walker a very different experience from that on the South Downs Way (SDW), for example, for while the SDW challenges with some steepish ascents and descents, the NDW is much more gentle with fewer climbs, and where these are made, the gradients are generally much less demanding. There's more habitation along the North Downs Way but, surprisingly in view of the proximity of major centres of commerce and industry, and large residential areas (especially between Farnham and Detling), you meet far fewer walkers, and most of those you do meet are locals out exercising their dogs, or enjoying a circular walk. Although it is claimed that around half a million people a year walk sections of the trail, even in mid-summer it's perfectly possible to wander the NDW for long periods in splendid isolation.

1 Cowslips are common on the downland chalk

2 Bugle (Aguja reptans) appears in open meadows

3 May is when hawthorn blossom fills the hedgerows

The North Downs are more heavily wooded than their counterpart on the south side of the Weald. Some of the loveliest are the mixed woods of beech, oak and ash, carpeted with wood anemones, bluebells or ramsons in spring and early summer. And when the trail emerges from the woods there's often a surprise view to stop you in your tracks, the revelation of patterned field and meadow, or orchard, vineyard or hop garden spread below as if to underline the fact that in parts of Kent the Downs form a backing to the ‘Garden of England’.

That garden is explored in detail on a spur to Canterbury, while the direct route to Dover excites with the famous white cliffs plunging to the surf hundreds of feet below the footpath.

There are many historic sites along the Way: Neolithic burial chambers, Roman roads and Norman churches, charming villages and tiny hamlets, England's premier cathedral city and its busiest ferry port. There are bold stone castles and country cottages trim with thatch. There are literary connections with Jane Austen, Dickens, Joseph Conrad, George Meredith and JM Barrie – among others.

There are streams and rivers, ponds and lakes that catch the sun and dazzle its light, that attract wildlife and a rich diversity of plantlife too – anyone interested in natural history will find much to occupy them. And, of course, there are the contrasts of landscape that enrich each day's walk and make a journey along the North Downs Way a truly memorable experience.

The NDW is really the child of the much older Pilgrims’ Way, which ran along the base of the Downs from Winchester to the shrine of St Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. That route dates back to the 12th century, but the modern world has smothered large sections in tarmac, so a better, more peaceful and safer route was devised along the crest of the downland wall, although in some parts of Kent it descends to the Pilgrims’ Way where that original route is either a trackway or a mostly untroubled country lane. Instead of beginning in Winchester, it starts in Farnham on the Surrey/Hampshire border; and while the Pilgrims’ Way ends in Canterbury, the North Downs Way continues to Dover, and is now part of the E2 – a major European trail.

Walking west to east

As the quotation from Belloc suggests, the route could be tackled from Dover round to Farnham, but the journey described in this guide takes the opposite view, preferring instead to walk eastwards, as would the pilgrim. So for the sake of our modern-day pilgrim the National Trail, which was officially opened in September 1978, begins in Farnham and ends in Dover.

At Boughton Lees near Wye the route forks; one stem heading north to Canterbury, while the main and more direct route continues through Wye and follows the escarpment to the outskirts of Folkestone, then on to Dover by way of a breezy path over Shakespeare Cliff. The direct route to Dover measures roughly 123 miles (198km), while the alternative that takes the Canterbury loop is about 130 miles (208km) long, and for most of its course between Farnham and Canterbury, it either coincides with, or parallels, the older Pilgrims’ Way.

For the first 14 miles (22km) out of Farnham the route plots a course along a range of sandy hills to the south of the Downs, but after crossing the lovely viewpoint of St Martha's Hill east of Guildford, it strikes north to the chalk crest of Albury Downs at Newlands Corner. From then on the North Downs Way remains true to its name and mainly keeps close to the southern escarpment on a series of footpaths, tracks and brief stretches of quiet country lane as the North Downs spread east and southeast across Surrey and Kent before being stopped abruptly by the English Channel.

In four places the downland wall has been breached by river valleys. In Surrey it is the River Mole below Box Hill which causes the first breach. In Kent it is the Darent at Otford, the Medway at Rochester and Great Stour near Wye that have broken through the lofty chalk barrier to create valleys, each with very different characteristics. The Mole's is a comparatively narrow valley, a wooded slice with Dorking to the south and Leatherhead to the north. The Darent Gap north of Sevenoaks is a much more open swathe, the low-lying water-meadows beside the innocent stream teasing with prospects of gentle walks for other days. The most profound breach is that caused by Kent's major river, the navigable Medway, tidal as far as Allington near Maidstone. Where the Medway has muscled its way through the Downs, the valley has been industrialised, although the trail of the North Downs Way barely has a glimpse of this before crossing high above the river on the M2 motorway bridge. Contrast this with the Great Stour whose valley breaks the downland wall between Wye and Canterbury, a rural backwater of splendid tranquillity and long views.

Blue Bell Hill provides a great vantage point across the Medway Valley (Stage 7)

Between Farnham and Guildford the trail remains low, weaving across arable farmland interspersed with woods, coming now and then to a patch of heath from which the Hog's Back is seen to the north. The Ordnance Survey map shows major highways scoring through the country nearby, yet walkers on the North Downs Way are largely unaware of unseen (and mostly unheard) traffic on those roads. In springtime bluebells make a smoky haze on the woodland edge, in summer foxgloves stand sentry beside the trail, and in early September ripe bilberries tempt among the heathlands. In places wild raspberries brush against the path; elsewhere it could be blackberries that provide a juicy snack along the way.

The River Wey interrupts the line of the walk on the outskirts of Guildford, shortly before the path joins that of the Pilgrims’ Way leading onto St Martha's Hill, crowned by a flint-walled church at 573ft (175m) above sea-level. Although of modest altitude St Martha's offers the first of many awe-inspiring views across the heavily wooded Weald, but it is here that the route deserts both the Pilgrims’ Way and the sand hills, turning north to cross a shallow valley then slanting up to Newlands Corner on Albury Downs to experience the walk's first true chalk downland.

Bluebells carpet king's Wood in springtime (Stage 10a)

For some distance east of Newlands Corner the trail pushes through woodland, breaking out here and there to cropped grass, cowslips and orchids, and surprise views south to Leith Hill and an extensive ridge of greensand beyond which lies the Weald. Then, having crossed Ranmore Common, the route skirts England's largest vineyard as it descends into the Mole Valley. Here the river is crossed on romantic stepping stones, followed by a sharp ascent of much-loved Box Hill which signals the start of a roller-coaster section, dodging in and out of woodland interspersed with open panoramic highpoints, one of the best being between Colley Hill and Reigate Hill.

Between Reigate Hill and Ockley Hill a plague of motorways and railway lines threatens to disrupt the onward route, but the North Downs Way planners have successfully negotiated a way across with very little tarmac underfoot, and soon after leaving Merstham the crest of the Downs is regained once more, where the Pilgrims’ Way carries the journey over agricultural land for a while. Above Oxted the line of the Greenwich Meridian is crossed, and between here and Westerham Hill the trail exchanges Surrey for Kent. Where the county boundary is met, a special marker stone announces that you've walked 48 miles since Farnham, but have another 65 miles to go to Canterbury, and 77 to Dover.

Briefly beyond Westerham Hill a hint is given of high-rise buildings on the outskirts of London – a reminder that the city is half a day's walk away. But you quickly shun this by dodging back into woodland, and when the path re-emerges it is to see the Darent Gap looming. Below lies graceful Chevening House, official country residence of the Foreign Secretary, its northern façade partly concealed by trees as it slumbers at the foot of the Downs.

Across the Darent Valley at Otford another sharp climb returns the trail to the downland crest for a section that mostly keeps to the scarp edge – with all the visual delights that entails – before making a sudden descent to the Pilgrims’ Way which, since Otford, has been restricted to a narrow metalled lane. Where the North Downs Way joins it, however, this becomes a track, then footpath, leading to Wrotham. Trosley Country Park is next where, thanks to its great popularity, you're likely to lose any sense of solitude – but only for a brief while.

A broad firm path takes the NDW through Trosley Country Park (Stage 6)

Out of the Country Park a sunken track takes you down to the Pilgrims’ Way yet again, joining it just a short stroll away from one of the Neolithic burial sites that form part of what has become known as the Medway Culture. The Pilgrims’ Way is followed eastward for only a mile before returning up the scarp slope at Holly Hill, then plunging into an extensive woodland section above the Medway Valley.

Crossing the Medway on a motorway bridge in view of Rochester's castle and cathedral is at once exhilarating and hideous! Exhilarating because you're high above the river and with long prospects downstream with the Downs arcing blue into the distance; hideous on account of the heavy traffic thundering past, forcing you to muse on the madness of speed and its effect on the environment. Thank heaven that crossing is soon over!

Over Wouldham Common sanity is restored on an undemanding walk to Blue Bell Hill, then it's down to Kits Coty House, the giant upright stones of another Neolithic burial chamber standing on a downland slope with far-reaching views across the Medway Valley.

East of Kits Coty a long stretch with few distant views delivers the North Downs Way to Detling, beyond which a sudden return to open country shows the vast expanse of the eastern Weald spread below. The trail tucks round the outline of Thurnham Castle, slopes down to rejoin the Pilgrims’ Way at Hollingbourne, and follows that gentle route for many miles above Harrietsham and Lenham, only just missing Charing – a village worth making a short diversion to visit. From there until Boughton Lees, you lose any meaningful association with the Downs but there are compensations, one of which is the crossing of Eastwell Park and an opportunity to look at the remains of St Mary's Church on the north shore of Eastwell Lake.

Direct route via Wye

The North Downs Way divides outside Boughton Lees and the continuing eastward option enters Wye, a lovely small town noted for its agricultural college, then climbs onto the downland crest for one of the finest sections of the whole walk. This hugs the scarp edge for a while across Wye Downs and Broad Downs, then deserts it in order to pass through Stowting. But soon after, another glorious stretch is encountered which takes the walk above Postling (where Joseph Conrad once lived), descends to Etchinghill, then up again to wind round the steep upper scarp above the gruesome marshalling yards of the Channel Tunnel Terminal. Ignoring this blot on the landscape the trail makes a loop round ancient Castle Hill, site of a 12th-century ring and bailey castle, before setting out on the final clifftop march that leads over Shakespeare Cliff and ends in Dover itself.

A shepherdess gathers her flock on Wye Downs

Dover Castle dominates the town as it has for 900 years (Stage 11 and Stage 12a)

The Canterbury Loop

The northern spur from Boughton Lees visits Chilham, one of Kent's most attractive villages, then Old Wives Lees, passing through acre after acre of orchard country on the way to Canterbury.

The architectural glories here are enough to tempt a delay, but pushing on takes the walk to Patrixbourne (whose church demands a brief visit), then across Barham Downs to Womenswold in the back country, continuing through pleasant but undownlike agricultural land to reach Shepherdswell. From here a final eight mile walk makes an exploration of gentle East Kent farmland that culminates in a remarkably easy entry into Dover, whose castle overlooks the town from a prominent site that has been fortified for nearly two thousand years.

Where to stay

A wide range of accommodation is available all along the North Downs Way, ranging through a handful of campsites, youth hostels and camping barns (independent hostels), to more frequent private bed and breakfasts (B&Bs), country pubs and a few high-priced hotels (for those who crave extra comforts). On each stage of the walk described in this guide an indication is made where, at the time of research, such accommodation could be found, but anyone planning to tackle the route end to end is advised to go online to visit www.nationaltrail.co.uk/northdowns and download current accommodation details.

During research for this edition, the YHA had only two hostels on or near the NDW. These were at Tanners Hatch (Stage 2) and Canterbury (on Stage 10a). Advance booking is advised for both, especially during school holidays and at weekends – details of addresses, facilities and telephone numbers are given in the YHA guide which comes free with membership – see Appendix A for the YHA National Office, or try www.yha.org.uk.

A welcome B&B on Detling Hill (Stage 7)

The decline in the number of YHA hostels along the North Downs Way is partly compensated for by the establishment of independent hostels or ‘camping barns’, of which there are currently three in the route's vicinity: at Puttenham (Stage 1), Coldblow east of Detling (Stage 8), and in Canterbury (Stage 10a). A handbook listing hundreds of independent hostels throughout the UK is published by The Backpackers Press, but for further information see www.independenthostelguide.co.uk.

Waymarking and accessibility

As a National Trail, managed jointly by Surrey and Kent County Councils with support from Natural England, the North Downs Way is adequately waymarked with arrows bearing an acorn symbol, and is well maintained and checked for obstructions. Since the first edition of this guide was published, scores of stiles have been replaced by kissing gates, direction signs made more evident, and the way improved and re-routed in certain places to make a safer crossing of some roads.

1 The NDW is clearly waymarked with the acorn symbol of a National Trail

2 Signposts appear at major junctions

3 Green metal footpath signs are common in Kent

4 This signpost at Wrotham indicates that the NDW is linked with the E2 European Trail

Walkers can expect reasonable conditions along the whole route. However, although it follows a series of defined rights of way, some sections are on bridleways shared with cyclists and horse riders and can be very muddy in inclement weather, while in other places the route travels along byways used by motorised traffic where extra care should be taken.

Colour-coded waymarks clarify the right of use of these various designations: yellow arrows indicate footpaths (walkers only); blue arrows show a bridleway (walkers, cyclists and horse riders); red arrows indicate a byway (all traffic).

When to go

No season need be out of bounds for the walker along the North Downs Way, so long as suitable clothing be worn, so whether you plan to walk the whole route end to end, or pick out isolated sections for day walks, consideration should be given first and foremost to conditions underfoot. Comfortable, well-fitting and weatherproof footwear is essential to the enjoyment of the walk, for you need to be prepared for all weathers at all times of the year. In summer no less than winter, rain and wind can have a chilling effect, especially when walking across unsheltered downland, and your choice of clothing should take this into account. Warm and waterproof outer garments ought to be carried or worn on every stage of the long walk.

Conversely, don't forget the effects of too much sun – so include a brimmed hat to protect head and neck, and use suncream too. A basic first aid kit to deal with cuts, scratches and blisters ought to be carried in the rucksack, together with food for the day, plenty of liquid refreshment, and Ordnance Survey maps for the area. Although a compass is not essential, one could be helpful in the unlikely event of your getting lost – as long as you know how to use it, that is.

Getting there – and back

Farnham and Dover are both served by rail from London: Farnham services come from Waterloo, Dover's from Victoria or Charing Cross. A good many other country stations are located near enough to the North Downs Way to give reasonably easy access, and will be especially useful for anyone planning to tackle the route in day stages.

In Surrey these stations are at Guildford, Shalford, Chilworth, Gomshall, Dorking, Deepdene, Westhumble, Betchworth, Reigate, Merstham, and Oxted. In Kent they are at Otford, Kemsing, Borough Green, Halling, Cuxton, Eyhorne Street (Hollingbourne), Harrietsham, Lenham, Charing, Wye, Chilham, Chartham, Canterbury, Bekesbourne, and Shepherdswell.

Public transport information can be accessed by contacting Traveline at www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk or National Rail travel enquiries 08457 484950 www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Using this guide

For the purposes of this guide the route has been broken into 11 stages to cover the main walk from Farnham to Dover, with three additional stages for the northern spur via Canterbury. The shortest of these is just 7½ miles (12km), the longest 13¾ miles (22km), but since there's the possibility of finding accommodation at various intermediate points, it's not essential to stick to the itinerary set out here, and readers are advised to either shorten or lengthen most stages to suit their own needs.

Estimating timings

Although no indication of timing is given for any stage of the route, walkers should assume an average of 2–2½ miles per hour. When trying to estimate how long it will take to get from A to B, remember to make allowances for refreshment stops, photographic delays, and time taken to consult the map or guidebook, all of which are likely to add considerably to your total walking time. In hot, wet or windy conditions you will inevitably take longer, and if there are any ploughed fields to cross your pace will be much slower.

Accommodation and refreshments

The precise location of accommodation and refreshment facilities is not given, but a rough indication has been made to ease advanced planning. Where a bracketed distance, for example (+½ mile), is given in the panel at the beginning of the route description, this shows that accommodation or refreshments can be found half a mile off the NDW. A note in the text suggests the most direct route to take. (Should you intend to stop for refreshment in pubs or cafés along the way, please be considerate to the patrons and either remove your boots before entering, or cover them with plastic bags to avoid leaving a trail of mud behind you.)

Maps

Maps used in this guide are taken from the Ordnance Survey Landranger series at a scale of 1:50,000 (1¼ inches to 1 mile). While they show the route of each stage of the North Downs Way, walkers are recommended to consult the sheets from which they are taken to gain a wider appreciation of the surrounding countryside, and to locate overnight accommodation or important landmarks which may not appear on the limited map samples published here. Six separate Landranger maps cover the length of the NDW, but for greater detail the eight sheets of the Explorer series at 1:25,000 (2½ inches to 1 mile) may be preferred. Details of specific map sheets are listed at the heading to each stage of the walk described and are as follows:

Puttenham Camping Barn stands just a few paces from the NDW

 Landranger: 178, 179, 186, 187, 188, 189

 Explorer: 137, 138, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150

The map booklet which accompanies this guidebook covers the whole route at 1:25,000 scale.

Also available are the two Harveys Waterproof Map sheets which cover the route at a scale of 1:40,000 (a little over 1½ inches to 1 mile): North Downs Way West (Farnham to the Medway), and North Downs Way East (Dover to the Medway).

Points of interest

Key points in the route that appear on the OS map extracts are highlighted in the text with bold type to help you follow the route on the map. Local points of historical, geological or other interest are described along the way. Where the route passes near a source of accommodation, refreshment or other facilities, this is usually highlighted in the margin.

Along the way

Whether this be your first or umpteenth long-distance walk, try not to be drawn into a race from start to finish, but allow plenty of time to contemplate the intricacies of the landscape, its life, its fragrance, its subtle hues, sounds and flavours. Walking through the countryside can be an education and an entertainment, an uplift of the spirits, a way of coming to terms with the essence of living. If you open your eyes, heart and mind to the splendours of the world around you, you'll grow richer by the mile. As an antidote to the single-minded attitude of getting from A to B as quickly as possible, this guide has been written with a more relaxed outlook in mind, and I've attempted to bring out the flavour of the walk by including a few anecdotal snippets from my own journeys along it.

Walking the footpaths of Surrey and Kent does not lend itself to epic adventures, but each time I step along the North Downs Way I experience the wonders of a countryside that has been tended, cared for and fought over for thousands of years. That countryside reveals the remarkable nature of the ordinary common scenes and pleasures that all may witness (and have witnessed over the centuries) by remaining alert when wandering the footpaths. It is my sincere hope that all who follow this route will absorb as much as possible of the landscape and the creatures that inhabit it, and gain a similar bounty of happiness to that which I have experienced along the way.

The NDW angles across Mill Hill above Cuxton (Stage 6)

But should you find the route has been altered in any significant way, and the descriptions in this guide no longer apply, I'd very much appreciate a note to this effect. As explained at the beginning of this guide, an email or letter sent in to Cicerone (info@cicerone.co.uk or 2 Police Square, Milnthorpe LA7 7PY) will be gratefully received, and details checked in advance of any new printing or revised edition of this book.

The Countryside Code

And finally, as you journey along the North Downs Way, please treat the countryside with the care and respect it deserves and needs, and follow the Countryside Code:

 be safe, plan ahead and follow any signs

 leave gates and property as you find them

 protect plants and animals and take your litter home

 keep dogs under close control

 consider other people.

The Countryside Code started life in the 1950s as the Country Code. It still adheres to the principles set out by Octavia Hill, a champion of the countryside and a co-founder of the National Trust, who wrote in the early years of the 20th century:

‘Let the grass growing for hay be respected, let the primrose roots be left in their loveliness in the hedges, the birds unmolested and the gates shut. If those who frequented country places would consider those who live there, they would better deserve, and more often retain, the rights and privileges they enjoy.’