For anyone joining the walk independently, looks like the specified train from LBG will miss the connection at Sevenoaks....so we will be 30 mins late and just reverse walk to the lavender and return to the Mount Inn. Hope to see you en route....

Three were on the train from LBG that missed the connection at Sevenoaks. We filled the time until the next train by walking over to the convenience store nearby and buying G&Ts. We communicated with 2 who had arrived in Shoreham at the appointed time to find no others. We decided to take our train Eynsford and walk back to Shoreham which make a nice shorter route. Near the Castle Lavender Farm we met the 2 who has started in Shoreham and opted for an out & back option. Shortly after, we bumped into walker 6 who had driven to Shoreham but thought the meet was at 19:00... After the walk in perfect conditions 5 had exotic pizzas and wine at the winery. The lavender was lovely.

11 set off from Shoreham station having agreed to follow the main walk's northern loop in the morning and review options for the afternoon over lunch. The going was very good with firm paths and no mud worth mentioning. All visited the chapel in the grounds of Lullingstone castle where a couple of locals talked to us about its features and the families buried there. From there, we carried on to Shoreham where 7 or so managed to get squeezed in for lunch in the Crown while 3 picnicked outside the village hall (there are picnic tables around the back). Two of those decided not to do the afternoon loop,one went to join the others in the pub. Another had gone ahead to picnic in the churchyard before continuing to Otford where he finished the walk. Some of the pub group set off on the afternoon loop. They may wish to add to this report. Three caught the 14.38 train. Weather was bright and breezy .

A few of us did the main afternoon route, which was very scenic. It was so nice to have firm paths to walk on again - there were only a couple of short muddy patches but they were drying up and we could get around the edge.

As of Thursday afternoon this week the lavender is all still there, you will be pleased to hear. The place smells like a National Trust gift shop….

7 hardy types defied rail strike and dismal weather forecast to venture forth on this walk (two admittedly coming by car). The rain held off in the morning and we enjoyed a fine circuit up onto the downs, with abundant wildflowers (marjoram, basil, thyme, carrot - a positive salad bowl…) and possibly the last two yellowhammers I will hear this year.

On the Lullingstone golf course two of us….we don’t use the L word in these reports, do we?, but let’s say we took liberties with the stated route. We passed the lavender fields, still in glorious flower, and not sure if we were ahead of or behind the others, took up residence in the Crown Inn in Shoreham and sent out (electronic) emissaries.

The rest turned up in due course and we all enjoyed a pleasant lunch, not cordon bleu but served in a very friendly manner. Three of us even had puddings.

One announced she was ending the walk here. The rest of us set off through Shoreham village in the drizzle. Once we got onto the downland it started to rain with more enthusiasm and we “trousered up”.

Soon after, three announced they were going back to Shoreham. Three of us carried on over Fackenden Down, usually a glorious butterfly site - but alas not so in the rain.

Approaching Otford, the other two were pulling away, and not wanting to hold them back (nothing to do with the now relentless rain, you understand…), I left them to do the rest of the southern loop and went in search of tea. Alas, the Hospices of Hope had closed early and the other two cafes were also shut. I got tea in the Bull, where I wrote the first draft of this report in the midst of a massive social event that seemed to involve the whole population of Kent bellowing at each other, and then went for the 16.59 train.

This passed without incident, though not without sundry youth blasting the contents of their social media feeds at me. I presume the early finishers got the 16.02 from Shoreham and hope the non-car driving southern looper got the 18.02, the last train.

4 regulars assembled for this lovely lavender walk in cloudy but dry conditions. The north loop of this walk makes a great evening outing in pretty countryside. We took a slight diversion to pick up a path that runs next to the lavender farm. The lavender was in full bloom looking marvelous with large sections of the hillside painted the most intensely deep purple. And, oh, the scent -- the air was heavily perfumed as we passed the main farm fields. We then picked up speed so as not to be too late for our booking at the vineyard....arriving 20 minutes late, we were still welcomed and not at all pressured to order quickly. All enjoyed some of the creative and quirky pizzas on offer and sampled some of the local wine production...I think everyone enjoyed their meals with the only disappointment being the presentation of ice cream in a cardboard pot -- though in the end this facilitated a take away to catch the 10.02 back to London. A fun night out and great to finally have a meal at the end of an evening walk in Shoreham.

ANother option is the 9.55 from London Victoria. Change at Otford (arrive 10.31, depart 10.35) and nip over to the other platform to catch the Thameslink Blackfriars train to Shoreham, arriving 10.38

An unlucky thirteen gathered on the platform but a latecomer joined us as were setting off, so we were 14 on a sunny winter's day. He had in fact been forced to park his car a considerable distance away, as it soon transpired that tout le monde had decided to go walking in the Darent Valley today: groups large and small passed us all day long. And they weren't wrong; the conditions were perfect, with no mud to speak of.

A fairly leisurely southern loop got us back to Shoreham just after 12:30. The Crown looked pretty empty but all the tables inside were reserved; however, it was warm enough to sit outside and the landlady cheerfully persuaded the kitchen to provide baguettes and other stuff for those wanting food. An hour or so later we all left the pub more or less together, but this time the multiple walk options might have resulted in a third of the group inadvertently setting off on the longer afternoon leg instead of the posted one; at any rate there were only nine of us at the end.

As we returned to Shoreham from the northern loop we encountered a familiar face who explained that he was looking forward to a moonlit walk in the area. The conditions looked perfect for that, too.

My inbound train has been canceled, so will miss appointed train. Please start without me and I will hopefully find you somewhere along the route...

9 assembled at Shoreham station with the arrival of the appointed train and set-off on the route in a clockwise direction on a perfect evening . They met up with number 10 near the Castle Farm lavender fields which were looking fab -- lovely deep purple....really a most stunning sight...After admiring the lavender,we carried on to Shoreham where the pubs and vineyard had stopped serving food. So, we settled on enjoying the evening with drinks and crisps on the patio of the completely renovated and renamed George...the something Palmer...before most caught the 9.45pm train back to London.

20 mild and sunny A bright day for the start of the year after a gloomy December. Quite a modest amount of Fizz in the sun with a view down the valley helped us on our

way. There used to be five pubs in Shoreham but today with only one open it was too busy to serve us food without a wait of an hour. Some caught the train home whilst the sensible walkers with there own provisions went on to at least Otford and back round the loop to Shoreham. A fine day out.

Four alighted from the designated train to be met by 3 others loitering around Shoreham, making for 7 for this delightful evening walk in the countryside. We inadvertently did the route anti-clockwise, rather than the advertised clockwise, so apologies for anyone else who may have been looking for us. The lavender was a delight -- much already harvested - but still some fields of a vibrant deep purple. Missing a turning we found a zipline which most of us tried before turning back to find our route. The return was magical -- the clouds that had lingered broke to a beautiful evening sun across golden fields with a rainbow..so close we could have found the pot of gold had we tried....Back in Shoreham, we missed the food...but spent some time in the lovely pond garden area of the Mount Vineyard doing some wine tasting -- the Key Flint white exceeded expectations and most would have again, but the Pinot Noir was thin even by pinot noir standards...not really worth the price...All in all, a very enjoyable evening in good company with conditions initially cloudy but clearing later .

Lavender, even

Just 3 familiar faces on this evening outing....making covid compliance a breeze...Notwithstanding the heavy slightly muggy evening air, it was a very colorful outing -- with vistas of green trees, golden barely fields and of course the crop of honor, purple lavender....with various fields in different stages of development -- some quite bright and others either pre or past peak...

A very pleasant evening out, with ample time for a post walk bevie in the outdoor space at the Kings Arms (the only one of the 4 pubs open this evening -- but the Crown is apparently also functioning and the George is being renovated).

Hi. Is there an admission charge for the farm? Thank you.

There's no charge to visit the farm shop. Access to the lavender fields is by a 1¼-hour guided tour only, but the footpath passes quite close to them. I've put a link to the farm's website in the walk post. Sean

Thank you.

A warm mostly cloudy muggy day. 12 off the Blackfriars train, 6 off the Victoria train (which was delayed just enough to miss the connection at Swanley. So 4 went on to Otford and picked up the walk there and 2 changed at Swanley for a later connection). 2 drove. How’s your maths? I make that 20 It’s worth mentioning that Blackfriars is an abysmal place to get a ticket early Sunday. No windows open and a massive queue for the one (ONE!!) working ticket machine. The walk itself was fine. Very scenic. There were coos and purrs of praisefor the author. Even grumpy old Mr Tiger managed to remain vaguely positive, even on the final ascent up to the Shoreham Cross.

Most ate at the Crown, one or two at the Kings Arms. Tea for some was at the Battle of Britain Museum, for others, at the Honeypot which has reopened. There was lavender and some was brought back.

I was out on a different lavender walk yesterday and it's in full bloom at the moment and the scent is wonderful.

The clicking main or any other version to hide non-relevant sections doesn't work in my browser even though I've given permission for features to be displayed. It would be very helpful to have a list of which sections go with each of the walk variants.

MG: This sounds like a 'permissions' thing. In Internet Explorer's Options (Security tab) I've listed the SWC site as a 'Trusted site' with a 'Medium-low' level, and that seems to work.

Some time ago our webmaster silently changed the site's name from http://www.walkingclub.org.uk to https://www.walkingclub.org.uk and I had to add the new site name (starting https). Have you checked that?

I'm not very familiar with browsers other than IE but if you say what you're using someone else might be able to help.

For tomorrow's walk we're simply doing §1-10, plus the final instructions back to the station (if you need them) in §17. If you want to call it a day after lunch and watch the football, skip §5-10. Unless you want to be creative and mix'n'match, you won't need §11-16 which are for the Alternative walk. Hope that helps.

Clarification appreciated!

24 people turned up for this alternative to the various sports on offer on this hot hot hot day. Why else would the lofty peaks of the Kentish Serenghetti hold such an allure? The starting pistol sounded and they were off, along the river and up the first of several hills, as if a lion was after them. One seasoned walker took up the rear, stolidly plodding along at a measured pace, never complaining, always cheerful, with a smile for everyone.

The advance party kept up their pace past the flowering lavender fields, pausing only to devour the lavender flavoured ice cream available at The Hop Shop, (”can’t taste the lavender” one said later). Then they were off again, the imaginary lion only inches behind them. I came across several of the front runners in the Crown. I never saw the others again (doo doo doo). They presumably distributed themselves amongst the other refreshment establishments in Shoreham. How many completed the course? I don’t know. I myself only managed a figure of 6 finishing at Otford and I know of at least two others only managed a figure of 0. Could I have made it back to Shoreham? “No way, Jose “– as they say in this part of the Serenghetti. As it was, it took copious amounts of fermented apple juice to bring my core temperature down to something still capable of sustaining life.

Nice walk though, with plenty wild chalkland flowers and plenty butterflies and one particularly colourful big one that wouldn’t stay still long enough to be identified. Possibly the one Val Doonican sang about. The “far corner” in the field atop Fackendon Down was a bit hard to find but I located it eventually by retracing my steps back from the far corner.

Weather fore-cast doe not look promising tomorrow. Will anyone do the walk even it is raining?

Yes. People will turn up. There may well be some rain fir a while, which will make us appreciate the sun more when it emerges, and emerge it will. Often. Take a mack.

I ll be doing it

8 walkers off the train, and 1 other an hour behind due to some problems with a connecting train, i.e. 9 in drizzle to lunch then overcast and gloomy conditions.

Nearly having struggled to get out of the station, never mind the proverbial car park, a good pace was had, spurred on by the annoying drizzle. This restricted views from the many ridges and viewpoints en route, but the morning loop through Shoreham and up through Lullingstone and Preston Hill Country Park was full of delights nevertheless: varied woods, large wildflower meadows throughout the Country Park, Lullingstone Castle and parish church, the Darent River Path, several lavender fields and a hop one as well.

The group somehow lost their leader early on, who in the drizzle wasn't in the mood for waiting, so arrived much earlier at lunch in Shoreham. The Crown provided steady quality (although we later thought that maybe the Two Brewers would've been the better choice).

The afternoon is somewhat less interesting, with Fackenham Down, Otford Palace and Polhill Bank the highlights. Drinks at The Kings Arms for some, 17.10 train for the majority (so they thought, but the train was cancelled).

Thank you, very nice walk, enjoyed it this weekend. Just a little correction, the start of the paragraph 1 (quoted below)leads towards Otford rather than to Shoreham high street. I think it stayed from the original walk.

"From the station forecourt go down a flight of steps near the footbridge and turn right onto Station Road, passing under the railway bridge. Shortly after passing the entrance to Darenth Valley Golf Club you join the Darent Valley Path1 (DVP), which comes in from a footpath on the left."

This comment is for doing the full walk from instruction #1. The alternative walk start from #6. I think the above comment does not apply.

3, sunshine all day . Three walkers ignored heavy rain forecast and were reawarded with sunshine all day (except a brief downpour while we were in the pub for lunch). Waterproof were off, sunglasses and sun creams were on. Lunch at George Inn with Sunday roast, a visit to the Hob farm, tea in RAF tearoom in Shoreham. A great day out in good company. Does the weatherman ever lose his job when he gets the forecast wrong?....