In September 2024 we returned to Kent to complete the North Downs Way, having reached Etchinghill the preceding April. This final leg is relatively demanding and feature-packed, some 12 miles in length. We decided to split it into two roughly equal sections, to reflect Jacqui’s fitness level and increase our collective enjoyment of this final … Continue reading North Downs Way: Etchinghill to Dover
Some five months after completing Charing to Wye, we returned for our next leg of the NDW, from Wye to Etchinghill. With a total distance of 11.2 miles, including two or three steep ascents, this was too demanding for Jacqui to complete in a single day. So we stayed overnight in Braborne, at roughly half … Continue reading North Downs Way: Wye to Etchinghill
Almost five months had elapsed since we completed Hollingbourne to Charing in June 2023. We had canceled once, the preceding week, in the immediate aftermath of Storm Ciaran, so were hopeful of better weather. In the event, we were rained on more than the forecasts had led us to expect, but there were some dry … Continue reading North Downs Way: Charing to Wye
Six weeks on from our Sandling to Hollingbourne experience, we returned to Hollingbourne in June 2023. We’d opted to walk on Friday for a second trip in succession, departing from our normal Saturday excursions to benefit from better rail services. We travelled to London Victoria, connecting there with the 09:55 Southeastern service to Ashford International, … Continue reading North Downs Way: Hollingbourne to Charing
Our progress along the North Downs Way continues, albeit slowly. We resumed towards the end of April 2023, some six months after completing the previous stretch, from Cuxton to Sandling. Sandling is some miles before the official end of the Cuxton to Detling leg, and we had needed a 101 Sapphire bus to connect us … Continue reading North Downs Way: Sandling to Hollingbourne
It took four months for us to return to Cuxton, this time to attempt the majority of the leg from there to Detling, some 12.5 miles distant. I knew we would be unable to complete the full distance, especially since we had a further mile from Cuxton Station to the beginning of the walk proper. … Continue reading North Downs Way: Cuxton to Sandling
Six weeks after reaching Wrotham, we were back at Borough Green Station, ready to walk the eleven miles or so to Cuxton. We had travelled via Clapham Junction and London Victoria, catching the Ramsgate train, which reached Cuxton shortly after 10AM. It was a Saturday in mid-May and perfect for walking. There were blue skies … Continue reading North Downs Way: Borough Green and Wrotham to Cuxton
It wasn’t until early April that we managed to resume the North Downs Way. The Guide had suggested that the previous leg, starting in Oxted, should conclude in Otford. But we had fallen slightly short, finishing instead at Dunton Green. It now proposed that the subsequent stage should stretch all the way from Otford to … Continue reading North Downs Way: Dunton Green to Borough Green and Wrotham
We resumed the North Downs Way towards the end of October, travelling to Oxted on the East Grinstead train from Clapham Junction, where we met Jacqui. On our way we breakfasted on coffee and pastries bought from the platform cafe. This leg crosses the Surrey-Kent border. The official guide suggests one finishes at Otford but, … Continue reading North Downs Way: Oxted to Dunton Green
We completed this 8-mile leg on August Bank Holiday Monday, meeting Jacqui at Clapham Junction where she was already breakfasting on a bacon roll. We bought pastries which we saved for the Merstham train. Leaving Merstham Station half an hour later, we quickly found our way back to Quality Street, which was named after J … Continue reading North Downs Way: Merstham to Oxted
. Only three weeks after completing Shalford to Westhumble, we were back at Box Hill and Westhumble Station to start the next 10-mile leg to Merstham. We arrived by the same route, changing at Wimbledon on to the SWR Dorking service, arriving soon after nine in the morning. . Morning Light rain was falling as … Continue reading North Downs Way: Westhumble to Merstham
. The second stage of the North Downs Way is roughly 13 miles. We began with the intention of completing the stage in one go, but gave ourselves the option of finishing early at Gomshall and completing the walk at a later date. In the event, this is what happened. We walked from Shalford to … Continue reading North Downs Way: Shalford to Westhumble
. We decided to adopt the North Downs Way as a walking project in winter 2020. Given lockdown conditions, we knew it might be some time before we could return to the South West Coast Path, or even to the farther reaches of the Thames Path. But the earlier stages of the North Downs Way … Continue reading North Downs Way: Farnham to Shalford
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