Easy walks to do in April
April is a month to start venturing further afield. I planned three walks in April, beginning with the two creeks of Faversham. There are so many walks to do in April, and I kind of amended my choices by opting out of the second group walk and walking alone in Guildford my second planned walk.
Walks to do in April from London.
TWO CREEKS OF FAVERSHAM
OLD TIMBER HOUSE FAVERSHAM
An easy walk to do for Spring, is the two creeks of Faversham it is all flat, although despite that, someone did manage to have a tumble and fall. It held the whole group up. : ‘Ladies,’ please wear proper walking shoes. It might be easy, but the paths are rarely smooth!
I have walked along the two creeks on several occasions that include one or two of the creeks.
A walk I would like to do again was Teynam to Faversham via ORE CREEK (going back a few summers) I remember orchards, and a lovely village on route. I will have to dig that one out.
The original -Guildford 12mile hike was not going to be easy.
I had intended on joining up with a walking group from Clandon to Guildford via woods and St Marthas hill. There were various reasons why I opted out and just did a solo walk. Mainly as I was having a bit of knee trouble I didn’t want to aggravate it by a 12mile hike.
DAYTRIPPER
It’s unlike me to change my mind but the knee had been niggling at me for a while and i didn’t want to get stuck halfway there with no way back. I opted for the easy way, I had bought my day return, so would just have a half a day out.
I had been to Guildford several times but could not remember it being so difficult to get down to the river. I ventured into the tourist information centre and requested some info on river walks. No one mentioned the entrance had been shut off.
I walked past this the first time, taking no notice of it. I just looked at the top bit!
IF IN DOUBT JUST ASK
I saw the Towpath sign earlier but ignored it. So after spending a bit of time walking this way, then that way, eventually a woman not in a hurry, emerged from the car park and I asked her how to get to the river.
Later a cyclist explains to me that the Towpath bridge collapse in 2019 due to heavy flooding, and it still hasn’t been fixed https://guildford-dragon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cartoon-46-copy.jpg)
The women had told me, pointing upwards, “up that way & around but if you want precise details, ask Duncan in the pub ” (her brother-in-law). I didn’t bother asking Duncan.
“Up and around “was good enough for me
I walked past a bunch of very expensive-looking houses and wondered if I was on the right path, but lo and behold, I came across some steps down to the river.
Further along the cyclist came by and I had asked him which way was Godalming AND furthermore, is there a route to get back into town?, then garbled on about my attempts to find a route down to the river, he explained to me about the towpath.
Boys canoeing.
Earlier in the day, in the town centre
Elizabethan clock projecting onto the high st, from The Guildhall.
https://www.smithofderby.com/projects/guildford-projecting-clock/
Walking into the Castle Garden , the first thing that hit me was the colour and smell of the tulips and blossom.
Part of the castle next to a young blossom tree.
Right up my ALLEY, finding my way down to the river.
Further along the way were some new spring lambs, guaranteed to melt anyone with a heart. I took some videos,
I was happy enough to do a six mile walk, and chuffed I eventually found the path to the river. It had been some years since I was in Guildford and then it wasn’t blocked. In 2017, A long time ago, I walked from Guildford to Godalming
My last big walk in April. A perfect spring day and Within 40 minutes of Brixton, we were at Otford in Kent.
OTFORD CIRCULAR VIA SHOREHAM
Five minutes around the corner from the train station, we saw a sign to the North Downs and walked up a steep hill into the woods.
BLACK SHEEP BLACK COWS, ENJOYING THE GRAZE.
Overall it was a lovely walk.
We somehow managed to pace ourselves spreading out when we could It was a group of 31 in total.
One person managed to lose his balance twice, climbing over a style. His 2nd fall was in a bunch of nettles and he caught his hand in barbed wire trying to get up.
He wouldn’t let anyone pull him up! He had two nasty cuts and his hand was bleeding quite a bit, we managed to produce a few plasters between us and an antiseptic wipe.
He headed off at Shoreham to take the train home, or maybe just amble about,
APPROACHING CASTLE FARM WE WERE CLOSE TO SHOREHAM. OUR LUNCH STOP OFF POINT
Geoff one of the South Bank Ramblers, is an occasional walk leader, He used to work in the same library as me some time ago back in the rocking 80’s.
wide open spaces, walk at your own pace, chat with someone if you want to , or just amble along.
A mixture of fields and woods the scenery was pretty and lovely to see. We sat in a churchyard for a short wile before heading off to The Samuel Palmer pub opposite for lunch.
Wild Garlic & Potato soup with a large dollop of (vegan) Butter and some sort of corn bread. It was delicious.
Palmer lived in Shoreham in a run-down cottage, ‘Rat Abbey’, between 1826 and 1835, where he created many of his most celebrated paintings, depicting the area as a mysterious paradise. Palmer is now indelibly linked to the village of Shoreham.
THE SAMUEL PALMER PUB
PRETTY WILLOW TREE OVERLOOKING THE RIVER.
BLUEBELL SEASON
COWSLIP FLOWERS (Some call them horseslip)
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/cowslip/
GET INTO THE GROOVE AND WALK THE WALK.
Take in the views.
After much climbing and walking (approximately 9 miles) we are back at Otford.
Pretty sign for Otford village.
We walk through another old church yard towards the village to get the train back to London.
As walks go I would say this is a 10 out of 10 walk, due to the distance from London to get there, (not too far)
On top of that, there are great amenities in the village of Shoreham, varied landscape and at the end the village of Otford, make it a classic great walk.
The walk itself was moderate to tough, quite a few up hill climbs and stiles. Unlike some country walks there wasn’t masses of bramble to get through and thankfully there hadn’t been any rain lately so it wasn’t muddy.
As yet no great plans for May but I am leading a MEET UP walking group on the 31st of May from Faversham to Whitstable. Anyone interested can check out The hiking group, Countryside Hiking https://meetu.ps/e/P1LfZ/2kQWh/i
In the meantime, I’m sure there are a few adventures close to home until then. see you here on the 31st .
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