3 men on a walk 2016: October 2016

Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Around the Mereworth Woods

Offham - Basted - Platt loop

Still a marvelous Autumn weather period for us and with temperatures in the low-teens and no rain this was a great walk day.

Parking up at the pretty village of Offham we set forth Southward into Mere Woods, a massive tranche of managed woodland and we stayed within it for the first 4 miles or so. Venturing out into the sunshine the path took us West to Plaxtol and onward to Basted then NE to another small village called Platt where lunch at "The Anchor" awaited us. Why they named a pub the Anchor when we are miles from sea or river I don't know but it was a lovely pub and the refreshment excellent.

As usual it was a big uphill walk after lunch for the 3 miles back through woodland to the car. The Autumn colours are now really begging to show on the trees and we spotted several groups of Fungi - one a beautiful ring of Fairy Toadstools. In fact, the Fairy Queen invited Trevor to try out her new Duvet but he said he didn't have a minute to spare !

The Fairy Village

Lunch stop in Platt

Offham village green

Stats for the day were ...

Finished Hike: 25 Oct 2016, 14:36:32

Route: Offham loop

Weather:

temperature	12°C
humidity	88%
wind	3 mph N

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20161025-0954

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20161025-0954.kml

Hike Time: 3:42:53

Stopped Time: 59:11

Distance: 11.23 miles

Average: 3.03 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 12:50 min/mile

Ascent: 1665

Descent: 1714

Calories: 1214

Monday, 17 October 2016

Titsey to Tatsfield

Titsey place loop via Woldingham and Tatsfield

Heavy rain over the weekend left us with a nice Autumn day, a bit wet underfoot in places and just a few light showers - perfect for a nice walk up the North Downs! We are finding it ever more difficult to walk in new areas but this sector just north of the M25 is an area we have yet to explore and the walk turned out to be excellent and not a little challenging in places.

We parked up at a small car park on a private estate called "Titsey Place" - a grand house and estate once belonging to the local Squire of Limpsfield. The tracks were well marked and access good on the estate and we basically followed the North Downs Way escarpment west until we exited the estate woodland. We then had a real heavy climb up the Downs escarpment before levelling out on top and following a good track north towards Woldingham. This section of the walk was on our old friend the Vanguard Way, a section entirely new to us.

From Woldingham we turned East, arriving at the small village of Tatsfield where there was a pub but it was being renovated! A mile or so past here we again picked up the North Downs Way which we followed westward until we reached the car. Not having any lunch-stop en-route we quickly drove to "The Aperfield" pub, a few mins down the road for refreshment!

The North Downs Way with its Autumnal sunlight

Looking out across the M25 from the NDW

Hill looming!

The very steep climb up the North Downs

Autumn colours just starting to show on the trees

Ivan hanging about with us!

The Chain-Saw Massacre gang in new team colours - courtesy of Mrs Knight

Lunch stop - The Aperfield Inn

Stats for the day were...

Finished Hike: 17 Oct 2016, 13:36:13

Route: Titsey to Tatsfield
Weather:

temperature	15°C
humidity	94%
wind	12 mph SSW

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20161017-1017

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20161017-1017.kml

Hike Time: 2:52:19

Stopped Time: 26:33

Distance: 8.59 miles

Average: 3.0 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 14:18 min/mile

Ascent: 1774

Descent: 1818

Calories: 937

Monday, 3 October 2016

Through the apple orchards of Kent

Matfield to Horsmonden via the Apple Orchards

What a wonderful Autumn day for a walk and meandering through the orchards of Kent made it even more so. We had walked at least 60% of this loop before but Ivan had added in an extra section to Horsmonden and surprise, surprise, we found a pub there which was a new addition to our list.

We parked up at Maatfield and set out to Brenchley and ten Castle Hill before turning South towards Horsmonden where the aptly named "Gun and Spitroast" fed and watered us.

After lunch we walked a mile or so South to pick up the "High Weald Landscape Trail" which we then followed back up to Brenchley and then onto Matfield and the cars.

The Orchards are currently bursting with fruit waiting to be picked and at a few sites we saw that picking was well underway. It was a joy to walk through these wonderful fields in the Autumn sunshine.