Was in the neighbourhood and visited Herstmonceux Castle and the Observatory Science Centre (the site of the former Royal Observatory at Herstmonceux).

Built originally as a country home in the 15th century, the moated red-brick Castle is most impressive. As is the avenue of sweet chestnut trees that date from the 1700′s, the walls of the Elizabethan walled garden, and a number of sundials in the formal gardens.

In 1946 the Admiralty bought the estate for the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and it became an important scientific institution for the next 40 years (until 1993 when it was acquired by Queen’s University of Canada, and is now an International Study Centre attracting students from around the world).

The Observatory Science Centre occupies the buildings that were the site of The Royal Observatory. The tour of some of the domes and telescopes highlighted how it was a world leading astronomical site for many years, though nowadays it is at the forefront of making science accessible with an excellent range of hands-on exhibits, activities and science shows. While children need to be accompanied by adults, thankfully as an adult I was able to play with the exhibits quite happily unaccompanied (it looked like all adults, parents and grandparents were having a great time too).

With friends visiting for the weekend it was great the weather was far better than anyone’s expectations. Saturday was spent walking over Ashdown Forest and visiting Pooh Sticks Bridge, and Sunday we headed to the South Downs and walked from Firle to Alfriston.

Starting the final leg of the Wealdway at Gover Hill I had just 16 miles or so to get to Gravesend. The first few miles of walking was through a lovely woodland of chestnut coppice and oak standards. It had been the first be of decent production woodland I had walked through on my entire journey. It was not long however until I reached the other side and the view over to the North Downs.

Having crossed under the M20 and round a big sand pit / quarry, I was fast approaching the steep southern escarpment of the North Downs. Before I got to the bottom of the climb up I stopped next to Coldrum Stones Long Barrow.

The slope up the North Downs was steep and very overgrown, in places I had to stoop to get under branches, with no clear views to the south. The path traversed the slope at an angle and before long I was up on the wooded plateau – which was again chestnut coppice.

I had not expected such flat plateau and it was quite a way before I was out into the rolling downland I had expected, but even that dropped down gently northwards towards the River Thames – and I was once again walking along slippery paths through fields of winter wheat making my way to the pretty village of Luddesdown.

There was yet more fields of winter wheat to cross, and this final bit of the final day became a bit of a trudge. I still had to cross over the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the only thing that kept me going was whether I would catch a train! I almost did not – the path crossing over the line had been closed due to construction of a new road on the far side. I did however go round the fence and make it to the top of the embankment just in time to see a Eurostar train wizz by – it is indeed a high speed link.

That is where the good walking stopped, the path diversion took me through the roadworks – forcing me to cross the busy road 4 times to make it to the other side of the A2 and the outskirts of Gravesend. The walk into Gravesend does not do the Wealdway any justice with the route taking you alongside the main road. Having visited the town on my Kent Coast walk I quickly came to the decision that I had walked far enough and headed home.

Apart from the last 3 or so miles the Wealdway was an excellent walk, and I much enjoyed it. It was a little slippery under foot for much of the way and it was a shame that none of the bluebells were out yet – but then I did choose to walk it in late March! With a couple of alternations – like finding a different finishing point – I think it will be well worth walking again at a different time of year.

More pictures from the walk can be found here.

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Today (day 3) started off with quite a bit of road walking so I was able to make good progress on the tarmac of the narrow country lanes. Before long I was high up on Bidborough ridge and the snow started up again – though this time they were large delicate flakes which drifted haphazardly in the breeze.

My progress was quickly slowed as I descended off the ridge and down towards the River Medway and the main roads that ran along the valley. What looked to be a fast walk along the country park and into Tonbridge became a very slow slip and slide so it was quite a late lunch that I ate sitting opposite the castle.

I had thought getting to Tonbridge had been slow, until I started the 5 miles or so of walking along the riverbank out of Tonbridge to the east. It was quite a trudge and not particularly interesting walking – it was quite a welcome sight when the path finally turned away from the river to head north again, as I was deep into Kent fruit country.

As well as passing by hop fields and fields of top fruit, the rising ground towards the North Downs was obviously good for early soft fruit production – judging by the acres of polytunnels. The area is also famous for Kentish cob nuts, a type of hazel nut.

Despite the slow progress along the mud of the river valleys I still managed to make it the 20 miles to Gover Hill – with great views to the south over the Kent farmland. I had hoped to make it a little further as tomorrow I have to make it over the North Downs and all the way to Gravesend.

More pictures from the walk can be found here.

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Thankfully the strong northerly winds had blown itself out overnight, though the forecast still mentioned wintery showers, as I started out on day 2 from East Hoathly. The frost on the ground had stiffened up the mud just a little, though most of the fields were permanent pasture and not too muddy or slippery underfoot.

I was soon walking through Great Wood, its name the reminder of what was once here. It had probably been decimated several times over the centuries – nearby there are extensive remains of former iron-foundries which would have used the wood as fuel, but more recently the Great Storm of 1987 destroyed much woodland in the area.

I soon started to get glimpses of Ashdown Forest in the distance, and the view north was only slightly tempered by flurries of sleet and snow! I was thankful that the route dropped down again off a ridge, into the valley of the River Uck and around Buxted Park and Church

By the time I had made it up onto Ashdown Forest I was soaked, and so was my camera. The snow had turned to rain, but remnants of snow were still visible around Camp Hill Clump as I ate my lunch sheltering in the trees.

Continuing to walk north I started to leave the high ground of Ashdown Forest behind, walking down through Five Hundred Acre Wood and into the valley of the River Medway. The closer I got to the river the muddier it got, and it did not seem to be ordinary mud – it was super sticky mud and it made the going very tough. It took me quite a while to make it to the finish of the day at Stone Cross but I had covered a good 21 miles and had crossed the border into Kent.

More pictures from the walk can be found here.

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The Wealdway guidebook had been looking lost on my bookshelf for quite a while and, as a very kind lady at Kent County Council had copied it for me as it had gone out of print, I felt it had laid there for long enough. At 80 miles long it would split nicely into 4 parts – as the perfect accompaniment to the Easter bank holidays.

The Wealdway runs from the English Channel coast to the Thames Estuary across the Weald – crossing two chalk escarpments to the north and south (the North and South Downs), meandering through a patchwork of farmland of the Low Weald, and riseing up over the sandstone of the High Weald at Ashdown Forest.

I didn’t see much point in walking through Eastbourne again so I started at the top of Beachy Head and headed north. This was easier said than done, it just so happened that the UK was being battered by gale force northerly winds and this little bit of the South Downs was no exception. I made very slow progress tacking into the wind, but the views across to the Weald were enticing, and descending down into Jevington the wind eased slightly.

So far I was sticking closely to the South Downs Way, but the Wealdway route to Wilmington loops round to the east so that you get a good view of the Long Man of Wilmington.

Leaving Wilmington I was finally off the South Downs and in the valley of the Cuckmere River, which rises in Sussex and flows south to reach the sea at Cuckmere Haven – said to be the only undeveloped river mouth in south-east England but that was now miles away.

I was now walking across small fields of the Low Weald joining the dots of small villages and not so small churches all the way to East Hoathly where I stopped – having completed 22.5 miles.

More pictures from the walk can be found here.

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