North Downs Way Day 5 Oxted - Otford

Downs Near Oxted

Almost another year had passed since my last outing on the NDW and it was now October 2007. The weather was almost identical to my last trip out on the Downs with sunny weather that was unseasonably warm. As I had found it fairly easy to park on the edge of Oxted last time out I returned to the same spot and once again used the Greensand Way link route out of town and crossed the M25 to reunite once again with the NDW.

AONB Sign

Initially the route ran alongside a number of fields that were in various stages of harvest and I was surprised that there were any crops left at all at this late stage of the year. Soon I would climb the escarpment up a sunken track through woodland. This marked the point at which the Vanguard Way crossed the North Downs on its way from Croydon to the south coast. At the top of the hill I reached a main road and lost my bearings a bit when I started out on the wrong direction, not realising that the true path was to head down the hill once again. When I realised I decided to regain the path by stomping through the woods rather than retrace my steps! It was around this point that I passed from Surrey into Kent, a fact marked by a sculpture of the symbol of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Beauty.

Surrey-Kent Border

The next couple of miles of woodland and then across fields were unremarkable until I reached Tatsfield where the path initially went along a road accessing some very expensive properties next door to a golf course. This was a very attractive woodland path resplendent with large conker trees dropping their fruit like mad with every breath of wind. Through this section I also passed a milestone suggesting that I was about a third of the way along the route.

Rabbit Encounter

I found the going a little frustrating in that I was now towards the bottom of the hill once again and as I turned out of the woodland I started heading back up the hill. The NDW is not like the SDW in terms of following the ridge and giving great views along this stretch, although it may well improve later on. Nonetheless the countryside was very pretty and I felt good about having it pretty much all to myself. A little further on and I saw a sight that was a little upsetting, but still surprisingly common. I came upon a rabbit that was probably suffering from myxamatosis, since it made no attempt to run away as I approached. A little further along the field I was greeted with another problem, a churned up gateway that would be very hard to negotiate without getting extremely muddy.

Chevening Hillside

I got through it relatively unscathed but through luck rather than judgement. The going after this was much better and I soon came upon a great view of Chevening House, which I could see below me through a line of hedge. It made for a great picture but imagine how annoyed I was when I could see a contractors vehicle parked right in the middle, spoiling any chance I had of taking the perfect photo! A little further on an the best view was north, with a sudden view of the City of London that made it seem so close you could almost reach out and touch it!

Otford

Eventually the path wound round to the end of the ridge and descended into the outskirts of Sevenoaks and across the motorway once more. The last stretch of the route was to cross the Darent Valley and once I had negotiated a few roads in Riverhead it was out into open countryside once more for the short distance into Otford village. I soon crossed another railway line, one of the many that radiate out from London, but it wasn’t the one I wanted. For my train I would have to head through Otford village, an attractive place that seemed very prosperous. The station was at the other end of the village and I faced a fairly lengthy wait when I got there for my train into Sevenoaks. It was a fairly convoluted journey back as I had to get a train to Sevenoaks, change to a bus outside the station which took me as far as Westerham, where I changed once again for Oxted. Although the initial wait was long the rest of the journey connected up quite well and only took about half an hour in total.