Expedition North Downs Way - 'Men for all seasons' - Leg 3

Sat 23 - Sun 24 Jun 2012;

 Wrotham to Lenham

Distance - 34 miles;

 Weather on Day One - warm, Day 2 - damp and visibility poor.

Summary

Days One and 2 saw us journeying up on the ridge arcing to the North of Kent's county town of Maidstone to an apex at Rochester before turning South East, passing to the South of Chatham (Dickens country circa 1820), then on to the North of Leeds Castle until we reached Lenham.

Our start point was nearer to our homes for this Leg so we were able to leave from English's at 0630 hrs and start our walk just after 0700 hrs. We knew that the first day would be longer than any other so far. We thought it would be 17 miles but it ended up being 19 miles. By the end of Day One we had walked further than before, but had felt none of the initial strain of the earlier Legs. From our start at Wrotham we walked in the shadow of the North Downs all the way to East Boxley, North of Maidstone for our first night where once again we camped at a farm. Rather than being able to see into London as we had done on earlier legs, we had views of the Kent Weald and the River Medway coursing its way through Maidstone and on to Rochester.

We had started on Pilgrims Way at the top of Wrotham Hill. Throughout the first day we made slow progress due to numerous changes in elevation.  As a result, the distance that should have taken us 6 hours ended up taking us 12 hours. The lesson from this day was that as soon as you start climbing hills, the timeline doubles.

Day 2 was an easier day and we met our timeline finishing at Lenham contemplating the potential for completing our walk early on the next leg.
Day One in Detail

Begining of walk

We set off on Pilgrim's Way just to the North East of Wrotham village which is situated at the foot of the North Downs. Wrotham is noteworthy for its links with Roman wine growing, in particular Pinot Noir. As we headed North East towards Rochester on a steep climb we reached the top of the ridge in a mix of wooded and open areas. At no point could we see the Thames to our North. However, as we progressed along the ridge line we could see the Medway from time to time. The Medway divides Men of Kent/Maids of Kent who are born to the East of the Medway and Kentish Men/Kentish Maids who are born to the West of the river. You can remember this important fact - important to people of Kent by noting that Kentish Town is in London (now) and that is on the West side of the Medway.

The route went up and down the
ridge with tricky footing

As we approached Rochester we could see both the castle and the cathedral. Rochester is on a fascinating crossroads of travel by land and water - as a descriptor read this: 'Bear left up a slope to walk beside the A228 (Maidstone - Rochester road) across the HS1 Railway line and the M2 motorway which crosses the River Medway'; if nothing else this gives a sense of hubbub of human activity in this historically rich area.

The view of the ridge from over
the medway

Rochester takes its name from the Roman meaning of 'stronghold by the bridges' - this is the lowest bridging point on the River Medway. Rochester has been a town of historical military importance as it sits at the confluence of the Thames and the Medway rivers. Rings of castles and forts surround the area. Shorts Aircraft were made on the banks of the Medway and English's Grandfather (88) says he remembers seeing Short - Sunderland flying boats sitting in the river during the 1930s. Of note Charles Dickens who has his 200th anniversary of birth this year, 2012, thought of Rochester as his favourite town. In the second half of his life he lived at Gads Hill Place, Higham, nearby to Rochester. Great Expectations was written with Rochester and the river estuaries in mind. After Rochester we realised that we were fitter than earlier in the expedition but that we had lost time on the Downs and needed to press on to our pre-arranged night destination in the field of our third willing and supportive farmer, all of whom we continue to be extremely grateful.

Mumford map reading under Rochester
bridge.

We spent the night near Boxley which is by the County Showground at Detling. We  ate our rations cold, as rain was soon to come, after setting up our tent in a field. We had placed the tent at the bottom of the field in a small dip; this was due to the fact that it was sheltered and wind was getting up  Soon after we had erected the tent, the rain fell. Being unsure of the exact distance we had travelled over the day and the distance to come, Mumford measured the distance; it turned to be 19 miles

Day Two in Detail

We had arrived tired, but fit, at our night stop.  Now we needed to learn from Day One on the Downs and speed up. The weather was in our favour – damp, cool and with little to view due to mist. The ground was wet underfoot.  We found ourselves, at times, right on the edge of the ridge and after the mist cleared at about 0900 hrs we could see for miles to the South.  We stopped for lunch in a cattle field on top of a very windy hill and then we pushed on for the end point. Although we could not see Maidstone we knew it was to our South, another historic town. English's Great Great Grandfather and Great Grandfather had bought cattle at the livestock auctions at the turn of the 20th century - the site now has a cinema on it. The town has changed over the centuries, from the time of the Romans through to the modern day. In 1648 one of the great Civil War battles had been fought here with victory going to the Parliamentarians. Also in the mist lay Leeds Castle described on its website as 'The most lovely Castle in the World' which it probably is, but only if you can see it. It was built in 1119 by Robert de Crevecoeur as a Norman stronghold. Henry VIII developed the castle in 1519 for his wife Catherine of Aragon. The castle survived the Civil War because the owner signed with the Parliamentarians. Anyway, we couldn't see it but it didn't bother us, we had visited on numerous occasions and we wanted to arrive at the finish line on time.

As we approached Lenham we dropped down on to lower ground to one of two of Kent's thorough-fares; the M20/Euro Star; the other being to the North - the M2.

We were collected from the centre of lenham.

Leg 4 will take us even closer to Dover and we may even reach the End of our journey.

The early hours in the begining of day two

English with a wooden monk en route
to lenham