Sevenoaks Circular

9 March. This was a slightly truncated version of my planned walk (probably about seven miles as it turned out). The mud, which is sabotaging all our walks this year, made us abandon the planned lunch stop in Underrriver. The final steep descent was impossible when I did the recce with Sigrid. In fact the Saturday of the walk was a lovely day – dry and sometimes sunny. But I don’t believe the hill down to Underriver would have dried out much by then.

We finished and ended the walk in Knole Park, with its flocks of small deer (including a few white ones), which drifted away from us as we walked towards them. Knole has been a deer park since 1546, when Archbishop Bourchier made himself a hunting park. We left the park by the gate above Underriver and then looped around through lanes and woodland to arrive in Godden Green for lunch at the very welcoming Bucks Head.

After lunch we went back into Knole through the Godden Green gate. We walked down through the golf course where the deer pay no attention to the notices telling walkers to stay on the paths. Then a short loop to the tea room at Knole (our party of 12 cut down to 11), and back to Sevenoaks Station through the gate in Seal Hollow Road. Janet – with thanks to Sally and Mary-Jane for photos.