The detailed route follows this descriptive narrative.

30/01/2000.  Revised 07/10/2001.

What do you do on a windy, overcast Sunday in January? Breakfast in bed? Well, we did that too, but by 11am the call of the wild was beginning to work on us. Actually, what finally persuaded me out of bed was the prospect of lunch at Abbaye in Bromley. We ate simple fare of mussels and frites with Belgian beer, and then drove to Knockholt to find a walk.

In case you find it difficult to locate, Knockholt is close to better known Pratts Bottom.

We started the walk from The Crown Pub, close to St Katherine’s Church in Knockholt Main Road.

The Crown is a Free House, which generally means some decent beer and indeed, the Adnams Broadside is very good. They do serve food, and it is good value.

(All the photos were taken in April 2000.)

The Crown Inn, Knockholt.

The walk starts by the pub and soon joins the North Downs Way. Although the M25 is sometimes seen and heard, it is distant enough not to intrude too rudely. What does loom large is the thick mud which waylays you in some of the fields in winter or after prolonged heavy rains. It is not so bad at other times.

The views are good and we met no one during the whole walk.

We passed a dead fox near the end of the North Downs stretch, probably shot.

The area after this section goes through some gentler downs and woodland. You get the sense that it hasn’t changed for centuries, especially as you cross The Old Harrow Road. This is a rough track, reputedly an old Drovers’ road.

  Views of Knockholt paths. Highland cattle.

The fact that we started late gave us a different perspective. The countryside always seems more intimate and beautiful in the late evening, but it also gave us the opportunity to surprise a badger on Thrift Lane. It stood in the middle of the lane, watching us for a while some 15 metres distant. It was the first time Louise had seen a badger on foot. The last one she saw was an albino near Penshurst, but we were in the car.

It really was getting late by this time. We had a while to go and it was partly through woodland. We finally got back to the pub with barely any light left. On reflection, that isn’t a problem. There is enough reflected light to see by and carrying a small torch, I can still navigate using the map.

The Route:

Map: Ordnance Survey Explorer 147.

Start: The Crown Pub, Knockholt Main Road.

Grid reference: TQ587468

Distance: 8.5km (5.27 miles)

Duration: approx 3 hours

Facing the pub from the road, take the footpath running along it's right side, to an enclosed path behind the pub which takes you into a small paddock.

Cross straight over to a stile opposite and once over that, head for the left edge of a spinney in front of you. Continue past the spinney and some 30 metres further on you will meet a track.

Turn right along the track and after 80 metres, go through a gap in the hedge before you. Immediately after, turn left going downhill, keeping a hedge to your right.

Another 100 metres on, at the field end, turn right into another field. Keeping the hedge on your left, the path gently bends after 100 metres or so to reveal some buildings painted an off white colour, approx 300 metres ahead.

At the field end, ignore a stile before you, which goes into a lane. Instead turn left to cross another stile into a field. Continue ahead, keeping the lane to your right.

After a few metres, cross another stile and continue ahead. You will see a set of metal gates to your right before entering into another field, still going in the same direction.

At the end of this field, with a holly hedge in front and a metal gate to the right, go over the stile into the next field and keep ahead. You will see an untidy looking farm to your left.

Cross the next stile into a lane and another stile directly opposite into another field. Keep going in the same direction, with the hedge to your right.

At the other end, cross the stile into another lane, again crossing a stile opposite into the next field. This time the hedge and lane are on your left.

Pass through a gateway and keep ahead for just under 200 metres until you reach a waymarker. Turn right here and proceed gently upwards towards a line of trees

At the top, go into a woodland shaw just a few metres and turn left, following the edge of the wood.

The track winds through the trees, but ends at a stile. Cross the stile there and bear right along an enclosed path.

To your left, you can glimpse the M25 before it is obscured by the holly hedge.

Just past a red brick house on the right, the track curves sharply to the right. At this point, cross a stile to your left and then turn right in the field, keeping close to the right hand hedge.

Cross a stile into a thin woodland shaw and another stile to emerge from it. Continue ahead.

At the end of the field, a post with two arrows points the way to the left, just before the next hedge.

At the bottom, join a track into scrubby woodland, which continues to a gate. Go a few metres to the left of the gate and cross a stile into the field.

Continue along this sloping field, keeping to the path just below the ridge. You can see the M25 more easily now to your left.

Directly opposite the field, you come to an enclosed section by a metal gate. Cross over the stile and go ahead. Follow the track as it bends to the right.

Very soon you meet a broader track. Carry on ahead with that track, which soon takes you into Gray’s Farm. Keep ahead to another gateway and cross an unusual metal stile onto the farm drive.

This takes you to a road. Cross over slightly to the left. Opposite Stud cottage, cross a stile into a long narrow paddock. This footpath is signposted to Cudham.

At the far end, cross into another field and continue in the same direction (North).

Just after you pass a large water trough, the field slopes at it’s far end. Ahead of you there is a tall beech tree in the boundary. Cross a stile to it’s left and continue downhill (half right) to a double gate.

Cross the first stile into a dirt track (Old Harrow Lane) and another out of it into another field. A signpost to Cudham points the way ahead.

Keeping a wood to your left, cross the field to a stile opposite into more woodland, with a sign for the Berry’s Green circular walk.

This soon emerges into a pretty sloping meadow which you cross to another stile. Go over this and turn diagonally right to a small gap in a hedge below.

Go through the gap and follow a path across the field (in a south-easterly direction).

Just before the next stile, turn left and find a narrow track through the wood.

Shortly after this, the path climbs steeply uphill. Just after you cross the brow of the hill and start to descend again, cross a stile on your right to enter an enclosed footpath.

Going slightly uphill, the path merges with a gravel drive which passes between several houses.

This drive is actually Thrift Lane. Where it enters a lane (Cudham Lane South), cross into a field over a stile.

Cross to a stile in the middle of the fence ahead. Over this stile, follow an obvious path to the far right hand corner of the field.

Once over the next stile, ignore the left hand path and head across the field towards a set of gates.

Cross the stile by the gate and continue ahead in the field, keeping a hedge on your left.

Go over the next stile, on the left of a house and cross a lane to a stile by a wicket gate.

Keeping to the left of a wooden fence go ahead to the next stile.

Cross over into a paddock and keeping to it’s left hand side, cross a stile after 10 metres into a wood.

This soon re-emerges into the paddock.

Keeping the wood to your right, head downhill past a way-marker to a stile in a fence further on. Cross the stile, then a few metres on, cross another stile beside a couple of telegraph poles into a wood.

Bear left and follow a trail into the wood. This is quite distinct and soon takes you uphill between two concrete posts. Keep going in the same direction.

Soon the path emerges from the wood and enters an enclosed section between sheep fencing and a holly, leylandii and laurel hedge.

After the enclosed section, continue dead ahead, passing through scrubland, and 100 metres on, an unattached stile. Keep on the path ahead with a hedge to your right.

This takes you to a stile to the left of a gateway. Cross over into Knockholt Main Road and turn left. You should see Brasted Lane on your right after 10 metres. Ignore that and continue to follow the main road back to the Crown Inn, some 30 metres on.