July 30, 2014 -- Day 45, Tonbridge to Edenbridge, 16 miles

The Medway Valley Walk, which I followed from Maidstone, ends at Tonbridge. The river continues on, but east of Tonbridge the Eden Valley Walk follows the Medway, until the footpath diverts to follow the River Eden, a tributary of the Medway. I walked both the Medway Valley Walk and the Eden Valley Walk against the  rivers’ flow – that is, uphill (although you would hardly notice).

I found Tonbridge to be a pleasant town, nicely maintained, with a busy commercial High Street. It has a variety of restaurant choices, and for a switch from pub food, I ate at an Italian restaurant last night. My only disappointment with Tonbridge is that, like all of southern England, everything is quite expensive.

Tonbridge at River Medway

Tonbridge Castle

 

I often have difficulty finding the trailhead and then following the trail in towns and villages. Perhaps one reason I liked Tonbridge is that the Eden Valley Walk is conspicuously marked, turn by turn, until you reach the countryside. Even then, the Eden Valley Walk was well marked all the way to Edenbridge.

Although never far from the river, typical pastures and rolling hills characterized the scenery. The trail passes by Penshurst Place – a misnomer, because the last word should have been “palace.” There I met Jack and Amanda, who are walking to Canterbury.

 

Jack and Amanda

Penshurst Place

I also passed by the church in Penshurst, and a sign requesting silence because “Court is in Session” caught my eye. How fun it would have been to actually sit in on a session of court – and maybe even dazzle them with my knowledge of English common law – but unfortunately it was a few minutes after noon, and nobody was around – probably recessed for lunch.

 

Church at Penshurst

Near Hever, the footpath cut through a cap of stone, perhaps granite, but it felt more like sandstone. The footpath has been there for years, and I was intrigued by the cut. Unfortunately, no sedimentary layers of rock were exposed for inspection.

 

A little while later, I came across a unique stile I have never seen: a lift gate to allow for dogs to pass through. Normally, dogs simply pass between the fence rails, but here, wire sealed the space between the rails.

 

All in all, today was a very pleasant walk through the countryside.

Old barn

Church at Edenbridge

Oasts being converted to houses

© 2014 Ken Klug