3 Men on a walk 2017: Around Meopham on the N Downs

Meopham - Stansted - Hodsoll Street loop

Not a pretty day but a very pretty and tough walk. It was heavy cloud with a biting north wind but no rain. It was cold enough to wish I had some gloves with me and all we could think about was Ivan getting his eyebrows sun-bleached whilst lazing on a Turkish beach! Still, at least Trevor and me will still be fit when he returns!

This was another trek pinched from our good friends the "Fancy Free Walks" people. We haven't really walked in this quadrant before and the walk looked interesting and turned out to be excellent especially as it provided us with a new lunch-stop to add to the list.

We parked up at Meopham Green and walked West and then South-West through very rolling countryside. The Bluebells are still out but getting past their best but still a lovely sight. We often remark how different the N Downs are to the S Downs and again we found ourselves walking on chalk upland with masses of flint stones but constantly traversing deep steep valleys so it was hard on the legs.

The tiny parish of Ridley had an old well - Bowdler's Well with a thatched roof - opposite the church and a nice sculpture of an Angel. A plaque at the base gives the thoughts of the Ridley Angel including "I am the Ridley Angel, and proud to venture forth, though not as posh as Gabriel or the Angel of the North."

Heading back North again we arrived at the village of Hodsoll Street with its lovely village green and the "Green Man" pub where we took rest. It was a great place and we need to find some more walks in this area so we can do a follow-up visit just to check its as good second time around. Another good thing about this stop was that we were only a couple of miles from the finish so didn't have a long struggle after lunch!

Whilst we found the weather a little uncomfortable it seems the wildlife loved it. We saw some of the first Swallows and Swifts of the season back in the UK from Africa; A couple of Partridges flew across us; Skylarks were singing; Wild Parrots were squawking and Buzzards hovering. Often we see little signs of wildlife but today everything was out and singing.