3 Men on a walk 2017: September 2017

Monday, 25 September 2017

East Peckham ramble

East Peckham - Yalding - Nettlestead loop

Our miserable misty September weather continues and once more we had to move our planned route the "Plan B" option because of rain. The second option was this walk around East Peckham and it turned out to be a nice route which included a new pub to the roll call. The choice was good because we missed the rain and whilst it was exceptionally humid we remained dry.

We parked up in East Peckham and picked up the Medway River trail eastward to Yalding. Turning north on the Greensands Way we walked NW to Nettlestead before turning SW back towards East Peckham. AS we approached the village we put in a detour to Little Mill on the River Bourne where the "Man of Kent" pub provided lunch. After our rest it was only a mile or so back to the car!.

Deer in parkland just north of Nettlestead

Fish in the River Bourne

Lunch-stop at the Man of Kent

Stats for the day were...

Finished Hike: 25 Sep 2017, 19:31:09

Route: East Peckham Loop

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20170925-1022

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20170925-1022.kml

Hike Time: 2:40:36

Stopped Time: 1:07:09

Distance: 8.23 miles

Average: 3.07 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 14:23 min/mile

Ascent: 567 feet

Descent: 603 feet

Calories: 842

Monday, 11 September 2017

Around Lamberhurst in the wet

Lamberhurst Kilndown loop

Autumn seems to have swept in rather suddenly. September is typically a warm quiet weather time in the UK but as soon as it turned September, Atlantic fronts have bought cold and wet weather across us and today was no exception. The forecasters predicted 50% showers through the morning, then a slight lull for an hour or so before the chances of rain crept up during the afternoon.

Expecting to get wet we kept our walk options to local and short! Lamberhurst fits this bill precisely because the many intersecting paths meant we could adjust our walk to the weather. And as it happens we really only had one very heavy shower plus a couple of mild ones so we managed a pretty decent 7 miler.

Of course there is another good reason for choosing Lamberhurst. The Chequers is a lovely old Inn and a favourite of ours and as we hadn't supped there for about a year we felt we needed to call in and say "Hello".

The route we chose took us through one of the famous UK Vineyards; through Scotney Castle park; then up through the woods to Kilndown before we returned through the Scotney Castle Hop fields and back tot he car. IT was a nice little leg-stretcher and if we hadn't been deluged on whilst right out in the open fields, we might have thought we had gotten away without getting wet at all. Fortunately, the sunshine followed and in the 20 mins it took us to reach the pub we had dried out again.

Fancy That! A tree swing in Scotney Castle Park

The residents of Kilndown Village clearly have their priorities !

Hops being picked for Scotney Castle Brewery

The Chequers for lunch

Stats for the walk were ...

Finished Hike: 11 Sep 2017, 15:45:48

Route: Lamberhurst Kilndown Loop

Explorer Link: http://walkmeter.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Hike-20170911-0951

Import Link: http://share.abvio.com/818ee85cf2cf57d1/Walkmeter-Hike-20170911-0951.kml

Hike Time: 2:20:52

Stopped Time: 17:38

Distance: 6.94 miles

Average: 2.95 mile per hr

Fastest Pace: 14:11 min/mile

Ascent: 1014 feet

Descent: 1076 feet

Calories: 725

Monday, 4 September 2017

Around the Weald from Newick

Newick to Isfield loop

It was another "heavy" Monday with low cloud that occasionally turned into drizzle. But we needed the exercise so worked out a new route from Newick down to a great little watering hole in Isfield - the Laughing Fish.

Apart from the grass being very wet which quickly soaked our boots and lower trousers, the paths were well made and nice to follow. This is a nice part of the Weald sitting between the High Weald and the South Downs. Its not quite as steep and a fair bit of the walk took us along the Sussex Ouse river valley which also helped.

We saw quite a few Hawks and Buzzards today possibly because the low clouds forced them down closer to our level. We often remark how little wildlife we see on some of our walks especially when compared to the wonderful remote countryside we tend to walk in. They are probably there but hear us coming !