Christopher Somerville

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


‘Keep an eye out for the beavers,’ advised a man festooned with wildlife cameras whom we passed in the car park at Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve. ‘Lots of signs around – look for those toothmarks of theirs, eh?’

We didn’t see any of the recently reintroduced rodents on our walk round the East Kent reserve under cloudy winter skies. But evidence of their presence was widespread in the shape of young trees felled with a curious hinged effect, the severed parts gnawed white and smooth with fine patterns of chiselling by beaver incisors.

The first creature we did see was another species of aquatic rodent, a little grey-brown water vole scuttling along the bank of the Lampen Stream. We heard other voles too, plopping into ditches at our approach. So much of nature is secret, hidden or only momentarily glimpsed, especially in the ‘downtime’ of winter. But if you have an eye for the birds, Stodmarsh NNR is bursting with overt life, loud and proud.

In the still grey afternoon, perched in the Reedbed Hide, we looked out on a bay between enormous stretches of creamy-white reeds – the reserve has the largest area of reedbeds in the southeast of England. Shoveler drakes with snowy breasts and chestnut wings went dabbling beside their drab brown mates, their long spatulate bills giving them a solemn air of consequence. Among them swam teal with yellow flashes on their afterparts, and breasts very delicately patterned in ash-grey and black.

A sudden panic had them all dashing into mid-pool with agitated squawking and a might clatter of wings on water. What had caused the upheaval? ‘Probably a fox,’ grunted one of the twitchers from behind an immense telescopic lens. ‘Spooked ’em and scarpered’.

We followed a broad and muddy path north between reed pool, ditches and sodden green acres of freshwater marsh. Stodmarsh’s watery landscape was formed partly through subsidence of old mine workings below ground, a reminder of the now-vanished Kentish coalfield.

Seduction smells of Sunday roast emanated from the Grove Ferry Inn, where we turned back along the wide and muddy River Great Stour. An angler on the far bank hooked a roach and lifted it out, a wriggling strip of silver. We watched another hunter of the waterways, a big marsh harrier, cruising low above the reedbeds, looking for frogs or water voles.

The light began to seep out of the afternoon as we followed the homeward path, serenaded by the harsh pig-like screech and snuffle of a water rail creeping through the reeds, another winter sound of this magical place.

How hard is it? 4¾ miles; easy; flat walking, can be muddy. Bring binoculars!

Start: Stodmarsh NNR car park, near Canterbury CT3 4BB (OS ref TR 222609)

Getting there: Reserve is signed from A257 (Canterbury to Littlebourne).

Walk (OS Explorer 150): From bottom right corner of car park pass info board; follow track for ¼ mile to cross bridge to T-junction (223610). Left; follow ‘Reedbed Hide’ signs to hide (222612). Return to pass bridge (don’t cross); follow path (‘Footpath’, yellow arrows) past Undertrees Farm. In ¾ mile pass Marsh Hide (226618); in ½ mile dogleg right/left across track (233623, red arrow); follow ‘Grove Ferry car park’ signs for ⅔ mile to road (236630). Left (Grove Ferry Inn is opposite); in 40m, left (‘Stour Valley Walk’). Follow riverbank path. In 1½ miles path veers inland (221620); follow it past Tower Hide (222617), then follow signs to car park.

Lunch/Accommodation: Grove Ferry Inn, Upstreet, Canterbury CT3 4BP (01227-860302, groveferryinn.co.uk)

Info: Stodmarsh NNR – 0845-600-3078; explorekent.org

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


A glorious day of blue sky over the coast of East Kent. At Kingsdown the white chalk cliffs shone in clear light polished and sharpened by sea and sunshine. Along the pebbly shore stood old iron winches, rusted into immobility by salt-laden water and winds. Decades have passed since the village fishermen used them to haul their boats up the steeply shelving beach.

We climbed the steps at the end of Oldstairs Bay and set out on the cliff path with a stiff north breeze pushing us along. A kestrel balanced on the wind, infinitely fine adjustments of wings and body keeping it in place. Looking back, we saw a line of white cliffs curving east beyond the murky waters of Pegwell Bay, Ramsgate’s buildings lying low along the shore, the red roofs of Broadstairs cresting their rise of ground beyond.

The green sea heaved gently below, reflecting a light clear enough for us to pick out the coast of France some twenty miles off – field shapes, woods, radio masts and a long pale line of sandy beaches. Air balloons, stringbag aeroplanes, greasy swimmers and long-range shells from coastal guns – all have crossed that narrow stretch of sea, but never an invading army for the past thousand years.

One dastardly enemy of England did launch a deadly stroke against the capital from these Kingsdown cliffs – arch-villain Sir Hugo Drax with his ogre’s-teeth and sweaty ruin of a face. Lucky for all of us that James Bond was on hand to frustrate his knavish tricks and redirect the London-bound Moonraker rocket to plunge to its destruction in the sea.

Ian Fleming, Bond’s creator, had a holiday home at St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, just along the coast. We came by the spot where Fleming had Drax’s men collapse the cliff onto 007, near a tall obelisk commemorating the brave Great War deeds of the Dover Patrol. Just beyond we found a magnificent view over the tight, cliff-encircled bay that cradles St Margaret’s, and a zigzag of steps running down to the pebbly shore.

The homeward path led across inland fields sown with winter cereals, a landscape of long parallel valleys and tufts of woodland, with the sea diminished to a green backdrop caught in a vee between one slope and the next.

How hard is it? 6¾ miles; easy; cliff and field paths

Start: Cliffe Road, Kingsdown CT14 8AH (OS ref TR 380482).

Getting there: Bus 82 from Deal
Road: Kingsdown is signed off A258 between Walmer and Dover.

Walk (OS Explorer 138): Coast Path south for 2¾ miles to St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe. ½ mile past Dover Patrol monument, left down steps to shore (369446; yellow arrow). Right to seafront. Up road beside Coastguard PH (368445). On right bend, ahead up steps (367444, fingerpost/FP). Fork right at top to road (366444); right, in 150m, fork left on Hotel Road. In 100m, left (368445, FP) up steps; on up Cavenagh Road; on up grass path (FP) to The Droveway (366448). Right; follow road for ⅔ mile to Bockhill Farm. 150m beyond farm, left at path junction (372455). Keep ahead up field margin path; in 600m it bends sharp left, through kissing gate; in 100m, right down tarmac track (367459, cycleway No 1). In 400m pass tall pole on left (368464); in 100m, left through hedge; half right on path across field. In 1 mile keep left of houses (373478) to road (374481). Left; right down Upper Street into Kingsdown.

Lunch: Coastguard PH, St Margaret’s, CT15 6DY (01304-853051, thecoastguard.co.uk)

Accommodation: Five Bells, Ringwould CT14 8HP (01304-364477, fivebellsringwould.co.uk)

Info: Dover TIC (01304-201066)

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window


The white tips of snowdrops were peeking in the graveyard of St Mary’s Church at the gates of Kentchurch Court. This fine old dwelling, half stronghold and half house, tucked down behind trees in a corner of the River Monnow’s broad valley, has been in the possession of the same family since before the Norman Conquest.

We got a glimpse of a castellated turret as we followed the lane south beside the Monnow, the river hurrying its grey waters through the valley and away towards Monmouth. Sheep grazing the riverside pastures were decked in their winter plumage of dusky pink from foraging in the rich red mud.

Garway Hill lay squarely ahead, a bald crown above a collar of leafless trees. We found a path that skirted the southern slopes of the hill, ascending gradually through green fields with a fine view opening across the valley, slopes and skyline all softened in the haze the sun had drawn up from fields and woods lying cold and damp with winter.

At Little Adawent the proper climb began, a steep grassy path rising through bracken past mossy seeps of water and wind-twisted thorn trees. Overhead, a solitary skylark sang its little crested head off.

Garway Hill has a witchy reputation. A local man once suffered the misfortune of having his wife stolen by the fairies, so stories say. He waited till the wee folk under Garway brought her forth to dance, then snatched her away and ran with her to the top of the hill. As soon as he reached the summit the spell was broken, she awoke from her enchantment and the fairies went away to find another playmate.

You couldn’t get a less fantastical structure than the prosaic brick shelter at the top of Garway Hill. But the views today were magical, anyway, west to the conical Sugarloaf, the whaleback Skirrid and the long spine of the Black Mountains, east to the Malverns and the Cotswold Hills, all dreamy and insubstantial in the cloudy air.

Families were picnicking around the shelter, their junior mountaineers dashing about. A white pony followed us off the hill, before thinking better of his choice and turning aside towards a couple trailing the scent of peppermint.

A green lane took us back down to lower ground, where in the pastures along the homeward path new-born lambs would soon be calling in their feeble, treble voices, to the counterpoint of phlegmy contralto from their anxious mothers – a whisper in the inner ear from faraway spring.

How hard is it? 7½ miles; moderate; short, steep climb up Garway Hill.

Start: Bridge Inn, Kentchurch, HR2 0BY (OS ref SO 410258)

Getting there: Kentchurch is signposted from A465 (Abergavenny-Hereford) at Pontrilas.

Walk (OS Explorer 189): From Bridge Inn, right; ahead (‘Garway’) at junction; in 800m, right past St Mary’s Church (420257, ‘Garway’). In ¾ mile, left off road (424248) following waymarked Herefordshire Trail (gates, stiles, yellow arrows/YA) across fields. In 1 mile, by gate on right (438243, ‘Little Adawent’), bear left away from wall, up broad grass track to summit shelter of Garway Hill (437251). Aim for gate on left of radio mast (440255); green lane downhill; in ⅓ mile at phone pole (441261, ‘Herefordshire Trail), right to road. Left; at junction, ahead (443264, ‘Bagwyllydiart’). In 100m, left (443266, YA) across fields, skirting right hand edge of Burnt House Wood and on for 1½ miles (YAs) to road at Bannut Tree Farm (423263). Left to Kentchurch.

Lunch: Bridge Inn, Kentchurch (01981-241158, thebridgeinnkentchurch.com)

Accommodation: Temple Bar Inn, Ewyas Harold HR2 0EU (01981-240423, thetemplebarinn.co.uk)

Info: visitherefordshire.co.uk

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window

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A cloudy summer’s day across the Kentish Downs, with rain simmering not far away.
The remnant flint walls of Thurnham Castle couldn’t keep a mouse at bay these days.
From their shelter we admired a prospect over Wealden valleys tangled with thick
dark woods, then dropped down the castle mound to find the North Downs Way.
Pilgrims, packmen, rogues and vagabonds have been travelling this ancient trackway
for many millennia. It ribbons along the flanks of the downs, a pale line scribbled
through the woods and across chalk downlands where sheep nibble the rich
vegetation, a salad of herbs and wild flowers.
We looped round the head of a dry chalk valley, the olive-green turf bitten to a close
sward of smooth grass. A shower came rattling through Civiley Wood, polishing
leaves and stems. Nettle-leaved bell flowers glowed a milky blue in the shade of yew
trees whose knotty forms resembled limbs flayed back to muscle and bone.
Out in the open, the chalk grassland of Cat’s Mount lay washed with an astonishing
spatter of colour – yellow froth of lady’s bedstraw, gold twists of bird’s-foot trefoil,
sky blue powder-puffs of scabious, purple thistle tufts and white florets of yarrow. A
multi-hued haze of flowerheads that stretched ahead along downland flanks preserved
to maintain this precious and rare environment.
The North Downs Way ran on across the slopes. One or two bees were braving the
mizzly air to forage among the flowers, but the butterflies were all in shelter and
waiting for a peep of sun.
At Broad Street Hill we left the old trackway for the woodland paths of the Hucking
Estate. The Woodland Trust bought this 230 ha estate back in 1997 when only one-
third was under trees. Now it’s two-thirds wooded, a mix of ancient woodland and
new plantings, with broad paths mown through the trees and across the open grassland
that link the woods.
Much of the surrounding farmland of this part of Kent is tricky for walkers, with
neglected rights of way, a lack of waymarks and footpaths smothered under crops.
But at Hucking the Woodland Trust actively encourages walkers to wander and enjoy
this varied mosaic of landscapes.

At the peak of the hill stood a wooden sculpture of a shepherd in cap and baggy
jacket, one of the sturdy, silent men that spent their lives minding the downland
sheep. He seemed a fitting spirit for these wide hills and woods.

How hard is it? 7¼ miles; downland and woodland tracks; easy, but NB several steep
flights of steps on NDW.
Start: White Horse Wood Country Park, Detling, Maidstone ME14 3JE (OS ref TQ
808586)
Getting there: Signed off A249 (Sittingbourne-Maidstone)
Walk (OS Explorer 148): From car park head south across grass; cross track; follow
‘Castle’ signs to cross road (808583). Fenced path to castle. Left across mound
opposite; path down to North Downs Way/NDW (809582). Left, and follow NDW for
2 miles to cross Broad Street Hill road (836571). In 100m, dogleg left/right
(‘Viewpoint’); follow Woodland Trust/WT arrows past shepherd sculpture (840569).
In 150m fork left (WT); in 100m left (843569, kissing gate/KG, WT); ahead on path
through wood. In 300m at bench, fork left; in 400m leave woodland (839574, KG).
Half right to go through KG opposite (WT sign); woodland path to Broad Street Hill
road (838577). Left for 800m to meet NDW (836571). Right; retrace route to car
park.
Lunch/Accommodation: Black Horse Inn, Thurnham ME14 3LE (01622-737185,
blackhorsekent.co.uk)
Info:
Hucking Estate – woodlandtrust.org.uk
White Horse Wood Country Park – 01303-266327, kent.gov.uk
Maidstone TIC (01622-602169)

First published in: The Times Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window

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The dead flat North Kent coast is a psychogeographical kind of a place. It has little in the way of chocolate box appeal, but is packed with wildlife, rumbustious local history and quirky corners.

Wandering down Preston Road in Faversham on a nippy spring morning, it seemed a place that Charles Dickens would recognise with its Assembly Rooms, weather-boarded shops (‘Baldy the Butcher’) with jutting upper storeys, curly Dutch gables and ornamental clock brackets over the pavements.

A handsome wooden-legged Guildhall straddled the Market Place. Half-timbered medieval houses along Court Street led down to the quays on Faversham Creek. Oyster smacks, sailing barges, a yacht hoisted in a sling while a whistling man in blue overalls scrubbed her bottom clean after the long mucky winter.

Black headed gulls already in chocolate summer hoods screeched like urchins on the muddy banks of Faversham Creek. It was this winding tidal inlet that brought prosperity to the town in Tudor times. Cherries, corn, bricks and beer went out to the Thames on flat-bottomed barges, thence to London and the continent, while exotic items such as French wine and Scandinavian softwood made their way inland via Faversham.

The Saxon Shore Way led us along the creek, then across the sticky, fertile beanfields of Nagden and Graveney Marshes. Big clouds pushed eastwards, a rain shower came and went, and skylarks uplifted body and voice over the fields. There was a sense of space, freedom and one’s own smallness.

A picture of a marsh harrier hung on a fence. ‘I live here,’ it proclaimed, ‘but how much longer?’ A solar park the size of Faversham is planned to cover these marshes. Meanwhile, birdwatchers and walkers savour the solitude.

At the concrete bar of the sea wall, a revelation – a ten-mile view opening over cockleshell beaches, the Isle of Sheppey opposite, Whitstable on its shallow hill to the east, and a scattered mass of birds harvesting the muddy shores of the Swale, a silver-blue backwater of the distant Thames.

Skylarks rose singing against silver and grey clouds inland, while from the tideline came the chuckling bark and bubble of brent geese feeding.

We turned eastward and followed the sea wall past brightly painted shore shacks and the blackened stakes of old oyster beds, ranks of wooden groynes and scampering dogs, all the way to the tall boarded shapes of the fishermen’s huts by Whitstable harbour.

Start: Faversham railway station, Kent, ME13 8EB (OS ref TR 016609)

Getting there: Rail to Faversham. Bus 3 (Canterbury-Sittingbourne). Road – M2, Jct 6

Walk (9 miles, easy, OS Explorers 149, 150): From north side of station, walk down Preston Road. Left along Market Street, right down Market Place and Court Street. Left by Anchor Inn (019619); right along quay. Follow Saxon Shore Way/SSW for 1¾ miles. Just past Nagden cottages, SSW turns left (031632), but keep ahead here (‘public footpath’, yellow arrow/YA). In 600m, right (031638, YA) under power lines on field path across Nagden Marshes. In 450m, left (035640, YA); in 500m, right along seawall (034645) to Sportsman Inn (062647). Continue along shore path for 5¼ miles past Seasalter to Whitstable Harbour (109670). Right down Cromwell Road; in 600m, left (111664) along Railway Avenue to Whitstable station. Return to Faversham by train.

Conditions: Path can be muddy and wet in places

Lunch: SportsmAn Inn, Faversham Rd, Seasalter CT5 4BP (01227-273370, thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk)

Accommodation: Swan Quay Inn, Conduit St, Faversham ME13 7DF (07538-106465, swanquayinn.com)

Info: Faversham TIC (01795-534542)

Wales Coast Path Walking Festival, 4-19 May – ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/wales-coast-path

satmap.com; ramblers.org.uk