DAY 3 - CHARING TO DETLING

DAY 3                                  Monday 22^nd September 2014

ROUTE                               Charing to Detling

DISTANCE                          13.7 miles
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE    37.1 miles

START POINT                    Charing (Highbourne Park) - TQ 921 522

FINISH POINT                    Detling (Harp Farm Road) - TQ 776 599

WEATHER                          Sunny and warm

WALKERS                          Cally Charman, Rod Boreham and Graham Palmer

SUPPORT DRIVER            Jim Rice

SUFFER SCORE                4 (5 on the very steep stepped slopes)
    (On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being easy and 10 being unbearable!) 

CTOG AWARD                   Trudy Boreham
                                            For an amazing banana and chocolate cake which provided much
                                            needed sustenance - thanks Trudy!
 

How does that song go?........’What a difference a day makes’.  That was certainly how Day 3 panned out for us.  The first two days had lulled us into a bit of a false sense of security as we moved from the relatively flat paths and trackways of East Kent to the steeper ascents and descents of West Kent.

Welcome to the team Jim!

We were greeted by a sunny autumn morning as we said goodbye to our overnight stop in Ashford.  We also welcomed our new driver for the week, Jim Rice who has very kindly given up 5 days of his valuable time to be our support driver for the week.  Jim drove down early to meet up with us in Ashford and with breakfast briefing complete, we were ready to start Day 3. 

Our route today took us from Charing to Detling still following the North Downs Way.  This route follows  the Pilgrims Way from Charing to Hollingbourne where we stopped for coffee and cake at The Dirty Habit pub…….very apt as our overnight stop tonight would be at Aylesford Priory, the 13^th Century friary and home to Carmelite monks.   

The Dirty Habit....great coffee and more of Trudy's yummy cake!

We soon found out that the Pilgrims Way takes a lower and more level route than the route we were taking along the North Downs Way, much to Rod's disappointment and giving rise to much lamenting coming from his direction! 

Getting closer every day!

Our routing took us up onto the top of the North Downs and wow...what fantastic views of the open fields now that the summer harvest had been gathered in.  In many cases the farmers were actually working the fields as we passed by, sowing their winter/spring crops.

Hard underfoot

As we set off from Charing we immediately came across the White Cross on the Hill which is a memorial to those who died during the two World Wars.

The White Cross, aptly named....

Putting things in perspective....

Now heading towards Hollingbourne, we discovered a sculpture of a pilgrim which presented a great photo opportunity with Cally and Rod. 

Still trying to decide who has the most wooden smile!

Have we really been away that long?!

A quick stop at the Dirty Habit reunited us with Jim in the van and as we set off on the second half of the day we immediately started to climb. Once on the North Downs Way again we were once again treated to spectacular views across the Kent countryside this time towards the River Medway and Maidstone.  

Rod is looking for the udder one!

Surveying the beautiful Kentish countryside

For some it's just a walk in the park!

The going got quite tough as some of the footpaths were heavily overgrown after the hot summer and we emerged from the undergrowth with many scratches and stings.

He's on the path....promise!

Jim, monitoring our progress from his van-tage point

Ewe never know who you might meet along the way!

More sheep.....

The slopes were very steep in places with killer steps but we soldiered on.....

Coming down!

One step at a time!

One small step for man, one giant leap for Cally!

A quick check-in with Jim again at Thurnham Castle and we were soon heading towards Detling. 

Call that parking Jim?!!

Heading off again...

On a hot day, the sight of the Cock Horse at Detling was just too much to resist and so an impromptu stop for a glass of cider was enjoyed by us all.  As we left Detling village we immediately crossed the busy A249 by way of Jade’s Crossing, a footbridge erected after a long local safety campaign following the death of 8-year old Jade and her grandmother who were both killed as they tried to cross the road in 2000.

Another big pull up saw us back on top of the North Downs again to finish the day with a two-mile ‘yomp’ beneath the canopy of trees in Boxley Wood to our finish at Harp Farm. 

Another day complete!

A warm bath and hot showers awaited us at Aylesford Priory.

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