DAY 6 - OTFORD TO OXTED

DAY 6                                  Thursday 25th September 2014

ROUTE                                Otford to Oxted

DISTANCE                          13.4 miles
CUMULATIVE MILEAGE    81.3 miles

START POINT                    Otford Village - TQ 528 594

FINISH POINT                    Flint House, Oxted - TQ 385 542

WEATHER                          Sunny and warm but fresh and breezy

WALKERS                          Cally Charman, Rod Boreham and Graham Palmer

SUPPORT DRIVER            Jim Rice

SUFFER SCORE                6 (due to seemingly long trudge for last hour or so)    
    (On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being easy and 10 being unbearable!) 

CTOG AWARD                   Stuart Butler, sports physiotherapist
                                           Awarded for one simple but very effective piece of advice - wear
                                           tubigrip on knees at night to prevent swelling overnight and have no 
                                           pain during the day!  All three of us have been able to protect our                                            knees by doing this. No support necessary during the day!



After early morning rain on Day 5, we were pleased to be greeted by clear blue skies as we woke on Day 6.  Day 6 would prove to be a day of crossings and we were keen to get started.

Oak Hall - the morning after the night before!

We returned to Otford Pond which has Grade Two listed status, to start again from where we left off at the end of Day 5.

 

Otford duckpond - the only area of water in England to be designated as a listed building!

The ruins of Archbishop Warham's Palace in Otford

Our walk took us through the village as we headed out towards Dunton Green. A quick meeting with Jim in the van at The Rose & Crown at Dunton Green to check all was well and we were on our way once again.  Our route firstly crossed the Darent Valley Path and then crossed the M25, which we were seeing for the first time on our walk, with its familiar signs for Gatwick and Heathrow.  

Then followed the long uphill slog of Star Hill on our way towards Knockholt Pound and the village of Knockholt beyond.

Looking south from Star Hill

Star Hill - one foot in front of the other.....repeat, repeat, repeat!

Once we reached the level ground at the top of the hill we enjoyed good views of Chevening House which was bequeathed to the nation by the Earl Stanhope and is currently used jointly as the official residence of the Foreign Secretary and the Deputy Prime Minister.  The 17^th century building reputedly designed by Inigo Jones boasts 115 rooms and a 3,500 acre estate.  It most recently hit the headlines when it was discovered that thieves had broken into the South East Pipeline on the Chevening estate and stolen 30,000 litres of fuel every day for 7 months at a cost of £8.3m.  

A well-earned drink near the pipeline at the top of Star Hill

Chevening House glimpsed through an avenue of trees

The long climb up to Knockholt was tough going in the mid-morning sunshine and we were very pleased to see Jim and the van at the top so that we could have a quick coffee before continuing on our way.

A beautiful Red Admiral butterfly

Still one foot in front of the other.....repeat, repeat, repeat!

Walking towards Jim....

Betsom's Hill - repeat, repeat, repeat!

Our route then took us on a path parallel to the M25 passing Westerham to the south and heading on towards Betsom’s Hill which is the highest point in Kent and once the location of a Victorian defence fort.  As we moved ever closer to Surrey we had to drag Graham, a Kentish man, across the border!

Having crossed the border we were now in Surrey and it really felt as though the end of our challenge was now in sight.

We arrived at Botley Hill somewhat jaded and decided to carry on for a further 1½ miles as we knew that we have tough walking days coming up on the last 3 days of the walk.  As we left Botley Hill we joined up with the Vanguard Way and very shortly crossed the Greenwich Meridian.

A handsome herd.....

Straddling the Greenwich Meridian line with one foot either side

Having also crossed the Greensand Way, the sight of Jim and the support van in the distance was very welcome.  Although the day’s distance was only 13.4 miles, it had been a tough day for the team and we were looking forward to a return overnight stop at Oak Hall.

www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/CTOG14