The second of this year’s autumn walks took us up to the North Downs, for a brand new route! This circular trail is approximately six and a half miles long, and utilizes paths belonging to both the North Downs Way and the Pilgrims Way, starting from Trosley Country Park at the top of the downs, and was picked due to Beth’s personal connection to the area. The day appeared grey and overcast as we set off at about half-eleven, but with highs of 21°C, it looked like conditions may be quite humid along the way.
With local legends telling of ‘The Beast of Trosley’ (a tale which almost certainly finds its routes in the documented Big Cats living wild in the area) we kept our eyes peeled for any signs of the monster in the undergrowth as we began, setting off from the car park into the well-trodden woodland tracks which made up the beginning of the day. As is often the way with woodland paths, there were many off-shoots to the side, but fortunately the instructions were nice and clear here and we navigated our way through the woods to the end of the country park, where we picked up a stony track leading to the first section of road walking.
The road in question was not particularly busy, but was extended somewhat due to a rugby match being played on one of the fields we were due to walk directly across (we felt it might be slightly rude to interrupt). However, this was only a minor detour and it wasn’t long before we took a footpath to the left which led to a style and out into a wide open farmer’s field beyond. The path across was quite clear and took us past the first sheep of the day – yay!
This was the beginning of our favourite section, despite the fact that there was quite a lot of road walking at first. This may be due to the quaint country feeling as you enter Harvel and the nice houses to look at, but I suspect it was more to do with the ‘Beth commentary track’ that was playing as we went (this was non-optional). The little village was where she had spent much of her childhood, particularly the years she had lived with her Grandma, whose old house was one of many highlights pointed out along the way. I can quite see how growing up here lives on fondly in her memory, from bottle-feeding lambs to rugby-tackling Morag (her Gran’s Scottish terrier) when she slipped out of her collar.
Once across the village green, we paused to let a horse pass before following it along a narrow bridleway leading gently downhill, which takes you through a rather hidden feeling stretch of the downs, during which time we passed sheep fields numbers two and three, before crossing a small road and continuing to follow the footpath slowly downward to Wrangling Lane.
And so we came without knowing it to the end of the pleasant middle section, and onto what turned out to be the gruelling final third. As we turned right up the uneven lane, the path began to slowly but relentlessly climb back up the height that we had dropped since leaving Harvel. This section runs close to the top of the locally notoriously steep ‘Holly Hill’, and it was at this point that we first began to feel the heat of the day. The occasional breeze along this tree-lined path was not enough to keep the sweatiness at bay, and by the time we reached the road, we were beginning to feel surprisingly beat. The only saving grace at this point was that the path – which continued straight across the road- had (for the moment) levelled out, although this did little for Beth’s spirits, who was ‘no longer having fun’.
On the other hand, I myself suddenly felt a little reenergised as I realised that we were coming over the hill and onto the footpaths which I had regularly trodden whilst growing up, and was enjoying the thought of walking them again. The path soon began to descend steeply back downward (a fact which would soon have its repercussions) and I began to pick up some speed. After a minute I looked over my shoulder and noticed that Beth was out of sight, so paused by the side of the path to wait. Eventually she reappeared a little way back, but even at a distance I could spot the grumpy expression, which turned out to have been caused by ‘almost slipping over on a loose stick’. From there we completed the rest of the descent together, soon reaching the bottom of the path.
It was at this point we returned to the footpaths that were oh-so-familiar to my feet and I got to look out over the fields I used to visit so often. For this short section along the Pilgrim’s Way, the path was nice and level and Beth began to enjoy herself again, however we were both still very hot and quite tired as we approached the last stint. It was at this point that Beth announced that she did not like the look of the next instruction, which spoke of a very steep section of uphill steps. All too soon we found ourselves at the foot of the fore-told steps, and after a quick mouthful of liquid, began to climb back up the steep slope of the hill which we had so recently descended.
The instructions were not lying. After what had been a gruelling couple of miles, this section nearly did for us. We don’t often struggle on our walks, and are both relatively fit and healthy, however this route, draped over the downs, really tested us and by the time we had slowly plodded ourselves all the way back to the top and returned to the edge of the country park, we were both begging to feel a little wobbly – if there really is a Beast of Trosley, this would be the perfect spot to ambush weary travellers!
By now, lunch was well needed, so we walked a few yards further and stopped at the first bench we could find for sandwiches and crisps – this was not our most scenic lunch point, but energy was more important! However if you are so inclined, another five minutes along would bring you to a couple of spots with the best views of the day.
The final march back through the country park, whilst still hot, came as something of a relief, as the path was nice and level, and we quickly found ourselves back at the car park. A café is available here, which I’m sure is lovely, however after what had been a tough day, something a little stronger was needed, and so we jumped in the car and drove five minutes to the foot of the downs to The George in Trotterscliffe, which was doing a roaring Sunday trade, for a well-deserved pint of Bear Island and a half of Rattler Cider.
In total this walk lasted about two and a half hours, and it is fair to say that it took us very much by surprise! What we had expected to be a fairly easy, medium-length walk, turned out to be one of our most challenging yet. In hindsight, this is most likely due to the very humid conditions combined with a route that spent much of its time going up and down the infamous North Downs (I mean, we should have seen it coming, really). However, a nice and clear path to follow along with an opportunity to wander down memory lane was still worth the trip out, and the fact that it pushed us will certainly make it memorable!
Original route was provided by National Trails, with full instructions and map available at https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/app/uploads/harvel-hike_nov-18.pdf
Matthew G. Huggins 