Camer Park and Luddesdown Circular – 6.2 miles

  October is upon us and autumn is well and truly in full swing. We set off unusually early, leaving the starting point of Camer Country Park car-park near Meopham on the North Downs just gone half past nine, into a seasonal, sub-ten-degree morning. For the start of the day, including a portion of the ride there, the Beth commentary track was once again turned on as we made our way through her childhood patch. Highlights included her primary school, the spot where her old coach driver used to pull over and make a kid run into the shop when she was thirsty, and the vet where her Grandma’s dog had died – all very useful information.

  The route began along the edge of the country park through colourful leaves, before we exited and turned right down a wide track around the edge of a wide field, enjoying the morning coolness. After passing a couple of houses the path began to turn a little more seasonal, although there was plenty of fungi on passing log piles for Beth to admire. We headed down the edge of a field sloping slightly uphill and entered a patch of woodland, afterward emerging back out into the open onto the Silverhand estate. This is where we got our first view into the surprising and hidden valleys hiding at the top of the North Downs that would make up most of our day. A vineyard swept away downhill and rolled across the countryside, with a patchwork of open fields and woodland visible on the rise ahead. We could see quite far from here and spotted promising fields of cows and sheep in front of us. We made our way down, continuing through the middle of the vineyard where a kestrel swooped about overhead. We then began to slowly climb again, finding ourselves coming out into a large field containing the distant cows which we had spotted earlier, the route then leading us out to the road next to Luddesdown Church.

  We made our way past the church along a private driveway past some very nice houses and back out onto the continuing vineyard beyond. Through the field we noticed that sheep were living and grazing amongst the vines, helping keep things under control and giving the flock a nice environment to spend the season – a win-win! The vineyard stretched on across the top of the downs for quite some distance, each patch having its own sign to indicate just what alcoholic beverage it would ultimately be turned into, which was cool. This area was so long and wide that we suddenly felt quite far out in the countryside, hidden from the surrounding world. After passing a herd of long-horned cattle, the path led us through the middle of a final patch of the vineyard, vines on either side, where Beth estimated about 50 million grapes were growing (unsure how accurate this was – it might be, who knows).

  We finally emerged back onto the road, down which we walked for a hundred-or-so yards. We then climbed up a few steps back onto a footpath, at which point we commenced the return half of the day. This began by walking past a few horses who were not bothered by our presence in the slightest, followed by a longish and steady upward slope. The day had begun to warm up by now, with the sun making a few appearances, and so this was probably the most challenging part of the walk. The fields gave way to a strip of woods, through which the path grew even steeper. It looked very inviting and autumnal to walk through however, so we were soon out the other side and at the top of the climb. Here, we stopped for our one and only sweet break of the day. After recentring herself on the instructions, Beth concluded that we were still going in the right direction and carried on over a stile, through a small paddock and out onto a small lane. After passing another farm and another impressive old Tudor farmhouse, we picked up another track, which started to run slowly downhill.

  The route took us along the edge of some woods, with a very idyllic open field to our right, containing a spattering of trees and a large flock of sheep spread across the down. I think these were the same sheep we had spotted toward the start of the work, and we stopped to admire several contended-looking individuals on the way down. As we approached the bottom of the field, we spotted over the fence what looked like a single, solitary sheep on the other side. This sheep, whom Beth would duly name Jerry, quickly became quite significant, like the first pebble of an avalanche. As we crossed a stile into the field where Jerry grazed, we were certain that he should not be there, and had somehow got through the fence. We stopped to see what he was doing, at which point he too noticed our presence. He then decided to stop grazing and attempted to return to the correct field by presumably the same means which he had entered – this turned out to be a gap under the large metal field gate. Unfortunately, Jerry seemed to find re-entering the field tricker than leaving, and after sticking his bum in the air and failing to squeeze beneath, he gave up and turned back to look blankly at us – it was almost a request for help. However, by now some of his fellow sheep had noticed Jerry’s presence in their neighbouring paddock. They began to trot over to investigate, baa-ing insistently. This got the attention of other sheep in this corner of the field, who in turn came over to have look. This effect then rippled out, at actually a rather shocking speed. Before we knew it, we could see sheep running from all corners of the fields over distant parts of the hillside. The entire herd gathered about the gate, as Jerry continued to blissfully munch on the luscious grass which he had all to himself. Obviously, this was a very interesting and funny spectacle, which I was keen to stay and enjoy. However, it wasn’t long before I spotted another member of the flock tentatively slide her head under the gate inquisitively. Fearing a mass breakout was imminent, it was at this point we turned tail and promptly left the field and the flock behind, disappearing into the cover of the awaiting woodland beyond. We climbed upward, a few minutes later finding a point where the trees thinned to the side and we could poke our heads out. From there, we could just about make out the scene of the incident. The herd were still very much gathered about the gate, with Jerry resolutely on the other side – fortunately, no mass breakout had as yet occurred. Whether it did eventually happen, or Jerry managed to make his way back, we can’t be sure, but very much hope that things worked out for the best! We turned, and left the flock to their sheep business.

  At the top we headed out across a wide open field where the path began to slope back down. Rising back up through the next field, we could hear the water draining through just below the surface as the sun emerged and early afternoon approached. After passing a couple more horses admiring the marvellous vistas of the far-stretching vineyard below, we entered another patch of woods, where the path was a little overgrown. This then brought us back out into a field we had walked through toward the start of the day, and we began to retrace our steps toward the country park. The return trip was made a little different by re-entering the park from a different gate, which was a nice idea by whoever made the route. We made our way back through the open green field where Beth’s mum had once made an epic rounders move, and made it back to the car a little shy of three hours after leaving.

  Not to say that I didn’t think we would enjoy this one, but we did end up enjoying it a lot more than we thought we would! For a start, the instructions were clear and the farms all did a fantastic job at maintaining way-markers, gates and stiles throughout – they all did a great job. There was a nice amount of variation along the way, plenty of beasts to see too and the regular undulations were actually a pro too. Compared to our last walk, which was almost entirely flat, the rises and falls were a welcome addition, keeping things interesting yet not so much that they became taxing. This little patch is well hidden amongst the countryside, and is by far my favourite bit of the North Downs we have discovered so far. This was a great walk, very enjoyable in the autumn, and the incident with the sheep was just the ‘Jerry’ on top!

Full route instructions available at http://www.kentramblers.org.uk/KentWalks/public/walk_182.htm