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WALK 2

Shoreham to Romney Street

Start/Finish Church of St Peter & St Paul, Shoreham (TQ 523 616) Distance 5 miles/8km Maps OS Explorer 147 Refreshments Pubs in Shoreham Access Via A225, 3 miles/5km north of Sevenoaks. Nearest railway station: Shoreham. Buses from Sevenoaks. Parking Public car park in Filston Lane, Shoreham (TQ 518 615)

‘Everything connected with the village in those happy times,’ wrote 19th-century artist Samuel Palmer of the seven years he lived in Shoreham, ‘seemed wrapped about with a sentiment of cosy quiet antiquity, full of association that carried you far back into the pastoral life of Merry England years ago.’ There’s something of that association today, for the Darent Valley – in which Shoreham nestles between ramparts of the North Downs – is surprisingly unspoilt, having happily been spared the ravages of the M25 whose route had once been proposed to go through it.

Both village and valley are among the gems of this corner of Kent, with lots of opportunities for the walker. But Shoreham features only at the start and end of this particular walk, for the Darent is soon deserted in order to cross the eastern wall of the Downs to enter a hidden valley whose existence will surprise newcomers to the area.