Читать книгу The North Downs Way. National Trail from Farnham to Dover онлайн

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In four places the downland wall has been breached by river valleys. In Surrey it is the River Mole below Box Hill which causes the first breach. In Kent it is the Darent at Otford, the Medway at Rochester and Great Stour near Wye that have broken through the lofty chalk barrier to create valleys, each with very different characteristics. The Mole's is a comparatively narrow valley, a wooded slice with Dorking to the south and Leatherhead to the north. The Darent Gap north of Sevenoaks is a much more open swathe, the low-lying water-meadows beside the innocent stream teasing with prospects of gentle walks for other days. The most profound breach is that caused by Kent's major river, the navigable Medway, tidal as far as Allington near Maidstone. Where the Medway has muscled its way through the Downs, the valley has been industrialised, although the trail of the North Downs Way barely has a glimpse of this before crossing high above the river on the M2 motorway bridge. Contrast this with the Great Stour whose valley breaks the downland wall between Wye and Canterbury, a rural backwater of splendid tranquillity and long views.