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

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Briefly beyond Westerham Hill a hint is given of high-rise buildings on the outskirts of London – a reminder that the city is half a day's walk away. But you quickly shun this by dodging back into woodland, and when the path re-emerges it is to see the Darent Gap looming. Below lies graceful Chevening House, official country residence of the Foreign Secretary, its northern façade partly concealed by trees as it slumbers at the foot of the Downs.

Across the Darent Valley at Otford another sharp climb returns the trail to the downland crest for a section that mostly keeps to the scarp edge – with all the visual delights that entails – before making a sudden descent to the Pilgrims’ Way which, since Otford, has been restricted to a narrow metalled lane. Where the North Downs Way joins it, however, this becomes a track, then footpath, leading to Wrotham. Trosley Country Park is next where, thanks to its great popularity, you're likely to lose any sense of solitude – but only for a brief while.