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

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East of Kits Coty a long stretch with few distant views delivers the North Downs Way to Detling, beyond which a sudden return to open country shows the vast expanse of the eastern Weald spread below. The trail tucks round the outline of Thurnham Castle, slopes down to rejoin the Pilgrims’ Way at Hollingbourne, and follows that gentle route for many miles above Harrietsham and Lenham, only just missing Charing – a village worth making a short diversion to visit. From there until Boughton Lees, you lose any meaningful association with the Downs but there are compensations, one of which is the crossing of Eastwell Park and an opportunity to look at the remains of St Mary's Church on the north shore of Eastwell Lake.

Direct route via Wye

The North Downs Way divides outside Boughton Lees and the continuing eastward option enters Wye, a lovely small town noted for its agricultural college, then climbs onto the downland crest for one of the finest sections of the whole walk. This hugs the scarp edge for a while across Wye Downs and Broad Downs, then deserts it in order to pass through Stowting. But soon after, another glorious stretch is encountered which takes the walk above Postling (where Joseph Conrad once lived), descends to Etchinghill, then up again to wind round the steep upper scarp above the gruesome marshalling yards of the Channel Tunnel Terminal. Ignoring this blot on the landscape the trail makes a loop round ancient Castle Hill, site of a 12th-century ring and bailey castle, before setting out on the final clifftop march that leads over Shakespeare Cliff and ends in Dover itself.