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

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There are streams and rivers, ponds and lakes that catch the sun and dazzle its light, that attract wildlife and a rich diversity of plantlife too – anyone interested in natural history will find much to occupy them. And, of course, there are the contrasts of landscape that enrich each day's walk and make a journey along the North Downs Way a truly memorable experience.

The NDW is really the child of the much older Pilgrims’ Way, which ran along the base of the Downs from Winchester to the shrine of St Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. That route dates back to the 12th century, but the modern world has smothered large sections in tarmac, so a better, more peaceful and safer route was devised along the crest of the downland wall, although in some parts of Kent it descends to the Pilgrims’ Way where that original route is either a trackway or a mostly untroubled country lane. Instead of beginning in Winchester, it starts in Farnham on the Surrey/Hampshire border; and while the Pilgrims’ Way ends in Canterbury, the North Downs Way continues to Dover, and is now part of the E2 – a major European trail.