London Trip #17: Part 7 Eynsford Day Out

This is part 7 of a series.

Eynsford is a village just outside of London Zone 6, easily accessible by train.  I became interested in a visit here several years ago, coming across the place on Google Maps.  The ruins of a Roman villa lie just outside of town, there is a ruined castle in the center of town, there is an actual river ford, also in the center of town and there are four pubs.  It always sounded like a fun day out to me.

 

We took the tram from just outside of our hotel all the way to the end of the line at Beckenham Junction.  Here began our National Rail adventure, part 1.  After several train delays and a cancellation we did make it to Eynsford, after stopping at Shortlands for a train that never came and then again at Bromley South for a train that eventually did arrive.  It only took a little over 90 minutes, but it should have been much quicker.

 

We left the station for a short walk to the Roman ruins, though part of it was along a narrow strip beside a busy road.  The second half of the walk is through pleasant countryside.  We found out upon arrival that access to the site was closed due to an on-going mold problem.  We were able to view a film about the house, though, as well as an upstairs exhibit.  From upstairs we could look through two windows at the enclosed ruins.  We will have to return here when it is fully open again.  The villa is huge and once encompassed a much larger area than is visible today.  Though disappointed at not being able to get inside, we did discover an amazing mead collection in the gift shop, and left with a small bottle of black cherry mead!  The bottle made it home safely in my suitcase and we have been enjoying it a lot since getting home.

 

View of the Eynsford Viaduct from our walk to the ruins.  We came across the bridge on our train journey here.  The River Darent passes beneath it, on its way to the Thames. 

 

On-site photo sign of the great mosaic. 

 

Part of the signage at Lullingstone. 

 

A sign gives an overview of how it might have once looked. 

 

My only photo of the actual ruins, taken from behind glass.  Note the large mosaic and compare it to the sign photo, above.  Normally the site can be circled from a walkway, as well as seen from above in front of the mosaic. 

 

We trudged back towards town, following the same route as we had taken to get there.  It took about 30 minutes to the get to the village center.  We made our first of two stops at the busy Malt Shovel pub.  We shared a Tonbridge East Street Pale Ale, and a bottle of elderflower tonic.  We took a walking tour of the village next, discovering the ford and the castle.  Two of the other pubs in town had no cask ale and a third was closed.  So much for hoping to visit four pubs.  We ended up returning to the Malt Shovel for our late lunch and coffee.  We split an order of rice stroganoff, as well as a glass of Harvey's Best Bitter.  After lunch it was back to the station for a short ride to Swanley, where we visited two more pubs near that station. 

 

The River Darent flows through Eynsford.  There is a small but very pretty park alongside. 

 

Eynsford's ford!  The Darent River flows through the center of town.  We encountered this river on our very first London Loop segment so many years ago, watching as it flowed into the Thames south of Erith.

 

Signage at the castle.  There are significant remnants of this once formidable hold. 

 

Ruins of Eynsford castle within the walls.

 

Eynsford castle outside the walls.

 

Detail of the remaining stonework.
 

 View from Eynsford Station pedestrian bridge looking out towards the Roman ruins. The ruins would be located just below the two trees in the center clearing.

 

Glamourous Eynsford Station. Inside were washrooms, the ticket office and some helpful maps of the area.

 

A poster showing the mythical land of Eynsford. 

  

Our next stop was Swanley, just up the line from Eynsford and

even closer to London. 

 

We were drawn to Swanley by good things I had read about concerning The Cotton Mill Micro Pub.  We arrived before opening time (it opens at 4 pm; such nonsense) so we sauntered down the road to Lullington Castle Pub.  I treated myself to a lovely glass of Lilley's Apple/Pear Cider, a favourite treat for me.  The pub was a typical one, not too memorable.  At 4 pm we entered the Cotton Mill, a tiny place inside but with a lovely front garden that reminded me of a brewery in Taos, NM.   The problem with gardens in England is that smoking is allowed, so we are usually inside.  Like much of London on this visit, the cask ales and drafts on offer were less than thrilling.  Several IPAs, several pales, several other uninteresting lager things, and one stout.  We shared a half pint of Camden Stout then began our journey home.

 

It was time for part 2 of today's travails with National Rail.  Our train was quite late arriving, and then we sat on the train at the station for awhile  after it did arrive.  The train had a fault, and unless you are a driver you would not know what it was.  On modern trains (and on Train Sim World ones) you must acknowledge your presence by pressing a button every 60 seconds or so.  Failure to do so first results in an audible alarm (in case the driver has dozed off), and, if that doesn't do the trick the train makes an automatic emergency stop.  The fault with this train soon became obvious.  Despite pushing the alarm button as required, it wasn't registering.  So the train came to a very forceful stop midway to our next station.  The driver apologized, but it wasn't his fault.  We limped into Shortlands Station quite far behind schedule, but we got off and immediately caught our next train to Beckenham Junction.  There was a tram waiting for us there and we were soon on our final leg of today's journey.  We were home (with takeaway food) by shortly after 6 pm.

 

Tomorrow was to be our biggest day yet; Lewes and the film festival for Deb, and Lewes and its famous hill walking for me.

 

Mapman Mike 

 

 
 

  

London Trip #17: Part 6 London Loop Segment 11

This is part 6 of a series. 

 

It was now Thursday, our 7th full day in London.  The London Loop is divided into much longer sections than the capital Ring, and we often undertake a Loop segment over two days.  This allows time to enjoy the journey more rather than hurry along just to get the mileage done.  I ended up doing the first part of this walk by myself, as Deb was still feeling a bit wonky.  She elected to remain in Croydon for the day.  I left East Croydon on the 9:40 Thameslink service, switching at Blackfriars.  A few minutes later along came my second train, on its way to Luton.  My stop was earlier at Elstree and Borenwood, where I had left off last May.  At that time I had explored the town a bit, but today it was all business, setting out on my walk at 10:50.

 

The full segment is 10 1/2 miles and at first I thought I might have a chance at getting the whole thing done in one go.  That was before I knew how many giant hills there were to climb on this route.  I ended up doing 7.8 miles and saving the remaining bit for another day.  As soon as I left the station the first of several uphill grinds began, this one on a busy street.  There ended up being seven pretty hefty climbs today!  I thought I was in New Mexico for a time.  Had Deb come along today she would not have been impressed.  On my entire segment today there was only one chance at a stopover, a park cafe.  I looked forward to that cafe a lot en route, but when I arrived it was shuttered and looked as if it had been closed for years.  Sigh.  Onward and upward.  Another sad part of this hike (just after the cafe fiasco) involves walking on a sidewalk along a four lane expressway.  There is no safe place to cross, and there is a barrier between traffic directions.  A long detour is needed just to get across the road where the next park awaited.  More than half a mile down to the nearest underpass, then turn around and go almost half a mile back to the park entrance.

 

The best parts were when I was immersed in deep woods.  I only saw two other people on the entire walk when away from sidewalks and streets.  It was a great time and I really got into the mood during this walk.  The only thing missing was a bit of dampness; the drought had robbed the woods of most of their best scents.  A small deer leaped out right in front of me along a narrow part of the trail, startling me as I must have startled her. 

 

There is a walking tour within Elstree tracing its claim to film and TV fame.  This large sign was just outside the train station. 

 

The walk begins with a very long walk uphill along a busy street.  Elstree and its station are down there somewhere. 

 

When the trail finally leaves the road behind it drops down into Scratchwood Open Space. 

 

The long and winding road. 

 

It's rare to see so many pine needles.  A small part of the forest had been planted with pine years ago.  

 

One of many interesting things to see along the trail today. 

 

 I like collecting photos of signs of all the parks we have been through on these walking adventures within London.  See the detail below.

 

This is the part of the walk on the opposite side of the expressway.  Follow the dotted line.  That's me!

At the one o'clock position I turned off the main path and headed north to High Barnet Station.

  

This was my second park of the day, across the road from Scratchwood.  The pines were in here. 

 

Part of my day in the woods, while still being in London. 

 

It was as much fun walking here as it looks.  Except for all the hills. 

 

It was just up ahead where the deer leaped out, coming from the right and heading left.
 

After the woods come the fields. 

 

Life along the London Loop.  

 

The path is kept mowed.  It was so dry. 

  

The 2nd half of today's ramble was alongside the Dollis Brook.  For the most part it was dry, but a few springs along the way kept some water in it.  A lot of birds were in the area as a result. 

 

Finally, near the very end of the segment the brook ran with a bit of a flow. 

 

By 2 pm I was in High Barnet, happily ensconced in the Queen's Arms, a basic pub with no food. It did have London Pride, though, so I will offer praise where warranted.  The pub was uphill from the end of the walk, and the train station was uphill from the pub, some distance away.  So by the time I boarded the tube at High Barnet (the end of the line, literally) I was pretty much done in.  I rode the train all the way to Kentish Town, where I could catch my train back to East Croydon.  I left the station to explore, as it was now coffee time.  I came across the Parakeet, a fine little establishment on the High Street just steps from the station.  I had coffee, Camden Pale Ale and a refreshing and filling order of Houmous and Crudite.  By the time I left I was almost like new and ready for the journey back to Croydon.

 

The first part of my Loop segment involved roads at first and a giant hill before dropping into the woods.  The far right trail shows me arriving at a closed and run down former park cafe. 

 

This shows my route from the defunct cafe.  To cross the road and get to the next park I had to take a long detour on both sides of a busy expressway.  After exiting the woods note how the field crossings begin. 

  

More fields to cross with nary a place to stop and whet my whistle. 

 

The final leg of my solo walk allowed me to follow the Dollis Brook, though it was mostly dry.

 I reached the hotel by 4:30 pm, ready for action.  I collected Deb and we headed for the Green Dragon, where we entertained ourselves with Snail's Back Mango Cider and Brentwood Brewery's Marvelous Maple Mild (not much maple taste).  We watched a bit of "the football" on the screen above the bar.

 

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I will give the 2nd part of the Loop Segment 11 here, though it didn't take place until the following Monday.  Today I had my walking partner back, with only a short segment left to complete.  However, as it began with yet another uphill climb, I am glad I waited to continue on rather than try to tackle the entire segment in one go.

 

We caught the 9:45 Thameslink Service to Faringdon, waited a few minutes for the train to Kentish Town (same platform), then resumed our journey on the Northern Line Tube all the way to High Barnet.  The walk lasted from 11 am until 12:50, and we covered 4 miles (thus the 11th segment was actually more than a mile longer than advertised in the guidebook).  Though it began with a downhill street element, we were soon chugging back up a large hill in the woods.  This one at least provided a nice overview back towards central London, many miles south of us.  We ended up in Monken Hadley, with its large common and wood.  Monken Hadley was once a separate village and nearly every house and building has historical significance.  We took our time here, stopping to visit another fine church and cemetery.

 

The walk concludes at Cockfosters Station, the final stop on the very long Piccadilly Line .  We usually start and end our London journeys at the opposite end of this line, Heathrow Airport.  The trains we catch into London from here always say "Cockfosters" on the front.  We finally made it to the end!  Appropriately there is a very fine pub just before the station called The Cock Tavern.  It was now officially refreshment time before heading back towards central London for the afternoon.  For the latter portion of what we did that Monday, see part 9 of this blog.  If you are a lover of ale you won't want to miss it.

 

At least our first big hill climb of the day had a suitable reward.  It even had a bench!  

London from High Barnet. 

 

Our old Loop guide keeps things to 15 segments, but subsequent ones now have many more segments.

Their section 16 was our section 11. 

  

Monken Hadley remains an exclusive neighbourhood.  This was once the manor house.

 

Livingston Cottage, where the famous explorer lived after his notable African journey. 

 

Once Sir Roger Wilbraham's Almhouses, these six cottages likely have different dwellers today. 

 

St Mary The Virgin, Monken Hadley. 

 

St. Mary. 

 

The churchyard. 

 

Church house next door to St. Mary The Virgin Church. 

 

We walked the dotted line plus the red line attached to it from the left and right. 

 

Mossy rock, a tiny world unto itself. 

 

With the walk now over it was time to claim our reward.  We split a pint of exceptionally well kept Timothy Taylor Landlord ale. 

 

Cockfosters Station, one of the more dismal ones.  This sits at the northwest end of the Piccadilly Line.

Most Londoners have never been here. 

 

Deb and I completed Loop segment 11 together, beginning at High Barnet and ending at Cockfosters.
 

 The final part of Loop segment 11.  More to come some day.

 

Next up are two day trips outside of London.  In part 7 I will talk about our trip to Eynsford and in part 8 we finally get to Lewes and the film festival.  Check back soon.  I'm trying to hurry and finish this series.

 

Mapman Mike