3 Trails Challenge

A very scenic 8 mile walk from Canterbury to Grove Ferry, passing through Fordwich and Stodmarsh nature reserve.

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A long and tough route at 20+ miles, but with nice views through the Elham valley as you walk through Bishopsbourne, Womenswold, Sheperdswell and Whitfield.

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Having a little search around I stumbled across this video (by multitracker199), which is pretty nicely done and shows some of the stunning views from the North Downs Way walk.

A good question and one that I now think more about.  610 miles always sounded quite a long distance, but not one that I could really relate to.  Roughly speaking, it is also the direct distance between the centre of London and Milan or the South Coast of France or even the Austrian border.  It is also about 1000km and the same distance as the Monarch’s way, the escape route of King Charles II after his defeat in the battle of Worcester (1651), across the Cotswolds to the south coast.  Here is a map, crudely showing the distance from the centre of London as the crow flies:

So now that I know this wonderful trivia, am I glad?  At least it is worthy of the word ‘challenge’ within the title!  If you are looking to work out distances, then a few times I have used this handy tool from Daft Logic.

Yesterday I found this great free tool at Runners World, useful for training up to the next distance.  You enter your current pace, your goal and a few other items and it works out (with a combination of “science, mathematics and 40 years of collective running wisdom”) a growing training regime building up to your race length and date.

Hope you find it useful: www.runnersworld.com/cda/smartcoach/

Happy New Year to you all.  It is still my hope to walk from Dover to Guildford along the North Downs Way in April this year, though the fact it is now this year has arrived rather suddenly!  I also hope to take the Camera out and add a lot more detail to the maps, with the hope that it will persuade others to get out and admire the walks and secure their future.

We tried out Orienteering with Saxon Orienteering this week and it was loads of fun, challenging and -3.  Definitely recommend giving it a go and if your in Kent, why not have a look round: www.saxons-oc.org.

James

7.5 Mile cycle or walk in Kent following part of the old Crab and Winkle Way railway line from Canterbury to Whitstable:

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I know it’s not walking, but it’s good fun and hard work. A really nice route with a car park and pub at either end.

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The Ordnance Survey Explorer map series (”The essential map for outdoor activities”) are great for planning your walk with a scale of 1:25 000 (4 cm to 1 km, 2½ inches to 1 mile). To cover the North Downs route of Farnham to Dover you will require:

• Explorer Map 145: Guildford & Farnham - Godalming & Farnborough
• Explorer Map 146: Dorking, Box Hill & Reigate - Leatherhead & Caterham
• Explorer Map 147: Sevenoaks & Tonbridge - Royal Tunbridge Wells & Westerham
• Explorer Map 148: Maidstone & the Medway Towns
• Explorer Map 137: Ashford - Headcorn, Chilham & Wye
• Explorer Map 138: Dover, Folkestone & Hythe

And to add the loop via Canterbury, you will also need:

• Explorer Map 149: Sittingbourne & Faversham - Isle of Sheppey
• Explorer Map 150: Canterbury & the Isle of Thanet - Herne Bay, Deal & Whitstable

Covered by Ordnance Explorer Map 150 (Canterbury) and 137 (Ashford). Warning! There is a bit between Chartham Hatch and Old Wife’s Lees that is in between the two. I found this out by getting totally lost and walking round an apple field for an hour.

The walk is around 13 miles and can be split into 3 sections, with easy access to railway stations at Chartham, Chilham, Canterbury and Wye (One and a half miles from Boughton Lees).

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