In England’s Purple and Pleasant Land
Welcome to Walking Class Hero a regular blog about walking and the walking environment. Whether you like walking on your own, with friends or in an organised group this blog will cover it. It’ll embrace walking in cities and towns and villages. Walking in the countryside and along the coast and up hills and down dales. Walking through parks and by rivers and across heath and down and moor. It’ll comment on public rights of way, access to open country, permissive paths, public urban space and countryside protection. Basically if you can walk there it’ll be in this blog.
In England’s purple & pleasant land (Friday 21 August 2009)
Good old William Blake made an appearance (only virtually obviously ‘cos he’s been dead for nearly 200 years) in this blog back in May and lavender (the plant, not the Vauxhall pub which used to be my local when I was a working boy) was referenced in April. They both make welcome returns this week. I’ve been out and about developing (and checking) walks in London and the south east for a publisher recently. It’s great fun, especially in the summer sun, and gets me out of the house.
Today I’m in Shoreham – a very pleasant and picturesque village in the River Darent valley not far from Sevenoaks in Kent. I’m told the name derives from ‘estate at the foot of a steep slope’. The Saxon word for steep slope was ‘scor’ pronounced ‘shor’. But what of William Blake you ask – well there is a theory that he took his inspiration for Jerusalem from the village’s surroundings. Samuel Palmer, the Victorian painter who followed Blake, certainly thought so because he lived here between 1826 and 1835 for that very reason. While we’re talking about famous past residents of Shoreham I guess I ought to mention Private Thomas Highgate who, aged 19, became the first British soldier to be shot for desertion in the First World War. He later received a posthumous pardon in 2006. And then there’s Robert Colgate, a Shoreham farmer and French Revolution supporter, who was forced to leave Britain for America. His son William founded the Colgate company in 1806.
The walk I sorted out from the map back at home takes me through the village up the valley slope to Meenfield Wood, then a gentle downward stroll towards Lullingstone Park. After a couple of miles you come to a golf course. Aah golf courses – often a real pain for walkers. (Don’t hate the game, hate the players.) When rights of way cross courses the clubs are all too often resistant to walkers. The result is bad (or non-existent) waymarking and walkers trying to exercise their perfectly reasonable rights end up blundering around searching for the path and annoying the players. If only courses spent more time and effort marking the route of the path. Then walkers would get out of the way quicker and everybody would be happier. Well plaudits to Lullingstone Park Golf Course because they clearly indicate the path as it journeys round greens and tees and across fairways. Meaning walkers can enjoy the sights and sounds in safety.
While we’re on the subject of sport it was a real conflict for me today. Should I get out into the sun and fresh air or stay in and watch the deciding 5th Test in the Ashes series? I plumped for the great outdoors (wisely I think) but as I was making my way towards Eynsford I figured that it was just about time that the bloke whose name I can’t remember was probably right now singing Jerusalem to motivate the English fans at the Oval.
The second half of the walk (from Eynsford back to Shoreham) is flat as it follows the River Darent. (Also very little danger of getting lost.) Just before that I pass through some recently harvested wheat fields heading down towards a railway line on a viaduct over the valley. (You cross the railway on the level.) Mostly today green has been the overwhelmingly predominant colour. Notwithstanding the gold of the corn and the red of the poppies. I’ve very much been ‘In England’s green and pleasant land’. After passing by Lullingstone Roman Villa and Lullingstone Castle you come to Castle Farm with its Hop Shop. Famous for its lavender crop – why isn’t it called Lavender Shop then? - this area is a riot of rich purple in early summer. What different effect might this have had on Blake had this been the case back in the late 18th century?
The walk turned out to be about 13 km (8 and a bit miles) and keep an eye out for it in ‘Walks in a Box’ (or something like that) from all good book shops – and some bad ones - sometime soon. I did miss some of Stuart Broad’s marvellous post lunch bowling spell but managed to keep up with play on the radio while walking. So all in all a very good and productive day.
More information
OS Maps used – Explorers 147 Sevenoaks & Tonbridge and 162 Greenwich &Gravesend
Pay less when you order this map here: http://www.ramblers.org.uk/fundraising/shop/anquet-map.htm
Useful links:
o The Ramblers http://www.ramblers.org.uk/
o Ordnance Survey http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/
o Shoreham http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=6364
o Samuel Palmer http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/palmer_samuel.html
o Posthumous pardons http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4798025.stm
o Colgate http://www.colgate.co.uk/app/Colgate/UK/HomePage.cvsp
o Lullingstone Park Golf Course http://www.uk-golfguide.com/england/26059.html
o Eynsford http://www.aboutbritain.com/towns/eynsford.asp
o Lullingstone Roman villa http://www.theheritagetrail.co.uk/roman%20britain/lullingstone.htm
o Lullingstone Castle http://www.lullingstonecastle.co.uk/
o Castle Farm/Hop Shop http://www.hopshop.co.uk/
o England win Ashes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/aug/23/england-win-ashes-oval-test-australia
o Duncan Petersen Publishing http://www.mapsworldwide.com/duncan_petersen_publishing_413pub0.htm
Listen to:
Keedie – Jerusalem – Radio Edit
Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band – Jerusalem
Bruce Hornsby – The Valley Road
Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Sq5c6CZy-g