Knockholt Pound - Cudham - Knockholt - Chevening - Knockholt Pound
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This walk was originally compiled by Alan and Janet Love, sadly both are no longer with us. Alison Gilbert has kindly offered to take them over. Alison and Walkingworld would like all these excellent walks to remain as a continuing tribute to Alan and Janet.
The village of Knockholt / Knockholt Pound nestles on the North Downs Way and is the highest village in Kent at 725ft. Great swathes of the parish are in Green Belt land and much of the village is also an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. On reaching the village of Cudham we first see the Church of St Peter and St Paul; a short detour to the right off our route takes you to the church and into the village, which is 600ft above sea level.
The Blacksmith's Arms, a 17th Century inn, has a restaurant and was at one time home to the infamous Little Tich, who topped the bills at music halls all over the south of England, his career spanning forty years.
From Cudham we make our way across fields and meadows to St Katherine's Church at Knockholt and at one point, on looking back, Canary Wharf can be plainly seen in the background.
We walk down another lovely narrow country lane to reach the entrance to Park Wood and having walked through the wood, we emerge at the end to be greeted by fabulous, far-reaching, panoramic views. As we continue the walk, Chevening House, the official residence of the incumbent Foreign Secretary, comes into view in the valley below together with the church at Chevening, St Botolph's. The church dates from the 13th Century and had a battlemented tower added during the 16th Century. Inside are housed many interesting monuments, including tombs of the Lennard and Stanhope families (succesive owners of Chevening House).
Chevening House, built in the early 17th Century, was remodelled during the 18th Century. This Inigo Jones-style house used to be the home of the Lennard family and was later occupied by the Stanhope family. In 1959 the 7th Earl of Stanhope bequeathed his estate to the nation, the heavily endowed house to be managed by a body of trustees.
The final part of our walk takes us through a wood on a steeply rising path to cross the North Downs Way and walk a short stretch of lane back to Knockholt Pound, opposite the lane on which we started this most scenic of walks.
England - South England - Kent - Countryside
Features
Birds, Butterflies, Church, Flowers, Food Shop, Great Views, Pub, Public Transport, Restaurant, Wildlife, Woodland
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