A weekends walk along the North Downs

Last year Jackie and I decided to spend a weekend walking from Canterbury to Dover. This was part of a route called the North Downs Way, that stretches all the way from Farnham to Dover. We enjoyed the walk so much, that ever since then we have been trying tackle another section of it. Finally, on the weekend of the 3rd and 4th of June we succeeded.

Early saturday morning we caught a train down to Farnham, which is an hour south-west of London. Equipped with a backpack each, some drinks, and some overnight clothes, we strolled out of the station and into the countryside. Amazing the feeling you get when you leave behind the noise and madness of the city, and enter the peace and calm of the country. A couple of birds chirping, the wind in the trees, and the soft trickle of water. The weather was perfect, the best day of the year so far. The walk took us through some villages, past some lush golf courses, into a pub for a quick lunch stop, and to a famous art gallery near Compton. The artist, an englishman named George Watts (I think), was viewed by his countrymen as the Michaelangelo of England. He is famous for not only accurately painting a persons physical appearance, but also for bringing their personalities into his portraits. The Watts chapel, in a cemetery nearby, is elaborately designed with colour and craft, and was well worth the visit.

Our walk then took us just south of Guildford, and we walked along the river Wey, to our stop for the night, a B&B in a village called Shalford. We dropped our bags off, had a shower, and gave our feet a welcome break. Early evening we wandered down to the local pub, called the Parrot, and found ourselves a table outside, with a crisp cider to quench the thirst. The goings on at the pub were thoroughly entertaining, and without a doubt put any big brother, that I have had the misfortune of seeing, to shame.

We left Shalford early the next morning, and made our way towards Guildford, before joining the North Downs Way once again. The path continued mainly through dense forest up and over a few hills, and then onto a ridge, which after quite a long walk, looked down onto our finish line - Dorking. In total we covered around 40km in total, with around 6 hours of walking each day. The last stretch of the walk was really funny, even though somewhat painful. Both Jackie and I were really struggling with blisters, and our legs were feeling quite stiff. We hobbled through Denbies vineyards like 2 old folk, and both snoozed on the train back into London.