Farningham Road to Otford, 28 Jun

This is a last-minute change of plan owing to illness and injury (our first substitution walk has now itself been substituted).

Trains: Victoria 09.42, Denmark Hill 09.52, Bromley South 10.04, arr Farningham Road 10.20. (The train’s final destination is Gillingham.) Tickets are slightly complicated because Farningham Road and Otford are on different lines: Buy a return to Farningham Road, then a single from Otford back to Swanley. (Or the Freedom Pass will take you to Swanley, then you need a single from Swanley to Farningham Road, and another single from Otford to Swanley.)

Lunch: Eynsford. Pub or picnic.

The walk: This walk of about seven miles down the Darent Valley is familiar to several of us, and I have not done a recce. If we stick to the valley path, we can get a reasonable amount of shade. If it is less hot than forecast we can do a longer, more energetic version by heading into the hills above Shoreham Cross. But if we stick to the valley floor, at this time of year, there is the bonus of passing through the edge of a lavender farm between Eynsford and Shoreham.

Drop out points: Stations at Eynsford and Shoreham.

Leader: Janet