Saturday 17th
May 2008 - The Eden valley
Edenbridge - Dry Hill Fort - Marsh Green - Edenbridge
12 miles
After visiting Kent
yesterday for a job interview, I thought it would make a nice change for us to
leave the confines of our own fair county to take in the Eden Valley. This very
pretty walk straddled the Surrey/Kent border and to do it we made use of the
Eden Valley Walk and the
Vanguard Way. Unfortunately the signage in this area is very bad. Signs are
missing, point the wrong way and are very often ambiguous. Apart from that and
the drizzly weather everything went really well. The Dry Hill fort that
overlooks the whole valley is a bit of a disappointment as it is surrounded by a
locked security fence. It was also anything but dry today! Many archaeological artefacts have been found
on this site in the
past, so perhaps the security is to keep people with metal detectors out.
The countryside here was very lush with large healthy hedgerows, some of which
have been replanted in recent years. The area along the River Eden is perfect
for a picnic and we glimpsed a kingfisher there too.
Not too much in the way of wildlife today, with only 21 species of bird seen, perhaps
it was all sensibly trying
to keep dry somewhere. Again, we heard a cuckoo without getting to see it, and
we also saw a couple of Mandarin ducks too.
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This silly cow got itself stuck in a stream. There was nothing we could do for
it though.
The farmer was bound to find it soon enough.
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Red-Legged partridge spied through a field gate
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Haxted Mill
We really liked this weather vane near
Marsh Green
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The River Eden near Edenbridge