Weekender: Kent Kay and Nigel Hutson discover the surprisingly scenic region just south of the capital
Venturing into Kent, Kay and Nigel Hutson found peace and tranquillity right on London’s doorstep
‘Ightham Mote’s perfectly preserved medieval manor house was originally built almost 700 years ago’
I MUST ADMIT that the area south of London is a bit of a mystery to me. Living in the East Midlands, if we travel south, it’s either en route to Dover via the Dartford crossing on the M25, or we go further west to visit family in Chichester or Winchester, and usually travel down the A34 or exit the M25 at Junction 10 for the A3. And of course, there’s nothing to see but concrete, bricks and Tarmac within the M25, is there?
Verdant grounds
However, we arrived at the Caravan and Motorhome Club’s Alderstead Heath site
(it has a Redhill address but is inside the M25) – towing Practical Caravan’s test
Bailey Phoenix 440 (see p72) – and were amazed at its verdant surrounds.
We’d have been happy to remain on-site for the duration of our stay, especially as we had wall-to-wall sunshine for the few days we were there, but there were so many new places to go and visit.
If I can give you a tip here: if you’re not members of the National Trust, it would be worth joining just for a single visit to this area. There are so many properties around here, the cost of a family membership would very quickly be recouped.
Lying within the M25, the campsite is ideal for visiting the capital, and the wardens are happy to call for a taxi to take you to the nearby Coulsdon South railway station, which would probably be much cheaper (and easier) than finding somewhere to park. But we had come to see what was south of the M25.
The following morning, Kay was chatting to a fellow camper, who said that we “must visit Ightham Mote, it’s stunning”. So who were we to argue?
The drive to the National Trust’s Ightham Mote (it’s pronounced ‘item’) takes you to a secluded valley near Sevenoaks in
Kent, and it really is a gem. This perfectly preserved medieval moated manor house was built almost 700 years ago.
Our first stop was a morning coffee fix at the café, which is at the entrance from the car park, and we still hadn’t had a glimpse of the house. Walking down the fairly steep path from the café, the house came into sight, and wow: our neighbour at the campsite was right – it is just stunning.
Historic houses
The property has passed through several families over its history, but while it has been well maintained, none saw fit to extend or alter it, which makes it all the better.
We meandered through the house and gardens before moving on to one place that had been on our list before arriving in the area. This was another National Trust house, Chartwell, home of Sir Winston Churchill, which was just a few miles away. Things didn’t look great when we arrived as the car park was packed, and we had to park quite a way away in an overspill field. But it was busy, not overwhelming.
Again, our first port of call was the café, where we enjoyed a tasty lunch. Like Ightham Mote, you can go into the café without entering the property.
As it was busy, entry into the house was timed. Although we had quite a wait, the time passed quickly as we wandered around the gardens and lake, being warned not to feed the swans as they could be “aggressive”. We also had a look at the exhibition of the great man’s paintings in the Studio. In those surroundings, there’s no wonder he was inspired.
Our time to enter the house arrived, and it has been so well kept, it’s as though the Churchills have just popped out for the day.
One room I was particularly interested in was Sir Winston’s study, where there was an almost three-dimensional map of the WWII Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches, in Normandy: somewhere we’ve visited several times.
There’s no wonder the Churchills loved Chartwell – it’s still so homely. The place came into the hands of the National Trust following Sir Winston’s death in 1965.
The following morning, we decided to stay local to the campsite, and followed footpaths marked on the Downlands
Circular Walk leaflet that the wardens had given us. This took us from the campsite through woodlands, fields and heathland to our destination, The Fox at Caterham, where we stopped for refreshment.
All in all, we’d walked about five miles by the time we got back to the van. This route can be extended or shortened as you wish, although it wouldn’t be suitable for those less able, or toddlers in pushchairs.
One of the reasons we chose Alderstead Heath was because our son Richard was taking his choir (www.consortsw1.com) to give a concert in Arundel Cathedral, which was just over an hour’s drive away – and which we went to that evening.
Richard used to be Assistant Organist at Winchester Cathedral, so knows his stuff, but is now a project manager in London (hence the SW1). He was surprised at the musical talent he found among his new colleagues (some of whom had been Choral Scholars at prestigious Oxbridge colleges) and decided to form the choir.
Since their formation in 2018, they have performed at Salisbury, Winchester and Chichester Cathedrals, and more recently at Westminster Abbey. It goes without saying that the concert was amazing, and it was enhanced by special lighting effects.
Tracking down a train
As a boy, I loved Awdry’s Thomas the Tank Engine stories, and one that stuck in my mind was ‘Stepney the Bluebell Engine’, a train from Sheffield Park (in East Sussex). But the city of Sheffield was only a few miles away from where we lived then, and I could
‘Laid out by Capability Brown in the 18th century, Sheffield Park’s lakes are surrounded by trees’
never understand why we couldn’t go to the park to see Stepney. Well, I have now met him and he’s 144 years old!
The Bluebell Railway runs for 11 miles between Sheffield Park and East Grinstead in West and East Sussex, and that was our destination the next morning.
East Grinstead is nearer Alderstead Heath, but parking is much easier (and free) at the Sheffield Park end of the line. The Bluebell, the UK’S first preserved standard-gauge passenger railway, reopened in 1960 as part of the Lewes-east Grinstead line.
We bought our tickets (third class, much to Kay’s chagrin!) and went onto the platform, where a plush Pullman
Dining Train was waiting (but not for us).
Our train was on the next platform and would be hauled by Southern Railway Maunsell S15-class loco, number 847. We climbed aboard and, a few minutes later, there was the sound of the guard’s whistle, followed by a quick blast on the engine’s whistle in response. Then we were off.
The route to East Grinstead takes you through some lovely countryside, and there are two stations before the terminus at East Grinstead, at Horsted Keynes and Kingscote.
Being such a hot day, the windows in the carriages were open, but what we hadn’t bargained for was the train passing through the 668m-long Sharpthorne Tunnel. Not only did the carriage fill with smoke, but when we came out into the sunshine again, Kay took one look at me and laughed! My face was covered in soot.
Returning to Sheffield Park station, we had lunch in the café before I went off to see if I could find Stepney. I entered the engine shed, and there he was! I had been told the line had a “special visitor” that day, and in the stabling yard was the huge Merchant Navy Class, Clan Line locomotive – in steam and ready to go.
Just before we left the Bluebell Railway, the Pullman Dining Train returned, and what a sight that was. It’s hard to believe the engine was built in 1896; it’s still going strong.
With my train ‘fix’ out of the way, we decided to call in at another National Trust property, the one that gives its name to the Bluebell Railway’s station, Sheffield Park, as it was only a few hundred metres from the railway car park.
It seems to be that the first place we aim for at these properties is the café, and this was no exception. After a grand cup of tea, we entered the grounds of the park proper.
Grand gardens
Although there is a large house in these grounds, this is privately owned and not open to the public. However, the gardens and surrounding parkland are.
I will be the first to admit that gardens aren’t particularly my thing, but I couldn’t help but be impressed by Sheffield Park. It was laid out by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and features lakes and cascades, all surrounded by a huge variety of trees.
Despite being busy with visitors, it had an air of peace and tranquillity about it. Apparently there are some giant redwoods in the park somewhere, but as we arrived quite late in the afternoon, we didn’t manage to seek them out. We did see some very tall pine trees, though!
Our final morning took us to Denbies Wine Estate, near Dorking. As we turned
off the A24 onto the estate’s road, Kay said: “We could be in Burgundy.”
“Or the Champagne region,” I replied. On such a sunny day, the hillside vineyards reminded us of travels through France.
The estate covers a total of 650 acres, of which 265 acres are under vine (much of the remainder is woodland). It’s been family owned since 1984, and the vineyard was planted two years later. Since then, they have won numerous prestigious awards, the one for their sparkling wine perhaps the most coveted.
Once you’ve parked in the ample car park (free), as well as the visitor centre (and hotel), there are seven miles of footpaths that you’re free to wander around.
Unfortunately, the winery and outdoor tours were fully booked by the time we arrived. Both have a tasting session, and the outdoor tour is conducted in a horsedrawn carriage.
As to be expected, there’s a shop, and after sampling the Rose Hill rosé, Kay bought two bottles (which were reasonably priced). As you might imagine, there are also some very expensive bottles, but we’re no connoisseurs, so a couple of bottles from the Classic Collection suited us fine. We also bought some rather nice cheese from the estate’s farm shop. I’m sure our visit didn’t do the place justice, but another time!
We arrived back at the caravan in time for a very pleasant late lunch, which included some of that cheese and a glass of that wine, before spending our final afternoon relaxing in the sunshine at the site.
Tranquil beauty
Our preconceptions about what we might find in the area within the M25 were totally disproved, and we really were amazed at the tranquillity and beauty of the immediate area, given its proximity to London.
In all honesty, in the brief time we had available, we only scratched the surface of this lovely part of the world, but we’ll certainly be returning to explore further.
‘On such a sunny day, the hillside vineyards reminded us of travels through France’