Intro

Three Men on a Walk - Wealdway and more 

Ivan, Trevor and Richard had some time on their hands so decided that a good walk would keep them out of mischief. So they decided Monday was walk day and they would walk the Wealdway, a long distance path from Gravesend to Eastbourne, in stages during 2012. The total distance is 82 miles and the well marked path winds its way across the North Downs, down into the Medway Valley; up onto the Ashdown Forest; across the Sussex vales and up onto the South Downs.

Following the sucessful completion of the Wealdway, further walks have been added as they happen. Posts are "newest first" order, so if you want to follow the full set of posts on the Wealdway for example, start by scrolling to the last one!

This Blog is a diary of the activity of Three Men on a Walk. Click on any photo to see a bigger image.

This Blog covers 2012 walks and a new Blog was started to cover 2013 which you can find here...

 http://3amigoswalking.blogspot.co.uk/

Short trek to Hartfield

Groombridge to Hartfield - 17th December 2012

We chose a short excursion today because we needed to be back home mid-afternoon ready for the "Works Outing" - details below! Met up at Burrswood in Groombridge and followed one of their walks towards Withyham. Actually, the path basically took us straight across a few fields to our old friend the "Wealdway" and then followed it for a few miles. At the "Forest Way" path (which is the disused railway line between Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead) we decided that we would head along to Hartfield - the ancestral home of Winnie the Pooh and a small village with several pubs!
http://sussex.villagenet.co.uk/hartfield.php

We arrived at lunchtime and chose "The Anchor" for our watering hole, a nice 14th century inn.

Ivan also found the old village water supply and it was still in good working order.

We set off on the home leg well fed and watered. Generally a nice walk through some rolling countryside.

Quite a lot of the walk followed the upper reaches of the Medway River which at this point is more an overgrown stream than a river.










Stats for the day were ...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (min)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)	Max speed (mph)
17/12/2012	14095	7.7	176	910	2.6	1113	1092	7.2

As we end 2012 its fitting to show a quick summary of the 2012 walk season (which actually only started with us measuring the stats on March 27th) and it shows that we have walked ...

252.7 miles at an overall average speed of 2.5mph. Not bad for three ageing gents!

 

The 3 Amigos Monday Walk Club annual works outing

Ivan is a "closet Ice Skater" so we decided to visit the local Christmas Ice Rink in Tunbridge Wells that evening with our better half's. It was very pretty and Christmassy and apart from a few knocks, falls and now bruises, we basically got away with it!



Seven Sisters and more...

Eastbourne to Seaford - 10 December 2012

Magnificent. We had been waiting for the right day to do this walk and the cold north wind has bought clear sunny weather so we put the plan into action. Starting out at 7-30am we reached Warren Hill on the outskirts of Eastbourne at 9-00am and parked up. As we left the warm comfort of the car we nearly drove straight back home again because the wind was bitter and we had serious doubts about whether we had the right clothing. However, with all layers on including hats, hoods and gloves we set off - and how glad we were.

The path took us along to the coast then west towards Beachy Head. This monument is to the many aircrew in WW2 who flew over the white cliffs at Beachy Head and used them as a signpost home.

The lighthouse at Beachy Head is a national Icon but it is now disused - anyone want to buy it! The cliffs are 530ft high here and it was a little off-putting to see many small crosses marking the point where "jumpers" commit suicide.

The next marker is the Belle Tout Lighthouse and lookout station which sits on top the hill that overlooks Birling Gap, a small hamlet tucked into a valley cut down to sea level. This lighthouse was moved further away from the cliff edge in 1999 to stop it falling into the sea. see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Tout_lighthouse

Birling Gap nestling down in a small cove. The Seven Sisters hills start here!
Fortunately the cafe was open and so a round of coffee and bacon sandwiches was perfect fortification for the hard slog ahead.

HEADLINE NEWS: 3 PENSIONERS PUT SEVEN SISTERS TO BED IN UNDER TWO HOURS...

We had wondered whether at our age we could even manage one sister and then we argued about who would have the spare seventh one should we actually manage two each but when it came to it they were no match for "los 3 Amigos" and we traversed this very steep but intensely beautiful set of hills in about 90 mins. The "last Sister" sits beside Cuckmere Haven where the river Cuckmere has cut through the chalk South Downs and reached the sea.

We reached Cuckmere around 12-30 - a perfect time for a liquid lunch...

The plan was to catch a bus back to the car from here but as we left the pub Trevor said " you know Seaford is only over that hill there, maybe a couple of miles" and like the idiots we are Ivan and Richard nodded and followed on. Well it was 1.5 miles just to the reach the sea and then we had two more climbs up and over what must have been the sisters big brothers! It was pretty and we did get some great views back towards the Seven Sisters we had climbed earlier but the legs took some moving. However, 5 miles later we did reach Seaford and it was a joy to sit down on the bus.

The Seven Sisters from the west side of Cuckmere Haven

Seaford approach...









After the bright sun of the day the late afternoon turned into a terrific light show for us.

This was probably our best walk so far and certainly one we will repeat in the Spring. It was nicely demanding and the mix of sea air, wonderful views and great underfoot walking on soft grass made it a delight. Looking at the stats below it also showed the effort needed!

Stats for the day were ...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (min)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)	Max Speed (mph)
10/12/2012	26,446	14.8	364	2,061	2.4	3,560	3,698	12.7

Plaxtol Loop

Plaxtol Loop - Friday November 30th

Just Ivan and Richard on this one and Ivan chose the walk from his little book of Kent Pub Walks. It was a great day for a walk through terrific countryside. A cold frosty day with clear blue sky was just what a winter walk is all about and this one didn't disappoint.

We parked up at a hamlet called Yopps Green, a very pretty little group of old houses like the one below.

Walking along Bridleways we passed Ightham Mote, an amazing moated 14th century manor house

It is now owned by the National Trust and contains the UK's only Grade 1 listed Dog Kennel!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ightham_Mote

You can see from the reflections in the picture above what a beautiful still winter day it was.

Walking on the various paths took us to Stone Street and Seal Chart where we passed a very nice Pub (the Padwell) but as it was only 11-45 we had to decided whether to stay and drink until lunch was served or carry on - and of course we walked on!

The guide book had an interesting turn of phrase at this point - it said we would need to "Gird our Loins" ready for a steep climb up the Greensands Ridge - and halfway up we understood what it meant. It was indeed steep and meandered through a wonderful old Chestnut Wood. The sun shining through the trees threw a wonderful light onto the golden brown leaves and it was really a wonderful place to be as we struggled up the steep ridge.

Once at the top we came to the village of Frankfield with its unusual church containing Dormer windows out of its roof.

From here we headed back towards the car walking along the ridge and gently down into the village of Ivy Hatch where of course we found a delightful Pub for lunch - The Plough.

A pint and a pub Lunch later we set off through typical Kent rolling country and Orchards, enjoying the afternoon sun until we reached the car.

Stats for the day were...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (min)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)	Max speed (mph)
30/11/2012	12,307	6.5	166	792	2.3	1,007	974	4.2

Bedgebury Pinetum

Bedgebury Pinetum - Monday 26th November

Bedgebury National Pinetum was the venue for Ivan and Trevor. Richard couldn't join them today because he was taking time out down in the West Country.

Unfortunately the technology got the better of the pair so they cant give you the true stats for today forgot to switch on the app, but from Trevor's maths and my reckoning the results are...

...Our walk was around Bedgbury Pinetum and Bedgebury forest.
 
 
    Distance               ave speed      Time        elev gained    elev lost     men lost      lunch
at least 12 miles         3.0mph       4 hours       6000 ft         5000 ft            2           7/10

Medway River Walk

Along the Medway - 12th November 2012

Ivan was needed elsewhere so it was just Trevor and Richard who set off to walk from the outskirts of Tonbridge to Maidstone along the River Medway. Once again the weather people couldn't make up their minds. On Sunday evening they forecast a cloudy but generally dry day after a damp start but by first thing Monday it had reverted to a cloudy dry morning with light rain arriving at early afternoon. As it happened they even got that wrong because we started to feel precipitation around 11-00am.

Anyway it was a nice walk and the autumn colours were still very much in place. Of course following the river meant we didn't get lost and didn't need the GPS or even a map. It was relatively good under foot but with the occasional muddy section and much of the walk was in open fields (as opposed to woodland) and followed the river bank very closely.

As can be seen from the stats below the two of us kept up a good pace averaging 3.1 mph along the 11.5 mile walk. In fact looking back over previous stats this year we have never managed to reach the 3.0 mph average milestone before. Initially we put this down to the fact that Ivan was not with us, blaming his little legs and slower drinking for the speed reductions on previous walks. But a closer examination of the facts clearly dispelled this myth and slander. It was of course because Trevor chose the walk and following a river eliminates any gradients. Also we were travelling down-stream which of course meant the path was ALL DOWNHILL !

Overcast day meant not much photography but below are a few shots to set the mood.

The Medieval stone bridge at Yalding



The Anchor Pub at Yalding that we DIDN'T stop at because we were too early!



Stats for the day were...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time (min)	Calories	Average speed (mph)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation lost (feet)	Max speed (mph)
12/11/2012	21,043	11.5	227	1,388	3.1	1,051	1,015	5.1

Burwash Weald

Burwash Weald Circular - 5th November 2012

It was a bright, sunny but cold day with the top temperature barely reaching 9 dec C - an ideal walking day. Ivan had picked the route so we expected "Severe Undulations" and generally we were not disappointed and the legs later that day told us so too!

Burwash is a very pretty village deep in the Sussex Weald...

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?ftid=0x47df1539a63ecc29:0x50eae2da2ed6b30&q=Burwash&hl=en&ved=0CA0Q-gswAA&sa=X&ei=7OmYUNizMc2CiAaL54GIBQ&sig2=Riu83oVCR1h9TnjVwSvNNw

... we parked up and set off about 10-30 on what was described as a well marked path. Initially that was the case and we settled into a nice pave that took us right past Bateman's, the house that belonged to Rudyard Kipling, the popular English Author. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling

Batemans, now a National Trust property

As we passed, Ivan, a great fan of the Author's "Jungle Book" couldn't resist a quick chorus of "I wanna be like you, who, who" to which Trevor responded with "If I see an Elephant Fly" but we had to chastise him for choosing the wrong Disney ....

Apart from being an excellent Author and Poet, Kipling was also a technical innovator and he dammed a small stream in the grounds of the house and installed a small water driven turbine that powered an electrical generator for lighting in the house, one of the earliest houses to have electricity. The turbine is still in place.

From this point on the path became a bit fuzzy. Fortunately, our new high tech GPS unit meant that we were never "lost" because we always knew exactly to within 8 foot where we were. Its just that where we were wasn't always where the path was! And even when we were on the path, when you are in the middle of a wood one can find oneself walking the path but in the wrong direction! Fortunately a case conference, two sets of maps and a compass soon sorted out the issue and we all agreed that the detour we had taken was very well worthwhile!  So at 12-45 we were mightily glad to see the planned lunch stop come into view - "The Wheel" at Burwash Common.

Clearly taking on ale and food was what was required because afterwards we didn't stray from the path once. The views all round were delightful and we ended up completing 7.6 miles on a glorious day as you can see from the photos below.

Stats for the day were ...