24/07/26 - London Spiral - Stage 26 - Farningham Road to Gravesend

5 Years

That's exactly how long ago - to the day - it is since I set out from King's Cross on the London Spiral.

26 day walks later, having crossed the Thames by bridge, boat, underneath and cable car. I've reached the end of the track. Although some variations cross the water again to Tilbury. But there be monsters.

I've walked out of Gravesend on the London Countryway, and I was right to not expect too much. It's impossible to access or escape, with gyratory road systems and urban spread.

But I have to get there first - and that is no fun at all either.

It's all lanes to Grub Street, where I thought I would be grateful for the countryside to the admittedly pretty Southfleet. Alas, the countryside is a horror show. Head height crops and disappearing paths. It is possible to walk around the sweetcorn but a wade through thigh-high stinging nettles and thistles is impossible.

The only photo I have is an unopened pub in Southfleet.

There are no bad pubs in the country called ‘The Ship Inn.’

From a walking perspective, a fitting end to the London Spiral Walk. It's certainly not been one for the walking purist and there were times - especially in the latter stages of housing estates of unloved London boroughs, where I thought of knocking it on the head.

Instead, I have proved that I see things through to the bitter end. 

A planned two-centre celebration for the new Good Beer Guide Ticks in Gravesend.

The Three Pillars is easily missed. A cellar bar in a Masonic hall, accessed only by steep steps. Even with Google Maps, it's a tough find.

There's a pub down there

So you would think they would make it easy for the unsuspecting traveller who has made it this far. The first sign is "Cash Only". Of course, I have no cash. You can't lie to Bromley Tramps if you do.

Despite a friendly but complicated explanation of where the nearest cash point is, I saw nothing (apart from the air conditioning) to warrant drinking alone in an underground bunker.

My other new tick - reached without passing an ATM - is the Invicta Bar. 

Open-fronted micro bar

They take card here. Mainly because they charge £7.40 to celebrate the end of an odyssey like a Mexican.

Enjoyed once, but I'm off to 'Spoons

Of course, there will be a summary blog of the route. Once I have had time to review 26 walks over 5 years.

Walk Details

Distance -  9 miles

Start - Farningham Road

Finish - Gravesend

Areas Walked - Gravesend

Geocaches - 1

Pubs - 2

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19, Stage 20, Stage 21, Stage 22, Stage 23, Stage 24, Stage 25

23/07/26 - A Bromley Pub Crawl

The Modern High Street

Overnighting in Bromley, as I go through the final knockings of the London Spiral Walk. Civilisation (ha!) and a Bar Trek route that offered a couple of Good Beer Guide pubs, made it a tempting base.

Easy Crawling

The town is quite pretty. A more or less pedestrianised high street. Some interesting architecture in the old shop frontages. A lovely park just away from the main drag. Yet, here I am at 57 years old, doubling the amount of robberies I have witnessed in my lifetime. In just over 12 hours.

Crime 1: A Trainspotting-esque dash from Sports Direct, chased by the security guard, running style hampered by the boxes under his arms. My attention drawn by the crowd cheering. He was caught, but the guard simply retrieved the goods and let him on his merry way. 

Crime 2: Sainsbury's Local. Two of them, casually walking around, not even hiding the products and just walking out, setting off alarms but as casual as you like.

Crime 3: Greggs at breakfast time. A hungry fella walks in, takes his drink and sandwich and walks out again. The lady next to me reports it to the staff, who simply say "happens every day".

I'll get onto the pubs, before I start ranting about "Broken Windows Policing Policy".

The Partridge is a fine place to start. A solid, handsome Fuller's Pub, with a distinct air of civility with Chesterfields, atriums and smoking rooms. A beautiful Good Beer Guide Tick and a perfect ESB.

Handsome Outside....

.... and In

The next two on the crawl are both closed. The Bar Trek App is only a couple of years old, so its worrying how quickly things change. At least the Artful Duke has been repurposed as a chicken shop, the clucking crazy Saucy Bird. The Barrel and Horn is simply boarded up.

Since retirement, I am a big fan of Wetherspoons. But you have to be in the mood. As a solo pub ticker, the app is invaluable in protecting a table, but you have to be able to get a table in the first place. I thought that I would try The Greyhound a bit later, when things have calmed down.

Standing room only at the Greyhound

Instead, I was seduced by the architecturally imposing Star and Garter. Sometimes, the recipe for a good pub looks so easy that you wonder why more people don't adopt it.

Floor-mounted brass plaque states it is "1898 Vernacular Revival"

Tiling in the outside alcove

Unsure of the collective noun for fiddle players (a scrape?), there were plenty of them setting up in the corner. But my real love came from the drinks choice. I could (and probably should) have stayed here all night.

Amongst the many highlights on draught were Stille Nacht, Kernal, Deya, Ross-on-Wye ciders and in an unexpected turn, beer from my home town on cask. I have never seen Bewdley Brewery beers outside of the Wyre Forest but the bloke in front of me was ordering three pints.

Definitely the town's pubby highlight.

The Swan and Mitre didn't look like it would offer much and it didn't. My inability to leave things unfinished meant I popped my head in to see a very limited range. Why are bar staff so efficient and friendly when you just want to escape? A half of Cruzcampo out of politeness. I don't think the ceremonial chalice comes in half pints.

Low expectations, realised

Which leaves the ubiquitous micro pub. The Craft Beer Cabin will be fighting against many things. Its location, well out of town and the other pubs, will work against it. The music choice - heavy metal at an uncomfortable level - will dissuade more than it welcomes. As will the pricing. I vowed to stop drinking when it went north of a fiver for a schooner.

Peaceful.... apart from the music

Obviously run by an enthusiast but just two punters on a Thursday night won't be paying the electronic beer board Untapped subscription costs, let alone the rent. I wish them all the best.

Conscious of nightfall, I legged it back to the safety of the Travelodge.

Via the Star and Garter. The range deserved a second look.

 

23/07/26 - London Spiral Stage 25 - Knockholt to Farningham Road

Penultimate Pleasure

The final two days on the London Spiral act as a metaphor for the whole route. Today, it's lovely countryside walking on great paths. Tomorrow, the grim descent into Gravesend. The route has never been a 100% success but I am not a quitter.

The other good things about these final throes - single digit walking.

From Knockholt station, two pubs are instantly possible but even I feel the drink needs to be earned. The Bo Beep boasting an existence since 1500.

Open, but I haven’t walked enough miles to justify it.

Across fields, with views of the distant London skyscrapers and then a long passage through Lullingstone Park and the castle. Dodging golf balls.

Nestled in the Darent Valley near Eynsford, Kent, Lullingstone Castle is one of England's oldest family estates, with the Hart Dyke family having owned it continuously since the late fifteenth century. Although described as a castle, the present building is principally a Tudor manor house, incorporating elements of an earlier medieval residence whose imposing gatehouse still survives.

There’s London, from the extremes of the Spiral Walk.

A first glimpse of Lullingstone Castle

and the gatehouse

I walked the Darent Way 9 years ago - so the route under Eynsford Viaduct should be familiar. It isn't. I only know that I have visited the picture postcard Lion pub when I try to rescan the Cask Marque QR code. During that 2017 visit, it was Doom Bar for £3.65. Today, it's Harvey's Sussex Best for £6.05. What does that say? Better choice of beer? Inflation has been running at an average of 6% over the last nine years.

And yet the King of the North says it's 2.8%. 

I'm off-track and ranting again.

Look at that for timing!

Next to the folly bridge and the River Darent

Time is against me with an hourly train from Farningham Road - the walking along the river, under the M20 is pretty and geocache laden. 

What lies beneath

I made it with one minute to spare, knowing I will be back tomorrow.

If I survive lawless Bromley.

Walk Details

Distance -  9 miles

Start - Knockholt

Finish - Farningham Road

Areas Walked - Lullingstone, Eynsford

Geocaches - 9

Pubs - 1

Previous Walks - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19, Stage 20, Stage 21, Stage 22, Stage 23, Stage 24

21/07/26 - St Michael's Boundary Walk, Tenbury Wells

12 Miles of Nothingness

The idea for this walk came from the "Boundary Walk" for the Beltane Pilgrimage. AI based research managed to find 8 out of the potential 29 Boundary walks. A tick-list was formed. Rare access to the car, meant I could head off to Tenbury Wells for a route that I approached with justified trepidation.

In this part of the world, the paths are usually in chronic condition. A look on the map, and I could see that there was little of interest. Although the paths were better than expected, there were issues. If I knew exactly which county I was in, I would probably log dense undergrowth and locals blockading rights of ways and removing signage. 

No one to report in the lack of villages, pubs or items of interest to. Unless you like dilapidated farms, abandoned golf courses, orchards and wheat fields, there is little for you here. If it wasn't for St Michaels School and a rather unusual church, there would have been nothing to blog about. The walk became a time trial. Could I maintain > 3 mph in a heatwave?

Very specific signage

Herefordshire Orchards

Inquisitive horses, with Titterstone Clee Hill behind.

St Michaels's provided the first place of shelter for lunch and remains of water. An imposing church - especially considering the remoteness - that is nowhere near as old as it looks.

St Michael and All Angels Church, Tenbury Wells stands in an isolated position on the edge of Oldwood Common, about a mile south-west of Tenbury Wells, and is one of the most remarkable Victorian churches in Worcestershire. Built between 1856 and 1858 as the centrepiece of St Michael's College, Tenbury, it was the vision of the Reverend Sir Frederick Arthur Gore Ouseley, a priest, musicologist and passionate reformer of Anglican church music. Designed in the Gothic Revival style by Henry Woodyer, the church was intended to recreate the atmosphere of a medieval collegiate foundation, complete with a renowned choir school, daily choral worship and an exceptional musical tradition. Its soaring architecture, Hardman stained glass and magnificent Father Willis organ reflect Ouseley’s belief that music should be at the heart of worship. The college closed in 1985, but the church remains a remarkable survival — a “mini-cathedral” in the Worcestershire countryside and a lasting monument to Victorian devotion, scholarship and the revival of Anglican musical life.

Tinderbox landscape

I missed the organ. Here is the altar. 

Walk Details

Distance - 12 miles

Geocaches - 0

Pub - 0

Interesting villages - 0

Highlights on Komoot - 0

Walk Inspiration

20/07/26 - Wychbury Hill

Temples and Yew Trees

There was simply too much inspiration in section 2 of Jonathan Meades Travels with Pevsner. The main topic was Georgian Pershore but how could I ignore "the most momentous building in Worcestershire".

This is the Temple of Theseus. Built in 1758 by Lord Lyttleton, so he could look out over the Malvern Hills. It is the first example of neo-classical architecture in Europe.

There's a lot going on at Wychbury Hill. I have already told the tale of "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?". No need to repeat it here, but of course, there will be a photo of the obelisk. I also remembered that the Mysteries of Mercia Facebook page had discussed the yew trees at the iron-age hillfort. These were to be investigated. 

A walk was easily fashioned, a variation of the "Rail Trail" between Hagley and Stourbridge.

The temple is not strictly on a footpath, but on the ground, there is a well trodden path - either caused by graffiti artists, drinkers who like a view or possibly even the new inhabitants, usurping Lord Lyttelton but getting the same views. 

How we look after the county's most important architecture 

Perfectly Proportioned by James Stuart - following a pilgrimage to measure the original

Cows had already trampled the fencing

Folly Views

Back to the proper footpaths, via the obelisk.

Obelisk

Bella - an unsolved 1940s murder victim

Next stop, the yew trees of Wychbury Hillfort and have spawned a number of legends. Was it the site of an ancient battle between the Romans and the natives? Is Wychbury Hill the final resting place of King Arthur? Are the yew trees a manifestation of fallen warriors? Probably not. Is the site use by local pagans during key calendar events? Yes. But why?

In pre-Christian pagan traditions across Britain and north-west Europe, the yew tree was revered as a symbol of death, rebirth and eternal life. Remarkably long-lived and capable of regenerating from ancient wood, it seemed to embody the endless cycle of nature, making it a powerful emblem of immortality and the passage between this world and the Otherworld. Yews were often associated with sacred sites, burial places and places of ritual, where they represented wisdom, protection and ancestral memory.

My favourite on-line resource is from the Ancient Yew Tree  website. Someone went to the trouble of mapping the 23 trees, providing a summary and a description of each individual tree. You've got to love the Internet. Next, middle aged men will be writing about their walks and pints and hoping someone out there finds it of interest.

x marks SO9205581800 - a perfect place for lunch. 

It's incredibly accurate and easy to follow. A circuit of the hillfort and most of the trees were identified.

One of the 23.  We'll leave it there. No need for the other 22

30 minutes spent lunching in a Pagan worship spot, the GPS left on, explaining the random mess on the track recording.

Finally, a drop down to Stourbridge for one of the CAMRA's Heritage pubs. The Seven Stars.

Handy for the Station

Built for Mitchells & Butlers Brewery and opened in January 1905, the Seven Stars has an outstanding collection of M&B etched and painted windows plus much Maw & Co wall tiling.

The entrance hall has lots of light blue and cream dado tiling, which extends up the stairs and into the public bar. That room has its original counter and a superb four-bay, mirrored bar-back with a clock-adorned pediment. Below the pediment is a recently-reopened hatch to the smoke room behind. This is modernised but bell pushes remain above the benches, as do fine etched windows. The restaurant left of the hallway has nothing of historic interest bar a couple of windows.

Recently, it was closed down for a number of years, until resurrected by the Black Country Ales chain. Incredible really, they have changed nothing (apart from the drinks available) and it has gone from an unviable business to one that you are lucky to get a seat. As with all BCA Pubs, the drinks available are many, usually unheard of, a dedication to real cider and always well kept.

Interior Intact - Hobson's Town Crier chosen

Walk Details

Distance - 4 miles

Geocaches - 2

Future Inspiration

Ancient Yew Group

White Dragon

Tales from the Halfshire Hundred

17/07/26 - Rail Trail - Tewkesbury to Pershore

Pevsner's Pershore

The second part of Jonathan Meades Travels with Pevsner details Pershore. A perfectly intact Georgian town.

A Walk Midlands Rail Trail from WalkMidlands has been on the to-do list for a while. Time to knock this off, and investigate Toyah-town with eyes afresh.

After a couple of city walks, it's good to be in the countryside again, even if this falls at the boring end of the walking scale. We have flat agricultural fields - burnt to a crisp, hard underfoot and with significant cracks in the soil ready to twist an unsuspecting ankle. The prize - Bredon Hill - is permanently in view - with only a couple of Northern Cotswold villages to break up the monotony.

Ashchurch, providing the only geocache of the day

Today's vista

Too early for Kemerton's Crown Inn - a mooch around the church instead

I'm unsure if I have approached Bredon Hill from this direction before but as with the routes I have taken, it's a gentle climb. Shady woodland at the top provides a fine location for a lunch break. 

Pershore - identified by the Abbey below

The descent is via the Wychavon Way, familiar paths touching Great Comberton and the river Avon for a brief moment before more flat walking to the town.

Great Comberton Church

Pershore's old bridge declaring the walk is over

Pevsner dedicates many pages to the Abbey. I decide to only concentrate on Bridge Street - his text providing detail on design features otherwise missed, but I will spare you photos of doorways.

Bridge Street is also home to an ever dwindling number of pubs. The Brandy Cask now a private home.

The ones that remain hardly tear up any trees but after drinking increasingly warm water in a heatwave, the euro fizz available was more than welcome.

Cruzcampo and a riverside terrace

Millers Arms - former GBG and best in town (IMHO)

The Three Tuns in Pevsner's text - now a "not for Mappiman" hotel

For ladies who lunch and also a Championship Timothy Taylor outlet for cooler days

Walk Details

Distance - 10.75 miles

Geocaches - 1

Walk Inspiration - Walk Midlands

16/07/26 - Stanley Park to Stanley Docks, Liverpool

Football Crazy

The day after the night before. That old familiar England supporter feeling. We were so close, yet nowhere near. Even my Gareth Southgate-hating mate was admitting he may have been hasty. 

Only one thing could cheer me up. More football.

Admittedly, I'd booked the rail tickets before consulting the wall chart. The traditional "knocked out of a major tournament" whisky may have been a bad idea, as the alarm went at 6am.

A painless journey to Lime Street and the PlusBus ticket to drop me off at the edge of Stanley Park for my latest Liverpool A-Z walk. Originally hosting the stadiums for Liverpool and Everton, I will have to work for the second location. Anfield takes the early glory with some stunning street art and a celebration of a team that knows how to win.

Stadium in the heart of the community

Stars - present and past - are celebrated in style

Bill made people happy. Thomas did not

Anfield is left behind for Everton Rise - a public park that offers a perfect view over the city. It really shouldn't be missed and if the OS produce a second edition of the AZ book, I would suggest they make this Walk 1. From this view, you get to understand the port city.

The City from Everton Rise

The view also shows Everton's ground - relocated to the docks. This is accessed via Summer Street - an interesting street of Arts and Crafts houses and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

Looking down the final spur of the Leeds - Liverpool Canal to Stanley Docks

For the new Stadium

Alas, Everton's home feels a little soulless in comparison to the splendour of Anfield. I'm sure the Liverpudlians won't allow it to affect the match-day atmosphere in the way the relocation at West Ham did.

Time to call it a day and a bus back to the city. Through this AZ Guide book, I have been investigating Liverpool for three years. Over that time, the 'Spoons pubs have dropped out of the Good Beer Guide, only to come back in the 2026 edition.

The Captain Alexander allows me to "green" the city centre in the book - but there's nothing new for me to say here.

Architecturally dull, cheap, dirty tables, efficient app service - a sh*t sandwich review

Walk Details

Distance - 6 Miles

Geocaches - 18

Walk Inspiration - Liverpool A-Z City Walks, Walk 13

Previous Liverpool A-Z City Walks - Walks 1 and 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, Walk 5, Walk 6 and 7, Walk 8 and 9, Walk 10, Walk 11 and 12