Farningham Road Station to Eynsford - Catherine Splores
Where: A 17.5km (10.9 mile) route from Farningham Road Station to Eynsford, with a few twists and turns. Route & GPX available here.
What: Across farms, through woods, and down some country roads. A number of interesting stops along the way if you so choose, including an adorable pub, a country park (the perfect spot for a picnic!), an old manor house, and the remains of a Roman Villa.
How: I ran this, as part of my Sunday long run. However, this was designed as a walk by the Saturday Walker’s Club, and may even be better as a walk.
What train did I catch? On the way there, I travelled from London Victoria to Farningham Road Station. On the way back I caught the train from Eynsford back to London Victoria.
Dog friendly: Yes — but a few caveats. There are a few stiles, and near the end of this route there are a few country roads, with no sidewalks. I didn’t see many cars, but dogs must be comfortable with walking on the road safely.
Pram/Wheelchair Friendly: No — unfortunately, as this route has uneven terrain and paths going through muddy farms.
Stop & See:
· The adorable little pub in Farningham (about 6.6km in)
· Lullingstone Country Park — there’s a flying fox, giant swing and more, hidden amongst the woods. Plus picnic spots galore! (About 11.5km in)
· The Roman Villa in Lullingstone — owned by English Heritage, and apparently one of the best examples in the UK. (About 15km in)
Route Report:
After getting off the train at Farningham Road Station, I walked down the platform a little, turned left, walked down a short path, and I was immediately in the countryside! I followed a path along the side of a field, plucking a few blackberries as I went.
Little did I know that soon there would be berries galore! As I ran, I came across a bunch of greenhouses and I soon realised they were full of strawberry plants. Not only that, but further up the farm, there were also greenhouses full of blackberries and raspberries. I’m not exaggerating when I say there were HUNDREDS of greenhouses full to the brim with various berry-bearing plants.
Running up the footpath running through the farm, I came across a bunch of trail runners, all running in the opposite direction (probably about 15 of them!). From there, I kept following the path up the farm, until turning off through a green and then ending up in Farningham Woods.
It was great to be in these woods — it so different to everyday London, and according to the sign the woods were opened by Sir David Attenborough himself. At the end of the woods, the route brought me into some pretty fields, including one with two sheep, before sending me out onto a quiet country road.
I followed this, crossed a bigger, busier road, and then followed a different country road (this time with a little bridge and a stream running under it, until a turn off down a footpath, right next to a cricket circle. How quintessentially British!
The footpath led me first to a lovely horse that came over for a few pats and scritches, which provided me with a good excuse to take a break from running! Just down from the horse, I saw more horses… but also two emus! They were just strolling up and down, but the noise they made was crazy — almost like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park.
After admiring the emus for a time, I decided to get running, following a stream and passing under two HUGE bridges before ultimately ending up at an adorable country pub in the town of Farningham. If I’d been out for a walk, I definitely would have stopped in for lunch. But alas, I was too early! And, not only was the pub cute, but the town in general was and it was a pleasure to run through looking at the old buildings.
So, instead, I ran up the streets of Farningham, until I reached a path that brought me across train tracks and into beautiful, golden fields of wheat that had just been freshly harvested. The fields were so beautiful, which made the long slow climb up them a bit more enjoyable.
The fields eventually led into really pretty woods, which were situated alongside a golf course. Surprisingly, there were also a number of horse riders also using the woods and riding across the golf course.
At one point, the path took me across the edge of the course before a sharp turn right led me up a footpath. Just to the right of that path was a flying fox! I waited for two cyclists to pass by, to make sure nobody would see or judge me as a full grown adult, playing on what is essentially playground equipment, and then jumped on. The first ride was a little slow, so second time round, I sped things up!
I think this is where the woods became Lullingstone country park. Scattered through the woods were different pieces of playground equipment, the aforementioned flying fox, a GIANT swing, and more (I didn’t travel down all the paths to explore exactly what else there was!). After travelling through the woods, the path brought me down a wide open field, with picnic tables at the bottom, alongside with a car park, visitor centre, and some loos.
I turned left from here, following a path next to a stream, that had lots of people walking their dogs, including a huge Newfoundland who was so big he blocked the path. As a dog lover, this was not a problem at all for me — it just gave me a chance to give him a little pat before continuing on my way.
Following the river, I eventually got to a small country road that I followed past Lullingstone Castle — a historic manor house, past a Roman Villa managed by English Heritage, and then up to the town of Eynsford. The route runs alongside a stream, and then leads up to the main street where I stopped at a little sweet shop, buying some cold drinks and sweets, as the humid weather meant I’d drunk both bottles of water I’d taken on my run. I then ran up alongside a church.
The route then passed a bunch of houses, which were a little boring, but I ended up a comfortable 16 minutes early for my train, which (due to me travelling on Sunday) was only running hourly. It was a great day out, and I’d happily return — especially for the second part of the route.
