North Downs Way - Otford to Merstham

This walk was the second of four days walking from Rochester to Farnham along the North Downs Way. For the previous day please click the following link: Day 1 - Rochester to Otford

The previous day had ended at Otford with a stay over in Sevenoaks - and today after a quick breakfast I was heading back up to the North Downs Way on one of the fairly frequent trains up to Otford (no ticket required - just tap in and out via contactless). The destination for the day would be Merstham from which I would again make use of the trains to head down to Redhill, to my accommodation.

From the station the walk offers a chance to explore a bit more of Otford and you can take the footpath from below the station rather than following the fairly busy road - which also offers a prettier route to the roundabout via the church and green. Next the route heads further along the road and turns off into the houses, and you start to head up towards a bridge over the railway through the fields around Otford.

The fields around Otford

This pleasant countryside stroll continues for a reasonable stretch, but upon arriving at a small village it is time to join a bit of a dull main road as you head up to cross over and inside of the M25.

Over the M25

Having got inside of the M25 ring, there is a further stretch along a busy road, although the path has recently been diverted to head up into the fields early - which offers a more pleasant trip and soon you are climbing up into the hills with some lovely (albeit motorway included) views. Unfortunately there is no escaping motorways between Dorking and Rochester on the North Downs Way but actually on this part of the walk you rapidly leave any trace of motorways behind pretty quickly and it will be a while before the route returns to be close to motorways again.

Not so bad as you head up into the hills

Once up into the hills there are a mix of fields and forest as you begin a bit of a lonely trip through walks that don't seem to have a lot of people on them (put perhaps all the better for the lack of people?) and if you check the map, in reality this is an area of not much - spanning from Tatsfield in the west to Sevenoaks in the east. Potentially this is because this is also a bit of a gap in the train lines heading down from London, but there were just a few of us walkers out on this day - passing each other every couple of miles. 

When I did stop to have a bit of a break I did, however, come across a deer which didn't seem to mind my presence whilst I was stopped and only decided to run off once I decided to get moving again. This wouldn't be the last deer I would spot along the North Downs Way.

While this stretch is pleasant enough, it is also slightly forgettable - being pretty much standard fare English countryside and you don't get too many of the great views out until the path returns to the southern front of the hills coming up towards Westerham

Fields near Westerham

While passing along this stretch you are generally following the top of the hills, with only a few smaller drops down, before a larger descent after passing Titsey Place.

Dropping off the hills near Titsey Place

This begins both a highlight and a lowlight of the day - with this next section up until the end of the day being the pretty part of the day, but also being the bit where you get best acquainted with the M25 (I mention the motorways a lot but they are a bit of a feature - both in terms of crossings and proximity).

There is an entry or exit point on and off the route here, as the Greensand Way comes up from Oxted below - and Oxted to Merstham is a very good stretch of the walk to do (as is Merstham to Dorking - and indeed Dorking to Guildford).

And here you have the contrast of some very pretty countryside and a very noisy motorway.

The pretty countryside

The noisy motorway

The latest version of the route map

I did stop at the bench overlooking the motorway to watch it for a bit and if I'm honest I quite enjoyed it. In my brief survey I did note that a lot of the traffic along the M25 is freight and if anyone wants to pay me to come out and conduct some further studies I would be most interested in doing that - expenses fully paid please.

But at this point it is now time to start climbing up back into the hills, which begins with a sweeping and gradual climb up, before turning into a long series of steps above the railway tunnel, which thankfully offers some seating at the halfway point - from which I could see the line of the railway heading into a tunnel into the hills below my feet on its way to/from Oxted.

Starting the climb back onto the hills

The climb up includes some pretty views, although eventually you tuck into the hills and head through woodland once again - and for those also travelling on a hot day or wanting food, The Harrow offers a pub just off the route which was a very welcome spot to get something to drink. 

One of the flaws with pubs on walking trails is that what I really wanted was a big jug of water but since that would be free and a possibly offensive order, I opted for a pint of water and a pint of coke to minimize the offence caused (this order probably caused a bit of offense still I imagine, but if measured in pounds per minute it was probably a record visit). It would indeed perhaps be easier if a walker could just pay £5 to get an unlimited supply of water at pure profit to the pub owner.

But back on the path and after meeting some of the local horses out for a ride, it was time to head down once again - this time crossing both the M23 and M25 in quick succession, to get to the station at Merstham.

Heading down towards Merstham

Here once again I made use of the trains to stay slightly further off route, making use of the frequent trains down to Redhill (again you can just tap in and out using contactless rather than buying a ticket). With Redhill having plenty of food and accommodation on offer, it was a good spot to stop over and end my walking for the day.

The latest version of the route map at Merstham

Click here to see the route writeup for day three - Merstham to Guildford

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 187 and 188 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a North Downs Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.