Today was a day out of sequence. I missed the Farnham to Guildford section earlier because of my knee injury. So today, I drove down to Farnham, very early. It was raining, and I left the car all day in a car park and started walking from the beginning of the North Down’s Walk. I followed the path alongside the River Wey, and then went on a road that crossed the River Wey by a stone bridge at Compton.

From there, the path entered the Runfold woods, which had been severely affected by the winds in 1987 and 1990. It’s no longer a Beechwood but has become more varied and is managed for wildlife. I emerged onto a road near a school. This road was long and straight for some miles, following the path of the original Pilgrim’s Way, while the North Downs Way followed footpaths.

There were separate footpaths along the road that alternated from one side to the other through to the village of Seale. I took a break and sat on a bench at a crossroads called Sandy Cross, looking north and east and west. There was not much traffic as I sipped water and ate a banana. There weren’t many people around either. Then, I carried on to the centre of Seale where I found a church.

I went around to the south porch and found that the door was open, allowing me access to the dark interior. There was a pilgrim stamp, which I used to fill the missing space I had left in my passport. Inside, I noticed a window dedicated to Anna and Simeon, two elderly people waiting for Jesus, which struck me as different, their wrinkled faces like mine.

As I left the church, the weather was improving. It had been raining when I began my journey. I had a lovely view across a field with some cows and up the hills towards the Hog’s Back. The war memorial had wooden crosses made dark by weathering, but the poppy wreathes remained red. I continued along the road, which wound left and right and lacked a separate footpath, so I had to cross sides several times. Most of the traffic was in a hurry which made it a bit challenging.

The surroundings woodland had orange bracken. At one point, I noticed a sign for the North Down Walk, but my path passed another Pilgrim Cottage, unique in it’s village but not along the Pilgrim’s Way. I reached Puttenham, where there were hop fields with poles. The hops had been harvested, and a few stragglers clung to poles.

I continued down a narrow street in Puttenham, which was constricted by ongoing roadworks. Along the way, I saw several straw figures as part of a scarecrow display. The pub was called “Good Intentions,” and featured a figure in puritan dress kneeling with a sword.

After that, I reached the church, which had a sign for an Alpha Course. The church itself was old, as my guidebook suggested, with a nave and an entrance dating back to early pilgrim days. The church was bright and well-lit, and there was a bookstore at the back. Outside I sat on a bench and ate my two oranges and looked at an old well and over rooftops, some of which had the vented hop chimneys. The village appeared in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley: ‘Puttenham was a modest little village nine stories high, with silos, a poultry farm, and a small vitamin-D factory.’

I continued from there, and the path led through Puttenham Golf Course, where golfers were playing on either side. Signs for Tee Ten kept appearing until I passed Tee ten. The path went under a larger road, and then under a smaller road, with wood crosses on either side facing the Pilgrims Way.

Eventually, I came to another road at Compton, where I made a wrong turn, as I should have gone left towards Watts Art Gallery. Instead, I went straight across and found a narrow footpath that led to an area where young women were riding horses and practicing over horse jumps.

I realised I had made a mistake when I looked at Google Maps, so I retraced my steps and found the North Downs Way. I met a fellow walker who had come from London for the day and was doing a section of the North Downs Way. We walked together for about a mile, enjoying the sandy path, which was quite easy to walk on. He had an app that beeped if he strayed from the path.

At a junction, I had to continue straight on the road while my fellow walker followed the North Downs Way footpath to the left. My road went by a care home called Pilgrims Wood, and a Pilgrim’s Gardens, and another Pilgrims Cottage.

The path then led me past the Surrey Police Headquarters and descended towards a road in Guildford. I crossed that road and continued on the path, and climbed a hillside to the ruins of a chapel called Saint Catherine’s Chapel. It is fenced off and mended in places with sharp edged modern stones.

The path continued downhill to the River Wey, and I followed the riverway to central Guildford to catch my bus back to Farnham. There were beautiful reflections on the water of the far bank, with the sun behind me.

By mistake, I took the slow bus back to Farnham, with its 61 stops. It felt like another pilgrimage. The driver was one of the friendliest I had ever heard. He greeted everybody with ‘how are you today’, and then as people got off, he said, ‘Have a good rest of the day’ or later on, ‘have a good evening.’

I’m back on the Pilgrim’s Way. I took a break back in November, and restarted the journey today, on the first of April, which also happens to be Easter Monday. I restarted from Otford, which is near where I ended last time, and ended today at Wrotham.

Today, I walked about ten miles, with only six miles being on the Pilgrim’s Way itself. I had to walk to and from the Pilgrim’s Way.

Otford has a traffic roundabout with a duck pond in the middle, surrounded by a green verge. They have some big ducks, and there’s a duck house in the middle. Unfortunately, both the church and Sally’s Cake Emporium were closed, which were the two places I hoped to get a passport stamp for restarting the pilgrimage.

Leaving Otford, I got onto a road called Pilgrim’s Way East, where the North Downs Way separates after a short while. The road had no pavements and was fairly busy with cars, so I put on a hi-vis jacket for safety. After a couple of miles, I reached the village of Kemsing and took a diversion to see a lovely church with a wooden rood screen and bright alter. I left my name in the visitor’s book and got a passport stamp, and saw there’s someone else walking the way ahead of me.

The sun came out, and I sat on a bench and enjoyed the churchyard, with bird song and a tree snowy with blossom, despite traffic noise from a major road not far away.

From there, I took a footpath that led me back to the road, now called Pilgrims Way, which had become single track and was less busy.

It started raining, and my bag got wet, which seeped onto the book I’m reading, but it wasn’t too serious. The road vered off to the right and the Pilgrims Way then followed the North Downs Way ahead. I passed a couple of horses and then a family pushing a buggy, but it was very muddy. The family joked they regretted not bringing their off-road buggy.

I left the way at Wrotham, where I visited St. George’s church, which had a flag flying over the tower, a castle-like tower. Inside were lots of memorial brasses on the flagstones and a large Easter Garden display with figures. A man came to close the church and said that I was lucky to find it open because if it hadn’t been raining, he would have closed it earlier.

After that, I walked a mile or so to the station to catch a train to Maidstone, where I’m staying. Maidstone is a good hub as I can easily reach other places, and it’s fairly cheap. Overall, it was a good day despite feeling a bit sore in my ankle and knee. I met some friendly people, particularly in Wrotham.

I caught a train and bus to get back to Wrotham where I left off yesterday. While waiting at the station, I heard an announcement about a train strike on the day I planned to return home. This means I need to adjust my schedule.

The bus was late, and people around me mentioned these buses didn’t always turn up due to staffing issues. Thankfully, it arrived about ten minutes behind schedule.

The path initially crossed the M20 motorway. Thankfully, my single lane road, still called Pilgrim’s Way, was not near the M20 for long. Here, rapeseed was in flower in some fields. A footpath paralleled the lane and had a good view across the Medway valley, and up into the hills. I spotted some goldfinches flitting about and after a couple of miles sat down and soaked up the sun (and snacked on some open olives and tomato before they made a mess of my haversack.)

As I continued, the road became a muddy track through a woodland area. There, I encountered a rather unpleasant sight – a fox carcass crawling with bluebottles. The smell was sweet and strong. The bluebottles took off like the spine evaporating

Reaching a point where a church was visible, I considered stopping for a visit. Although it was a half-mile detour, I decided to go for it. The path leading down was a change from the hedged tracks I’d been following most of the day. This section felt more open.

Upon reaching the church, I saw a couple of men cutting the grass. I tried the door, but it seemed stuck. Disappointed, I was about to head back when I remembered a mention of a famous person buried in the churchyard according to my guidebook. Determined to find something for my half mile detour, I ask one of the men. He kindly pointed me towards the grave hidden beneath a yew tree. He said it used to be even more concealed! It was the grave of the artist, Graham Sutherland, who lived nearby.

I gave the church door another try, and this time, it opened! The interior was quite amazing, boasting a high pulpit with a crown-like structure above it. I discovered this pulpit had been in Westminster Abbey for some years before being relocated here. The old-fashioned pews with opening and closing doors added interest. They even sold Pilgrim’s jam at the back (although I couldn’t take any with me).

Following the tradition mentioned on a brass plaque by the door, I offered a prayer for the church and its minister before leaving. I got a stamp in my passport. What a turnaround from a seemingly closed church!

The path continued with another climb across a ploughed field to a lane. There, a postbox – elaborately decorated with yarn for Easter – was being examined by a dad and three youngsters. I didn’t see many people on the path.

Back on the track, I reached White Horse Wood. While the picture in my guidebook showed a path with a beautiful arch of trees in full leaf, it wasn’t quite as complete yet. Worse was to come with the sight of chopped timber throughout the area. A sign explained it was due to Ash dieback disease. It is a real heartbreaker. Seeing all those fallen trees. Ash trees would have been there for medieval pilgrims, and now they are gone.

The cleared trees provided easier glimpses across the Medway valley as I continued. Finally, I reached the town of Upper Halling, perched on a white cliff. The descent to Lower Halling was next to a fenced off quarry. I got the train from there back to Maidstone.

Today’s walk was unlike any other on the Pilgrim’s Way. It began at a promontory over the winding River Medway. Across the river, was a sandy / muddy shore with reeds. Beside me, a long flight of steps led down to where there was once a ferry.

A large new bridge over the Medway took me to Peter’s Village. The village wasn’t in my outdated 2018 guidebook, and a lot of new housing had sprung up along the riverbank. Unsure if the route had changed significantly, I pressed on.

Consulting Google Maps, I discovered another version of the Pilgrim’s Way which seemed to cross the river at nearby Snodland where there used to be another ferry. My guidebook offered one version, perhaps the revised standard version, while the original authorised version was no longer possible.

I left a road to take a bridleway that looked correct. Unfortunately, the path beyond was blocked by a large pile of dumped asbestos in two spots, taking up most of the width.

Moving past that obstacle, I soon came upon a deserted church called St Mary’s at Burham. The village moved and when they built a new church further up, this one was closed. Surprisingly, it was open for visitors and well-maintained by volunteers. The interior was whitewashed with plain glass windows. Although services are no longer held here, it had a peaceful puritan atmosphere. Floor memorials from the 1700s were still in an unworn condition.

Feeling the urge to embrace the pilgrim spirit, I started singing ‘To be a Pilgrim.’ But upon hearing voices, I stopped. The voices came from people working nearby, not within the churchyard itself. So much for being valiant!!!

Following the paved and sometimes flooded bridleway, I walked past farmland on one side. The other side offered a curious mix of landscapes – horse pasture, an industrial area with a chemical plant, a solar farm and giant battery facility, and a water treatment works. For stretches, the land was flooded and it seemed the river was near, but I wouldn’t see the Medway again until I reached Aylesford.

Before Aylesford, I came across Aylesford Priory. It houses a priory and a handful of friars, with plenty of accommodation for retreats, conferences, and even the occasional funeral (which I witnessed on my way out). The priory has a large alter area, half indoors and half outdoors, with numerous outdoor benches that could seat large crowds for mass.

Inside a priory chapel, I lit a three day candle for £5. Dedicated to my mum after her recent 90th birthday. She is a Carmelite like the priory.

The priory has a long peace garden with flowers on both sides and tiles with the word “peace” written in hundreds of languages. Following that, I explored the rosary garden with some impressive pottery Stations of the Cross.

After collecting a pilgrims stamp at the reception, I crossed an ancient bridge over the Medway (no longer used for traffic) and took a picture of the picturesque town.

The train station turned out to be another three-quarters to a mile away and I was limping. My Achilles was quite sore, but with some rest, I’m hopeful for another walk tomorrow.

There were four churches on the route today. The first was at Boxley. When I went in through the front door, I found myself in a tiny Norman church that has been turned into a porch. They had refreshments for pilgrims. The main church had lots of flower decorations after Easter. It also had “HOPE” written in huge letters at the front.

Although, the Pilgrims’ Way continued as a small road, my guidebook took me along parallel footpaths for the first part of the day. Round the churchyard where there was a tree growing into the wall. Then, through some trees where I was overtaken by two boys and their mum, all hand in hand. One of the boys said, “I hope you’re having a nice walk,” very politely. They left me behind because they were going faster. Also the route directions were not straightforward and I kept rechecking.

The first obstacle was a dual carriage way. I climbed some steps up to it, then walked along and came to a footbridge with a picture of a dancer on the side. A girl of 9 called Jade and her grandma were killed there in the year 2000. There had been two previous deaths of elderly people there. So, the community clubbed together and built the bridge.

The bridge took me to Detling whose church was closed. I carried on from there along a narrow path. When it opened up, I found myself crossing two large fields planted with new vines with protective plastic sheaths. Skylarks twittered over my head.

Then, I came to the next church in Thurnham. Also closed. So no stamp. But a lovely display of daffodils beside the path.

After another footpath and a picturesque double oast house, I rejoined the Pilgrims’ Way. It meandered from side to side, and rolled up and down. The hedgerows were fresh with Spring flowers: dandelions mostly, but also white and red dead-nettle, celandine, wild garlic, and shepherd’s purse. Bumblebees hovered about. The hedges were coming into leaf or blossom. And there was lots of birdsong. Not many cars either. So not bad.

I walked on and on without any change of route until I got to Hollingbourne where there was another oast house. Someone congratulated me on the walk and asked how I was getting on.

The church was open, and I got a stamp to complete my passport of 24 stamps. I’ll need a continuation sheet now as there’s no room left for Canterbury Cathedral.

My leg felt a bit better today but I thought I wouldn’t push it too much. Also I saw there was a bus going back to Maidstone in about a quarter of an hour. So, I sat on a seat and took off my plastic trousers and my support bandages. The bus went through Leeds. Not Leeds, Yorkshire, but Leeds of Leeds Castle.