WALK REPORT Did a solo trip to Leeds Castle yesterday (I wasn’t kidding when I posted on Saturday that there was still “space available”) and boy, was it nice out. Three weeks of rain have finally broken and given way to summer.

I used the time on my own to research an alternative route out of Harrietsham following unmarked footpaths that tunnel beneath the London-Paris Eurostar line and meet up with the original path near Fairbourne Mill.

Apologies for the lack of people in these pictures. I know it’s more fun when are faces to look at. Maybe next time! [walk profile]

For this photo stream I’ve mapped the location of each shot – numbers correspond to locations on the map at the bottom of this post.

1 of 15. My train out in the morning was packed until we reached Maidstone in Kent, where nearly everyone got off to go watch the cyclists pass through town on the first day of the 2007 Tour de France – it started in England this year.

2 of 15. Sign for Lenham Sports Cars in Harrietsham.

3 of 15. This is The Roebuck pub in Harrietsham, a good place to grab a drink before the walk (probably best to keep it non-alcoholic at this stage of the day though). Lynne, the shot I took of you pulling a pint was out of focus – I’ll have to try another one next time.

4 of 15. A ewe and lamb in a field by the River Len.

5 of 15. The millpond at Fairbourne Mill, one of a string of 27 now-defunct watermills dotted about along the River Len.

6 of 15. Woodland view on Fairbourne Lane.

7 of 15. Caution: ducks crossing! On the hill up to Fairbourne Manor Farm.

8 of 15. The wheat is beginning to golden. Times I’ve done this walk before it was quite green. That’s common mallow (Malva sylvestris) in the foreground, with some distinctly Simpsons-like clouds as a backdrop.

9 of 15. My map and the charred remains of a book I found in Kings Wood. This was at the same spot where we’d discovered a small treasure some weeks before.

10 of 15. Graveyard and church tower at St Margarets, Broomfield.

11 of 15. A flock of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) on the Great Water at Leeds Castle.

12 of 15. Water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides) in a stream bed near Leeds Castle.

13 of 15. Red campion (Silene dioica) in woodland near Leeds Castle. I liked how the light fell on these flowers – but I needed several takes to capture it properly.

14 of 15. When your subject’s moving at 186mph, you don’t have a lot of time to practice your photography. At least I caught some of the train! This Eurostar is on its way from London to Paris.

15 of 15. Last pub of the day. The Windmill in Eyhorne Street near Hollingbourne.

This map shows the route I took. The numbers show where the pictures above were shot.

You can do this walk too! Read the walk description here.