Hi, and welcome to our Darenth Valley road trip
and this is the second, and final part of this journey
and I hope you like what we put together
don't forget to give us a big like if you, do we'd appreciate that
so just to recap we're in the southeast of the UK in the county of Kent
and this 17-mile journey starts at junction 3 of the M25
and in part one we visited the villages of Farningham and Eynsford
and we pick up from there heading onto the villages of Otford, Shoreham
before taking a loop around to Lunningstone
and then returning to the start of this journey at junction 3 of the M25
so without further ado let's continue this journey
and we're continuing south on the eastern side of the Darenth Valley
heading along the A225
And there are a few lay-bys on our left-hand side allowing you to go and explore further
or you can just look over to the right and taking the views over the valley
it should be quite a nice route for cyclists, albeit a little busy on this stretch of the route
And the great thing is we're shadowing the railway line
We passed Eynsford station a little earlier in part one
and we're now passing under the railway line here
and I'll point out the other stations as we pass them on the route
and here's the first one; to our right-hand side Shoreham station
and a detour should you wish to cut out Otford
but I think Otford's worth taking a look at. We'll take a peek in a second
and in no time at all we arrive at the outskirts of Otford
and for reference the distance between Eynsford station and Otford station is around about four miles
but before that, we've got this sharp right, and we're following the road towards Sevenoaks
and that's a video for another time
and it's only a short journey down the hill on our left-hand side
and you'll come across Otford station
and as we arrive at Otford you'll come across one of its truly unique features
a listed duck pond in the centre of what is a sort of roundabout
and we're heading straight on along the High Street
and our first glimpse of this pretty little Kent village
now just along here on our right-hand side is the village's car park
It's free to park for the first hour and then there's a small free for additional hours should you need
and here we, are let's head in
So here we are at Otford
now let's take a look around this historic village
and the stroll up and down the high street reinforces that very traditional feel this place has
and you knew it won't be long before I found my first pub didn't you
and as always, I get to look but not taste
and commissioned for the millennium is this wonderful mosaic
that charts the village history over time
and boy what a history
from the iron age onwards almost every step of English history is captured here
and with places to eat and drink, I think it has to be one of those places to visit in Kent
it has its own unique charm about the place, what do you think?
and what do you think of the listed village pond?
in the center of a roundabout
it makes it a challenge to get to you know
Taking a stroll past Saint Bartholomew's church, we're gonna head towards Otford palace
or the Archbishop's Palace, or should I say the remains of
I'm gonna pop a link in the description so you can read a little more
but this palace was once probably of equal size to Hampton Court
but all that remains now are just a few ruins
so that concludes our time in Otford, and it's time to hit the road again
heading out the car park, and turning right
the journey out of the village will give us a chance to look at some more of the architecture and old houses
and on our left-hand side, we've got Pickmoss, a late 16th-century half-timbered building
and now we cross the River Darent, on to our next village of Shoreham
and now we're going to get a little bit more rural
We're taking this road off to our right and things are going to get a little narrow from here on
if you happen to be driving a big vehicle like a motorhome then it's probably worthwhile
taking the next right rather than this turning but I'll let you be the judge
and at this junction, we're going to be turning right
this is where if you had taken the next right junction earlier, you'd also join the route
now we're heading north up the western side of the Darenth Valley
and this is why I love exploring Kent
and it's only a couple of miles before you reach our next destination of Shoreham
and great news it's got a free car park on our right-hand side
So let's go and explore Shoreham them
and doesn't it just look picture-postcard perfect
to me there's something quintessentially English about the place
now according to Shoreham's wiki page
this was the most bombed village in the UK during the second world war
but I find that hard to believe because there's still so many beautiful buildings about
Shoreham also has another little surprise it's home to the Shoreham aircraft museum
and I'll drop a link in the description below
and Shoreham is one of those places that does seem to be caught in a little bit of a time warp but we love it for that
and you guessed it here's the first of the pubs; The Crown, at the far end of the village
and we're going to head back towards Church Street and take a wander down towards the River Darent
and the next pub is another historical one; The King's Arms
and we now reach the River Darent
In the opposite direction is the war memorial but there were children playing around it
so we decided not to capture it
instead, we decided to head up the hill towards the village church
and just five minutes further up the road, you'll find Shoreham station
this is Saint Peter and Saint Paul's church whose history dates back to Norman times
however, it has some newer sections, needed after some bomb damage during the Second World War
and that concludes our look at Shoreham
it's time to get back on the road and head out of the village
as we finally reach the end of the High Street we come across this rather unusual junction
where you sweep round to the left even though
we're going to be turning right down Shacklands Road into Castle Farm Road
I love this little mini English road trip
you need to keep your eyes open because of the high hedges
and make a note of where the passing places are should you need to give way
at the end of the road we're going to be turning right
and this is probably one of the best views that we're going to get of the Dareth Valley
and here we have a kind gentleman who's flashed us to let us pass - thank you
and as we follow the road round to the left we're gonna come across Castle Farm
I'll pop a link in the description below but if you come during the right season
there's lavender fields you can visit but the rest of the year the farm shop is open from
Tuesday through to Sunday so you can pop in and pick up some local produce
another attraction close by if you want to discover the countryside
is Lullingstone Country Park
there's a car park to our left-hand side
and there is a small fee, hence some people decide to park in some strange places
we're going to be rejoining our route from earlier and heading back towards Eynsford
which you may remember from part one of this journey
if you didn't catch that, I'll pop up a link at the very end of this video
The reason I'm taking you back this way towards Lullingstone, our next destination
is there's a few more attractions you can pick up on this route
and here we are back on the outskirts of Eynsford again
and once again passing under that railway line
and as I said in part one Eynsford is a beautiful little village
and one i remember funnily from my childhood
and now I get to choose ford or bridge
ford or bridge - well of course it's got to be the bridge
who wants to look like an idiot hey
and as we head out of Eynsford we follow the road along Lullingstone Lane
it won't be long before you come across Eynsford viaduct
one of those magnificent pieces of Victorian engineering
and not long after we pass through the viaduct on our right-hand side is the Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation
Once again I'll pop a link in the description so you can find out more about what's on offer
and then there's another place I've got for you to visit
and this is Lullingstone Villa, the remains of a Roman Villa managed by English Heritage
it's free to enter for members, and car parking is also free for members
once again i'll drop a link in the description
and as we make our way along this bumpy road enjoying the views as we go
we come to the final attraction of the day which is Lullingstone Castle
a 15th-century castle and magnificent gardens
now the sad truth is we've just run out of time so maybe one for another day
but to help you decide if this is for you and something you wish to add to your itinerary for your Kent road trip
I'll pop another link in the description
boy this description is going to be full
and to some of you, this may seem familiar
well you might have seen the TV series 'Save Lullingstone Castle' and the follow-up series
'Return to Lullingstone Castle' filmed in 2006 and 2007
as I said we need to return
but for now, we need to head back along the same road, and back out towards Eynsford
however, before we hit the village proper, we need to turn left down Sparepenny Lane
do you remember that from part one?
Yep we're heading back to Farningham to complete this loop
and at the end of Sparepenny Lane we're turning left up London Road
when we reach the end of this road we'll be joining the A20
and then it's just a short hop
maybe a mile or so until we've reached the M25
so that brings this mini English road trip to a close, which direction are you going to be heading
we really hope you like what we put together here
if you do then give us a like we'd really appreciate that
it just leaves me now to say, stay safe, stay well, and happy travels