Hi and welcome to the part 2 of our road trip around Westerham, and the Weald of Kent
We're in the south east of England, in the county of Kent
The full route is around 25 miles or 40 km, and this half is just over 11 miles or 19 km
In part one we left the M25 and picked up the A25 before heading to Emmets Gardens, Chiddingstone & Hever Castle
In this part we pickup the story at Hever Castle, before driving across to Edenbridge
Here you can find the National Rail links, for those who want to cycle this route
We then make our way to Winston Churchill's Chartwell before arriving at Westerham
Now, I've a little confession, but we'll get to that later
We'll complete the journey by heading onto Sundridge.
So, did you enjoy your visit to Hever Castle?
Well it's time to hit the road again
Passing St Peter's church on the left, and the Henry VIII pub on the right
Did you check out our recommended accommodation?
Don't worry, I'll pop the links in the description below for those, and some additional ones for Westerham
As in the last video, I will speed up the action in places
But then I'll slow it down for the junctions
Like this one where we will turn right towards Edenbridge
If you want a copy of this route, I will add a link to our Google MyMaps page for the complete trip
Just so you know, this was filmed in mid March, as spring rolls on everything will become a little bit more lush
If you want to discover more of this landscape then I cannot recommend the OS Maps App enough.
Access to detailed maps, with public rights of way at your fingertips.
I'll pop a link in the description so you can find out more
So now we hit the town of Edenbridge
and we're turning right at this junction
To head up the High Street you will want to turn right
but hang on a second, that's not what we did
We followed the signs to the left for free parking
We cross the River Eden on this new bridge and effectively bypass the centre of the town
after half a mile you will be turning right to loop back onto the high street
again following the signs for the free parking
To our left is the approach for Edenbridge Town railway station, so if you do want to cycle this route this is the ideal start & end point
It's also worth noting that through the high street the speed limit drops to a 20 mile per hour
And it is here we're turning left into Croft Lane
It's just a short drive until we turn right into Frantfield and onto the Market Yard Car Park
And we're here on a Thursday, which means it's market day
Edenbridge's market was established by royal Charter from Henry III in 1227
and it can be found here from around 8:00am to 2:00pm
Now let's head onto the high street
and we can unearth some of Edenbridge's history
A good place to start would be the Eden Valley Museum where you can discover more about the town and the wider area
It's free to visit, but we didn't have enough time on our whistle-stop tour
One of the historical facts I discovered was the town grew up around the old Roman Road - The London to Lewes way
and in the middle ages it became home the Wealden iron industry
And there's plenty of historic buildings, such as the 15th century Tanyard House
and other buildings linked to the tanning industry also sprung up at the same time
And then it's great to see family run businesses also thriving in the high street
I love the eclectic mix of shops we were stumbling across.
We now reach the bridge over the River Eden, dating from 1836
and here's the River Eden herself, it's water from here that feeds the lake at Hever Castle
As we approached the town from the south I noticed a few more buildings that were worth checking out, so let's go and have a look
The cottages in the centre date from the 16th-century but were embellished in the 18th
Likewise the Old Vicarage has a 16th century heart but a later modifications
The Old Eden can also trace her routes back to the same period
We're now making our way back to through the town towards St Peter and St Paul's Church
So what's your thoughts? does Edenbridge make a worthy stopover? Leave us a comment we'd love to hear from you
And now we find ourselves at St Peter and St Paul's Church
The earliest fabric of the Church dates from the late 11th/early 12th century.
but as with many churches of this period, updated and rebuilt over the centuries
and as you can see we've found a cemetery we're off for a wander
So we're back in our car again and we're off to Chartwell, but we're not following the signposted route
With a left at the end, and a right when we hit the high street we get another change to take in Edenbridge.
Now, I know I said we are not following the signposted route
but we are turning right towards Westerham and Chartwell
It'll all make sense in a minute
So here we are, right towards Westerham, and also Edenbridge's other railway station - Edenbridge (Kent)
Actually, we won't be passing it, because it's where our route deviates from the signposted one
We'll be turning right here towards Tonbridge and Sevenoaks
Hopefully you're enjoying the trip, don't forget to give us a like, it really helps, and why not subscribe to follow along on future journeys
The reason for our detour is because you get to see a little more of the countryside. It's also the shorter route too.
We now reach the village of Four Elms
We're going to be turning left here, just past the duck pond, following the sign for Chartwell
At this junction we're turning right, there's a brown tourist sign for Chartwell
As I mentioned this is a lovely route for cyclists
But remember to give them plenty of room if you're driving
At least a meter and a half, but more if possible, especially if you are travelling at speed.
Once you see the wood fencing on your right, you know you're close
Then the brickwork and the house, but you're not quite there yet
In fact, you'll first pass the exit to the car park
Carry on and you will arrive at the entrance on your right
And here is the house that Sir Winston Churchill loved so much
Where he relaxed in his drawing room with his wife Lady Clementine
You can see his study where he wrote some of those rousing wartime speeches
We have a complete video of the house and gardens at Chartwell, where you can also meet Jock, I'll pop a link in the corner
It's from here you get some stunning views over the Weald of Kent
Those for an eye for detail may notice something, this was shot in late September
When you visit don't miss his art studio, another side to the man
I think if you plan to take on this road trip, Chartwell is unmissable
The National Trust have done an amazing job of preserving Winston Churchill's home, and telling the story of the family man
I will pop a link to the National Trust website for Chartwell in the description for further information
Back on the route again, and turning right out of the car park, the next destination is Westerham
At the junction at the end we're going to be turning right
In under a mile you will have reached the outskirts of Westerham
At the end of this road we will have reached the A25. We are going to turn left, but you may want to turn right. I will show you why in a moment.
Opposite us is the National Trust Quebec House
I am going to drive all the way through Westerham and return to show you the town, and the best place to park
Remember this is the A25, and it does get busy
And now we reach Westerham's 'Village Green'
Now I am not denying Westerham is a town, but it does have a really nice village feel to it.
Ah, and now confession time
Once we have looped back and parked up I am going to show you a snippet of Westerham
Don't worry, I am going to create a full video of Westerham, and you're not going to miss it because you've subscribed, so all is good right?
The problem was time, and I didn't want to rush Westerham, so what you have is an amuse bouche taster of the town
Anyway back to the driving . So the plan is to drive to the outskirts of town and turn around an head back
I want to show you that parking is challenging, but help is at hand
That in front of us by the way is the old forge
dating from sometime in the 16th century
If you wonder where I get all my facts on the history of the building, well it's HistoricEngland.Org.UK
I'll pop a link in the description so you can follow that.
That on the left is not a public car park - don't be fooled
Okay, now time to turn around
When we return to Westerham I will be giving you plenty more history of the lovely little town.
Another don't be fooled, the General Wolfe on our left is not a Pub, it used to be, but not anymore
and now a little bit of peace from me so you can enjoy Westerham
And now as we approach Quebec House here's the tip for parking
Just past here on the left hand side is the town's car park. Please check, but at the time of recording the first three hours were free of charge.
The are costs if you want to stay longer but the rates are reasonable
Now let's take a look at our glimpse of Westerham
Starting with the statue to Sir Winston Churchill on the 'Village Green'
And the statue to Major-General James Wolfe
And this is Westerham on a beautiful day in October
Once again it has a huge array of independant shops offering you something different
As well as a choice of different places to be fed an watered
I will pop some links of places you may want to stay in the description for you to check out.
If you're in town do try to check out Quebec House, the childhood home of James Wolfe
I'll include a link in the description to the National Trust website, and cover the story in more detail in our full video
He's an interesting fellow who keeps appearing in our history
Anyway, time to complete this road trip
and turning left out of the public car park we are now heading east along the A25
There's a couple more places I want to show you enroute and then I'm going to relase you onto the M25
The first of those is the village of Brasted
Now I can call this a Village Green on our left
And now we reach Sundridge
This is the half of the village we didn't see in part one of this road trip
And if we were to turn right at this junction we would start the loop again with Emmetts Gardens just up the road
But for us we continue our journey towards the M25
and I think nows as good a time as any to say our farewells
Thanks so much for watching
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Stay safe, stay well, and happy travels