Kent, Swanley: Swanley to Crockenhill

Swanley Railway Station. A2, A20, M25 (J3).

[1] From The Oaks Surgery go forward to Nightingale Way follow pavement on right hand side which runs alongside the railway line (railway line on your right).  At High Street turn right,  cross footbridge over railway.  Turn right into Station Road. (A)

[2]  Continue forward on Station Road and at the end of Station Road

[3]   turn right onto Goldsel Road.  Continue on Goldsel Road, road crosses over railway. Continue until the road crosses over the motorway and turn right onto footpath. (B)

[4]  Follow footpath to end and bear left  into Green Court Road  Continue forward and at the junction with Stones Cross Road (C)

[5]  turn left to continue onto Green Court Road. (D)

[6]  At the t-junction, turn right to continue on Green Court Road.

[7] Turn left into  Seven Acres and follow road round. Just before the end of the houses take a footpath on your right (between houses) and exit  opposite All Souls church,  (E) and turn right into Crockenhill village (F)

[8] Turn right into Broadway and continue into Goldsel Road (village green on your left)  (G)  

[9] Continue on Goldsel Road.  Opposite bus stop and house called "Beaver's lodge"  turn right onto footpath and then left to exit onto Goldsel Road  and turn right to continue down Goldsel Road.  (This very short detour gives a good view over fields but note it is not shown on map (H)

[10] Continue on Goldsel Road to retrace your steps from beginning of walk,  crossing bridge over railway, take left into Station Road, left at the end of Station Road to cross over railway footpath and left into Nightingale Way to follow footpath alongside car park to "The Oaks Surgery" on the other side of the car park.

A. Before turning into Station Road look over to the buildings on the other side of the High Street, opposite the Lullingstone Castle pub, which are some of the earliest buildings in Swanley.  Over one of the shops you can see the sign for the old Swanley Dairy.

B. Coal tax post No 206.  This is on the North side of the railway 500 yds West of Swanley station.  It is not visible from the bridge but you can view if from the railway platform. Coal Tax posts marked the point where levies on coal (and later wine) were due while being carried to the City of London. This legislation was passed in 1667 after the Great Fire of London in order to raise funds for rebuilding the City. Coal Tax posts 201-205 are in Crockenhill.

C. Horses in field. 

D. Cenotaph (see photo)

E. All Souls Church by Nash built 1852.  Worth a look inside. It  has a thirteenth century style hybrid font and unusual rectangular pulpit with the words "Be swift to hear" along its rim.  The South nave window shows six parables and six acts of mercy and is possibly by William Wailes of Newcastle.

F. Earliest documented history of Crockenhill is 1388 when the village hamlet was known as Crockern-Held which translates as "the hill where stands a pottery kiln". Heavy clay soil, sand and woodland provided resources to make tiles for the surrounding area. In the early nineteenth century it was an important area for growing peppermint.  In the 1930's there were 420 acres under cultivation.  Last crop harvested in 1958. By mid 19th Century it was booming with market gardens and grew strawberries some of which went to a jam factory in Swanley.

G. Info best trees.

H. Take an unmarked very short footpath to view of fields.