Swanley to Dartford
A station-to-station walkKentSouth East England
A largely flat, over-70%-off-road walk on field paths along a broad ridge and beside the River Darent on the Darenth Valley Way, through Central Park and the Brooklands Lakes. Some narrow roads, multiple stiles and concrete steps. Underfoot is asphalt and gravel and dirt. Uses the marked Darenth Valley Way. The noise of the A2 and M25 is pervasive around Hawley. Central Park in Dartford has public toilets; possible bus service in Hawley.
Lunch: Near Hawley there is a garden centre cafe, an eat-in bakery and The Chequers pub in Darenth a short way off route.
Warnings: Cross the A225 / Hawley Road straight away heading north, as it soon becomes an uncrossable dual carriageway. Shirehall Road through Hawley is very patchily pavemented. Multiple stiles, some rickety, and a paddock with an electric fence.
Credits
Walk details: Slow Ways.