Two posts in one

Oh dear. We have been somewhat in remiss when it comes to posting on here. Doesn't bode well for the full event, does it? Ne'er mind, here's two ripsnorting walks to tell you about.

Three weeks ago, John, Lloyd and Al (with a couple of interlopers) yomped from Tonbridge to Sevenoaks. As both John and Lloyd grew up in Sevenoaks, this was a time to remember the good old days of teenage angst and unbearable boredom, and as we clambered up a bridle path which ran the height of River Hill, it was the angst we remembered most. But at the top of the hill we wandered into Knole Park, catching glimpses of Lloyd's alma mater Sevenoaks School (cue several mutterings from John about "public school bastards") and remembering that Sevenoaks, for all its faults (4x4s, more Tories per square inch than anywhere on earth, an incessant obsession with property prices) is actually a very beautiful place. And if you fancy a pint of Harvey's (of which more in a future post, we hope), there's no finer venue than the White Rock in Underriver.

Fast forward three weeks to, er, yesterday, and Lloyd, Tris and Al met at Victoria and yomped enthusiastically down the river, through Wandsworth, Fulham, Putney, Barnes and Kew and on down to Richmond. Highlights of this walk were wildlife, including a woodpecker, four herons sitting in a tree down by the water, and gaggles of very attractive joggers to divert a working stiff from the job in hand. And it rained at the end, an enormous tropical downpour that reminded all of us of the importance of proper clothing. Still, we made it into Richmond damp but otherwise unscathed, a walk of 15 miles or so, and finished with a pint and a decent chilli con carne in The Old Ship in Richmond (having already stopped for a sneaky snifter at The Ship in Barnes - uncanny).

No Harveys on this trip, though. Boo!