North Downs Way 4: Brambles, Motorways & A Kilt

North Downs Way 4: Brambles, Motorways & A Kilt

this morning it’s just before 10 I got up late but I was intentional I was like no I need to rest go onwards only around here would you have bits of planes and bits of helicopters a lot of places they have kind of like old cars and you hear a lot of helicopters around here I was heading for this place like perfect there’s the North Downs Way but yeah this is Grubbs Wood it was about 10 minutes down the road it’s typical isn’t it I mean I was happy with where I was this would have been even better you can look on the satellite map it was like 10 just after 10:00 10:30 and I was just knackered it was dark I was like here so it wasn’t a bad place and there’s Whitehill Tower I could have camped right by the tower and there’s a pub just up the road wild camping spidey sense was correct but yeah this is I think it was a folly surprised there’s an information board around here information boards about everything including Chaldon Gateway to the Surrey Hills even better for proper stealth camping is these you could definitely camp over there it looks like there might be some mountain bike rat runs but you can camp down there and that’s like the Graffham Down once you camp in a little hollow you’re quite invisible even for maybe horses there’s quite a lot of geezies around here which means they’re quite high up and we’ll see you no benches for miles and then a sudden rash of them like buses I’m not sure what this is it’s on a viewpoint it’d be nice if these benches were a bit staggered in other places not just all kind of here Caterham viewpoint it’s a bit random spent a lot of money on it though OK I’d be more excited if it had water or toilet bins though and so many benches I’ll be glad I’m gonna get away from the ever present hum of the M25 so that might be the A22 which we’re crossing we’ve seem to be following the M25 for a long way no sign of water so probably I have to go into Oxted or we go through or near Tatfield I think this is not M25 ah a lay-by with a van in it down there very badly sited there’s no way I can get down there apparently we’re at Godstone and there are mines in the area so I don’t know if that’s one of the capped off mines yeah I think according to the map there is actually a pathway to that lay-by it’s the first sign of anything even if I have to buy a bottle of water a coffee would be nice maybe I have a second breakfast cause I was a bit hungry too much wheat anyway I had a really nice baguette and a nice chat with the bloke apparently this is also part of the mine this lay-by and everything is remains of the Godstone mine sadly like many places the toilets are closed you certainly could camp here it’d be very noisy behind that little gate is a lay-by that’s a weird dodgy van what kind of van go down the road like this? strange so it’s nice to chat about walking coastal I told him about the whole Salt Path scam thing were as a coastal walker I was like really when that book came out I was like hmm not sure I believe this this the right way? yes yes North Downs Way easily done I actually did that kind of by accident “oh it is the right way” we talked about piers and coastal walking and long distance walking apparently he knows the guy a friend of mine is reading the series can’t remember the name at the moment [Chris Lewis] the guy that spent six years walking the whole of the coast I wanted to do that in sections and it would have taken me a long lot longer [19,000 miles yes!] and I have done a fair bit of the coast I haven’t done that much got some water he didn’t have tap water but that’s better than nothing so back to walking and Wealden Cave and Mine Society I wonder if they get access to the mines here Unit 2 Cave Research and exploration I wonder that’s Waldingham School this is Marden Park which is Woodland Trust Marden Woods very possible kind of getting a bit worried now because I see so many good sites early in the day you know later on it might be a dearth of them wondered what bored Lumberjacks do they play noughts and crosses it’s the M25 I think yeah and this would have been a really useful map if someone hadn’t destroyed it mentions where I used to live Hindhead Common Frensham C ommon you were here Oxted Downs so update I’m heading towards Kemsing Nature Reserve which is about 11 miles away I hope to make that today if not a fallback position is in 8 miles there is Star Hill now the thing about Star Hill that bothers me there’s this thing called the Fort Halstead I don’t know whether it’s an old Fort or a new fort but it’s it’s got those hatchings that say “range M.O.D.” I don’t want a repeat of Old Winchester Hill your own camping platform that’ll just do a tent nicely haha yeah it is this way down down down down down down I think we’re crossing the M25 again I’ll be very happy when I’m away from the M25 I’m very happy when I’m away from Surrey there’s a footpath that’s rarely used yeah I don’t fancy that yeah more bramble tunnels which seem to have been cut by little people raining again but it’s quite refreshing in a way it’s a gentle rain where it’s not worth putting your jacket on for it’s been mostly sheltered so when it’s been not really chucking it down I’ve been in a wood I’m back into the bramble ugh the bramble tunnels this is a bit of a higher bramble tunnel but yeah you have to watch out for some of the low hangers fnar talking about low hanging this kilt is a lot better but I have to be very careful when I’m sitting down ha ha ha the whole point of the kilt is to be a true Scotsman there’s more air flow more detail than you wanted but this is the issue this is why I didn’t go walking in 30 odd degrees because it’s way worse scenery though not too fond of the M25 yeah it’s Oxted Downs as I mentioned before yeah I mean campable in bits you know always good downs heathlands always common lands are always good places wouldn’t be one of my walks without a cornfield no I’m not gonna make that joke ha ha ha ha ha Field of Dreams no Oxted Downs a sequel part 2 another great view of the M25 another hill and also an old friend Vanguard Way which connects Alfriston so that connects to South Downs Way so that’s a link between South Downs Way and here Kent border 3 miles yes yes we’re leaving Surrey Yay soon Surrey will be gone I grew up there not a fan I can flash the M25 see if I can cause a pile-up! no I wouldn’t don’t think they can even see me from there I hope not anyway ah good place for a bench though of course it started raining again this is an unusual kind of rogue alfresco bench in the middle of nowhere is this a new thing I haven’t bought bottled water for a while you know these fixed things I know they’re very popular in Europe but I do not like them and also yes they don’t fit sports caps or the Sawyer filter but you know what it doesn’t matter this is going to be my spare water bottle I was sitting on a butterfly as well is that Frazzled Skipper Frizzled Grizzled Skipper oh I always like a grizzled skipper is that a moth or a butterfly? but yeah just just in the bench that’s that’s nice bit of art random art random art Oxted your gateway to adventures ha so we’ve done less than eight miles and 12 miles to Otford but what I’m interested in is is it looking at that we’re here and we got another it’s a bit it’s a bit under a third but I’ve done about a bit under a third of it so by the end of the day maybe I’ve done close to a third not to be sniffed at if you do half or over half that’ll be good you can see there’s so many train stations like Maidstone you know Hollingbourne Ashford why I’m not doing the Canterbury loop [yet] I’m just going this way I don’t know if I wanna do the Canterbury bit might do if I really feel like it could do this bit then loop back and go to Ashford or something yeah the other trail I’ve not mentioned is the Greenwich Meridian Trail as well so many trails this is where we say goodbye to the Vanguard Way I think we’re heading up to Botley Hill and it’s chucking it down but I’m under trees so I don’t care ha ha spoke too soon I think rather more insistent rain than what we’ve been having gotta watch out for those trees [sings Pulp lyric] those trees those useless trees jump you when you’re walking as you can hear the rain is rather more insistent persisting it down scenery and it’s stopped raining random art hello I suppose it is art I was gonna say it looks like a bunch of benches built upon time and tide OK it’s a little scenery as well scenery scenery I like the contrast between the ironstone and the sandstone this is a neighbourhood watch area yeah not much neighbourhood to watch another lovely crossing yeah you don’t say you don’t say you don’t say what did he say he didn’t say…an old joke scenery scenery beautiful I love it when it’s this quiet you can barely hear the road wonderful view I actually prefer it this is very open open countryside oh it’s easy to walk Spitfire or Hurricane I don’t know but yeah definitely World War 2 so there’s always a chainsaw appropriately useful compass shame I can’t take it with me oh dear what will the cows do… nothing cows are fine I might find out these are the only vampire cannibal cows in the western world hello one has a ring through it’s nose don’t mind me such beautiful coos don’t want to always keep moaning I know I didn’t moan a lot but I try not to do it especially wait what’s what’s recently happened try to stay more positive I’ve got a lot of things on my mind but I’m not a fan of walking down the side of fields there’s a section here where it’s it’s all along fields corn fields and wheat fields or are they barley I’m not sure we’ve had all kinds of fields not actually going in straight line quite often going around the fields around the houses not a fan other one is livestock fields there’s been a quite a few of those as well again that’s more trying to avoid the cow’s mess I’m wondering if there’s a bull in here the cows I came across is now very chill Kent Surrey border three and three quarter miles oh so we have passed over not into the dark side we passed from the dark side lane! yes surprised there isn’t a boy racer racing down it is it a country lane if there isn’t a boy racer racing down it? beep beep reversing We made that joke on the Tintern camp with Paul *sigh* odd the whole Paul business well… you know odd is not the right word for it the gulf between private and public has been very evident this last week and how it is important to enforce that having seen some of the negatives in a very very small number of people who have seriously overstepped the mark trying to contact me urgently anybody who actually knows me knows how to contact me urgently it’s difficult to talk about it without giving information away and I wanna talk about it I wanna get it off my chest and deal with it I’m also aware that I don’t really wanna share anything I feel like he wouldn’t want me to share so this is kind of weird tightrope balancing happening this week I didn’t really want to be the harbinger of bad news I go wild camping I make hiking videos I review gear that’s it you see that part of my life like with Paul you don’t see the other parts of my life I think it’s this way we are human too and we have things which we don’t share have things that we you know we’re not really wanting to be public and it has been very strange seeing the other side of that curtain with Paul this is why I don’t like those modern things I didn’t close it properly and then I put the pack down and the last of my water went everywhere got no more water now boo the nearest water is about half a mile to a mile away I hope the pubs are open deer gonna bound away in a minute yep one tame deer yeah bits of this are very overgrown luckily you can kind of go around that’s probably why it got so overgrown I got the water from the Three Horseshoes I think it’s called and actually had a shop it was just still open wow ouch I’m getting attacked by ahh! by bramble having to use my trekking poles I was more just seeing interested in that it’s all very fenced I was hoping that wood was there was a bit of wood that you get into but it was very overgrown and not flat ouch but everyone sees that and comes down that lane trackway and just totally skips it I don’t know why I did it to be honest wow view it’s tempting I mean there isn’t any animals in these fields yeah sadly the woods are all fenced off Star Hill hoping it’ll be open I was really tempted there was a bench just to camp by the bench but it was really public and also there’s a big house that looks on to it I think the whole haven’t been the houses have been long way away but there was a big house not too far away and I was like don’t know if they are the owner of the land or another one had lights on hmm yeah I I would be visible for miles very much not stealth camping stupidly probably I’m going on to Kemsing or Otford oh and joy of joys I’m gonna have to cross the M25 again it’s probably gonna be another 10 o’clock job I’m not happy about this but just under 3 miles to Otford Mount just passed Otford my gut feeling was right yesterday it could be very wrong today there are options before then but I really don’t wanna camp by the M26 and A224 I don’t want to be camping right by a motorway that makes noises all night this is ridiculous but it’s beautiful it’s a beautiful sky very beautiful sky but yeah I can’t believe I’m doing this but I just don’t wanna be that visible luckily most of it’s along roads or unluckily hard on my feet I can do it quickly already had to use my sticks against somebody who was speeding down the road it’s quite scary at Dunton Green at the Chevening Cross this is the official North Down Way I’m maybe not selling it to you certainly they’re not selling it to me pavement so overgrown you can hardly use the pavement don’t know if this is the A road or the M25 I think it’s M25 we’re gonna cross it again Yay are you excited did you miss me excitement of the M25 never know if you need one this is something Meadow wood it was the one sandwiched between the M26 the M25 and all that shiz I’m too tired to get to Kemsing I did actually see one down here that was good that’s one down there it’s good but it’s a bit visible just been hacking away the evil bramble ha ha ha got you bramble I’m trying to clear the site as much as possible of stuff what worries me is the bramble I don’t really want any bramble getting underneath but yeah here’s the site it’s not too bad moved all of it from there do not want it do not want I don’t want to recreate the nightmare that was the place in the Chilterns Ashton Keynes there is a path back there but it’s kind of well back and not easy to get here think I’ll be alright tent is up this is where I wish I had more space or my Naturehike yeah it’s a bit of a nightmare to put that up all I have to do I’m knackered it’s 10:30pm I’m hearing noises but I think it’s deer I found last night to be surprisingly cold so now I got my leggings on and woobie out and clipped up it wasn’t too bad just as a blanket it’s not massively cold it’s a bit chilly in this wood I hope that is deer morning it’s 8:00 and I let myself sleep legs are really hurty I’ve not been bothered here didn’t think I would be dog or deer? called the Crown Meadow Woods near the Derwent Valley Path that’s where I am at the moment sandwiched between the M25 and the M26 and you can probably hear them in the background didn’t stop me sleeping this is the closest I’d ever get to a roundabout camp it was a bit quieter at night you know it’s noisy make some breakfast and get out of here yeah you can see what a nightmare it was setting up this tent sandwiched between brambles brambles and tree yeah putting in those pegs is fun though in the brambles did a fairly good job of it actually considering not the best place but I couldn’t have walked to Kemsing or Otford ]it’s only about a mile or two away but I was just knackered my legs are feeling a bit better but I’m a bit trashed today certainly today is very slow going took me ages to put my socks on and shoes on it’s just eurgh it didn’t help that I I slept the wrong way around and the sunshine is out so that’s good made the mistake of reading the comments on Paul’s last video last night yeah I didn’t really want to be crying in a tent they’re really good comments but too much to read yeah notification my phone about I should be on the coach to see Paul today now with the trip we planned I didn’t realise it added it to my phone automatically saying your coach to Leicester is going so hmm I don’t know what this was before but this is a recently planted wood or common land it’s not been a wood for a long time it might be millennial thing whatever it feels like kind of era not really looked after no one seems to come here I was expecting dogs and toddlers and stuff nothing absolutely nothing not exactly the nice kind of wood I prefer but it did time to get some hiking in It’s 10:00 later than I wanted to be and I am tired already I’m hoping getting on the road or on the trail getting away from this meh we’ll hopefully find some water I’ll feel better that was the end of part 4 of the North Downs Way we traveled a distance of 16.25 miles and a total of 60.4 miles I have a question for everybody have you heard any tall tales or strange tales on your trips or walks or hikes? and to my lovely members a question have you camp near a motorway or a busy road? let me know in the comments on screen now will be the next day when it’s available and the previous day when it’s not and I hope you’re all well take care and I’ll speak to you soon

Finding a decent stealth camp spot on the North Downs Way can be a faff, especially when you’re knackered after a long day’s walk. This leg of the trip was a bit of a challenge, with the constant hum of the M25 for a soundtrack.

I ended up pushing on late into the evening, past some spots that looked perfect in hindsight and some that were just a bit too public. Had a good chat with a bloke at a lay-by cafe about long-distance hiking, which was a welcome break. In the end, it was a late pitch in the dark, in a spot I literally had to carve out of a load of brambles. It wasn’t the best place I’ve ever slept, sandwiched between the M25 and M26, but it did the job.

During the walk, I also take a moment to talk about the weirdness of YouTube and the parasocial relationships we all seem to get into. The response to what happened with Paul has been overwhelming, but it’s a strange thing to navigate when there’s a gulf between your public and private life. It’s important to have boundaries.

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Gear I Used:

Tent: Lanshan 2
Backpack: NI British Army Day Pack 30L!
Sleeping Mat: Therm-a-rest NeoAir XTherm
Sleeping: Pelican Woobie Civilian Blanket
Cooking: Firemaple Petrel G3 pot, Speedster Alcohol Stove
Water Filter: Sawyer Squeeze
Jacket: Marmot Precip Eco
Fleece: Berghaus Polar 100
Kilt & Uniqlo Leggings
Trekking Poles: TheFitLife Carbon Fibre

Timestamps:

00:33 – The perfect spot… that I failed to find
01:31 – The best kind of camping is in a hollow
03:16 – A well-deserved baguette at a lay-by cafe
06:20 – The ever-present hum of the M25
10:00 – I will now flash the M25 to see if I can cause a pile-up
17:31 – A chat about YouTube and private life
24:25 – Pitching in the dark after hacking back the evil bramble
26:14 – Good morning from Crown Meadow Woods

Tags:
#wildcamping #stealthcamping #northdownsway #hikinguk #surreyhills