I’m reading Ben Aaronovitch again so magic is very much on my mind and this landscape had it in spades. A fella had stopped me on Leyton High Road during the first lockdown, while I was out on one of my daily walks and told me I had to visit the ‘Lost Village of Dode‘. He then disappeared down the road on his bike before I could enquire further. I made a note on my long list of walks and thought no more of it til one evening a couple of weeks ago when I realised it was not far from the neolithic Coldrum Long Barrow that had been on my list for a few years. The walk formed in my mind.

This expedition into the Medway Valley was blessed with some magnificent early Spring sun – with temperatures hitting 20 degrees (in late March). I was released into the hills and started the climb onto the Downs from the village of Halling, crossing the ancient Pilgrims Way on the way up. Chalk breaks through the tree roots. I cross a field of pylons and a Richard Long style path. The enchantment of the walk never fails. It takes the first couple of hours to process and shake off your worldly worries then they just dissipate and disappear, the walk takes over and you are claimed by the landscape.

The video above maps out what follows. Arriving at Coldrum slightly earlier than expected, ready for a rest and lunch, I sat on a bench in the sun by this 6,000 year old burial chamber for nearly an hour. It was hard to wrench myself away to walk the paths, roads and fields back to the station at Snodland. Now I’ve experienced this terrain on foot, felt it through my boots and in my soul, I’ll certainly return to continue along the Pilgrims Way. It’s going to be a great summer of walks. Hiking season has well and truly begun.