23/07/26 - London Spiral Stage 25 - Knockholt to Farningham Road

Penultimate PleasureThe final two days on the London Spiral act as a metaphor for the whole route. Today, it's lovely countryside walking on great paths. Tomorrow, the grim descent into Gravesend. The route has never been a 100% success but I am not a quitter.The other good things about these final throes - single digit walking.From Knockholt station, two pubs are instantly possible but even I feel the drink needs to be earned. The Bo Beep boasting an existence since 1500.Open, but I haven’t walked enough miles to justify it.Across fields, with views of the distant London skyscrapers and then a long passage through Lullingstone Park and the castle. Dodging golf balls.Nestled in the Darent Valley near Eynsford, Kent, Lullingstone Castle is one of England's oldest family estates, with the Hart Dyke family having owned it continuously since the late fifteenth century. Although described as a castle, the present building is principally a Tudor manor house, incorporating elements of an…