NCN 21

NCN 21 is route 21 of the National Cycling Network which goes from somewhere in London, down to the Channel at Eastbourne.  I did not cycle all of it, but certainly a picturesque part.

I set off about 09:15.  The first part of the route was on a secondary road heading south, but after Crawley, I turned east and most of the next section was on an old railway section which is an elevated ride through the Medway river valley.  Today it was leaf strewn and, thanks, to the big storm of last weekend, many branches and in some instances, trees across the path.  It meant that most of the ride I was concentrating on the path instead of the fabulous scenery so that twigs didn't end up in my spokes.  The further east I got -- I started in Surrey, cycled through Sussex, and ended up in Kent -- the more rolling was the countryside.  The roads are narrow with no shoulders, but the drivers are amazingly considerate and careful of the cyclist.  There were some wrong turns and I have not cycled this much in quite some time, but after 55 km, I did arrive at Scotney Castle.

I am a puzzle person -- sudoku, crosswords, jumble, and picture puzzles.  About 25 years ago, I had a 4,000 piece picture puzzle which took 3 months to complete.  It was of Scotney Castle.  I had no idea where that was and it took some searching (yes, there was life before google) to find that Scotney Castle was at Royal Tunbridge Wells.  Actually it is just outside of Lamberhurst which is southeast of the other city, but Royal Tunbridge Wells is the closest big city.  And Google maps provided a great route for the ride.  The Castle which I saw in the puzzle was the Old Castle, and there is now a new house up on the hill.  The Old Castle has a moat and the main building is now in ruins.  I arrived about 2 pm and knew I did not have much time for my visit.  It was a walk around for photos, but no visit to the new house, which, I am sure, would be lovely -- maybe someday.  I celebrated my visit with a cream tea at the teahouse and then it was back on the bike.

I knew that I could only ride till just after 4 pm since the sun sets about 4:30 and the road is very sheltered by trees so it darkens quickly.  I managed to ride back to a train station by 4.  I knew I would be able to take the bike on the train, but wasn't sure about the bike since it wasn't a folding one.  First train north to Tonbridge.  Second train west to Redhill, Third train to Horley.  I made it back to the hotel at 7 pm.

What a wonderful day!