Darent Valley Landscape Celebration
Published: 13 June 2025
To Lullingstone Castle last week to celebrate the completion of the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme. Led by the Kent Downs AONB Unit, the Partnership brings together an astonishing range of experts in nature, landscape, conservation, history, archaeology and much more, together with local councils (which is how I came to be there). The aim of the project is to protect the landscape and heritage in the Valley, to find out more about it, and to explain it to visitors and to local people.
What has been achieved over the last six years is amazing. The full list of projects completed can be
found online here and you can dig into each of them to discover what’s been learned and what’s worth going to see. On the day we were given a tour of the archaeological digs at Lullingstone Castle itself, which showed that it was originally fortified and the restoration work on some unique buildings in the grounds. We also heard an inspiring talk by Tom Hart Dyke - creator of the World Garden at Lullingstone - on the wider ecology and conservation work along the Valley - from Dartford to Westerham.
The Darent Valley will gain from the project for years to come. Improved access, new paths, and a lots of suggested landscape walks should help open up the Valley to visitors who don’t need to bring cars. I’m particularly impressed by the suite of trails, produced in collaboration with the Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership, which link the stations all along the valley and to the varied landscapes and the historic villages of Farningham, Eynsford, Shoreham, Otford, Chipstead, and further west. They also make it to Sevenoaks town, even though the River Darent itself only just skirt our boundary.
If you were wondering where to go for a walk next weekend, this is on your doorstep! Discover rail trails on the Darent Vallery Community Rail Partnership website here.
