Yesterday I got out of London, though still in London! London is a funny city. You have central London and then you have the suburbs trailing into different counties. Yesterday it was Kent. Here you feel far from London and there is so many walk options. My guide for the day was a very good friend who lives close to such lovely green spaces. I took the train from Waterloo East. It was such a quiet journey, and when I got off at Hayes, I was the only passenger! Right now I think it’s safer on the train than in a supermarket. As I got off, the cleaning staff were ready to go on and spray and wipe down. People are really staying away from public transport and I aim to make the most of it while it’s so quiet.
After lunch in my friend’s garden we set off for the first part of our walk through Well Wood. This whole area, including the second part of the walk across Hayes Common, was owned by the wealthy in the past – lots of big houses and farmland. There is much history, including the possibility that King Henry VIII courted Anne Boleyne here when she was visiting her aunt who had a house at Wickham Court. Apparently Henry hunted in Addington. In 1580 the aunt’s house sold to the Lennard family who lived there for 300 years.
But by bit land was sold off by the big landowners. You can read about the many different mansions here where you can also read the history of the area as it developed through the ages.
When the last of the Lennard’s died, in the early 1930’s, their son, who had emigrated to Canada, sold off part of the estate to the Morrell’s (builders) who built Coney Hall, Wickham Court Farm and Rouse Farm. These were bought by Kent County Council as Green Belt as there were concerns about London’s expansion outwards.
Hayes Common (also known as Wickham Common, well there were two names side by side) takes you through an Iron Age Fort. We only walked a small portion of the woods and common, and we took our time over it. The day was humid and the wildlife was abundant. We saw masses of butterflies and moths flitting from plant to plant. It’s hard to believe that central London is just 38 minutes by train from here.
Earthworks 
Earthworks
My London+ 