Tuesday 19th December 2017. An ascent of Wrotham Hill 235m/129m, North Downs, Kent, from Wrotham. 7.3km with 140m of ascent. 1hr 45mins.

Down in the deep south again visiting my father, I took a few hours out, in the prospect of fine weather, for a hike up to this summit on the North Downs ridge. I parked on the western edge of Wrotham - an attractive village typical of Kent, complete with a traditional oast house, now converted into a dwelling. Oast houses were constructed for the drying of the hops used in the beer-making process (on which, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oast_house).

I hiked in a loop around the village past the parish church, picking up the route of the ancient Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury, now part of the North Downs Way hiking and biking trail. I followed this west for a kilometre or two along the bottom edge of the chalk downland escarpment until I reached a lane. I took this north, steeply, up onto the plateau through deciduous woodland. The sun was shining and it almost felt like summer, with that sense of freedom that only summer can bring. However, the leafless sleeping beechwood was a constant reminder of the true season of the year.

As the lane levelled off on the plateau a low fence had to be tackled to give me access to the field on which the summit lay. The field was cultivated, so I followed its edge in a loop around to the trig point - as good a place as any thereabouts for the highest point. I also wandered around the field edge and entered the forest of pine, fir and oak to the east, but nowhere seemed higher.

My return route was as my outward one. The cloud thickened as I reached the car and the wind strengthened. The brief interlude of summer in winter was at its end.