Tom sets a cracking pace.
We set off at a blistering pace from Petts Wood along the route we tried when we first discovered the Loop.
Fred strolls through suburbia.
After the woods came the suburbs.
Deep in the forest.
Then came more woods.
The route is blocked.
We bravely negotiated all obstacles in the way.
Fields down to Farnborough Village.
Farnborough was as far as we made it last time.
Tom and Fred - knackered already.
This bench marks the spot where we took a wrong turn all those weeks ago. No mistakes would be made this time.
Taking the middle way.
Someone likes flowers at their house.
We passed through the village of Farnborough and the old church grounds.
Approaching the Church
St. Giles the Abbot Church
The back of the church.
The way to High Elms Country Park.
After negotiating lots of fields, we approached High Elms Country Park.
Some nice trees.
High Elms Country Park
Mushrooms at the park.
An ancient tree corridor.
High Elms Country Park is 400 acres, and has a golf course and a useless Eton Fives court, which nonetheless is quite historic.
Country lanes.
House in the country lanes
The old farmhouse bell.
This bell on the old farmhouse was used to tell workers when lunch started and finished.
More fields.
More country lanes.
Horse!
All sections of the Loop seem to contain at least one horse.
Tom and Fred ask the way.
Beautiful wheat fields.
The wheat fields continue.
Wheat rocks!
An ancient hedged way, took us along past beautiful wheat fields, and the sun came out too!
Flowers rock too!
The lovely poppies.
Holwood House.
On top of the hill behind this house is a bench to commemorate the meeting between William Wilberforce and the Prime Minister to abolish slavery. There were lots of old people hanging around blocking the path.
The source of the Ravensbourne.
Keston Ponds.
Nature on Keston Ponds.
These ponds were created in the 19th century to provide Holwood House with a water supply.
Fred is tired by the pond.
Out again into civilisation.
West Wickham Common noticeboard
The Corporation of London put this up in 1882. We are very grateful for all the land that they stopped people from building on.
The rules of the common.
There were a lot of strange rules in the old days.
Looking down on Keston
A very old tree.
This tree stump is REALLY old.
The Domesday Oaks are thought to be possibly 700 years old. Yep, 700!
Tom tries to push over the very old tree stump.
Hayes station.
We finished at Hayes station, which is a dead end train wise, as it happens.