ANCIENT AND MODERN

Most afternoons, Barney and I go for at least an hour`s walkies but this afternoon, we got a bit lost. I try to take him to different places so that he doesn`t get bored with the same walks so today I put him in the boot of the car and drove to Trottiscliffe Church, where I parked and set off on what seemed to be, from the OS map, a fairly gentle circular walk. We left the church and took a footpath up to the Pilgrims Way, the 119-mile ancient trackway from Winchester to Canterbury, which we stayed on for a while before heading down another path signposted `Coldrum Stones.`

Now, the Coldrum Longbarrow (pictured above) is the least-damaged megalithic longbarrow in Kent and takes its name from the now demolished Coldrum Lodge Farm. It is possible the name 'Coldrum' derived from the old Cornish word 'Galdrum' which means 'place of enchantments'. Owned by the National Trust since 1926 in memory of local antiquary Benjamin Harrison, an Ightham historian, this 3,000 year-old burial chamber is the only one in the Medway Valley to remain virtually intact.

For all that though, Barney didn`t seem too`enchanted` by the history so much as by the chance to scamper through the adjacent fields and wallow his way down the muddy path. Keeping an eye on him meant that I missed the `turning` which would have taken us back to the church. Instead, we found ourselves going down the Wealdway - an 80-mile long distance footpath from Gravesend to Eastbourne - and before long I decided that we had better keep going, on the assumption that we were bound to come to a proper road soon. Eventually we did and we soon found a path across muddy fields of winter wheat which took us back to where the car was parked.

It was a long walk but worth it to be out in the air, getting some exercise with man`s best freind for a companion. The route was interesting, not just for the Coldrum Stones but also for the contrast between that ancient construction of 3,000 years ago and the thunderous din of the modern M20 motorway which we could hear for much of the way. I was surprised to see catkins out in early December and, as the sun set on the distant hill, the scene reminded me of Rowland Hilder, the local artist who brought so much of this part of Kent to life in his glorious landscapes. Not sure Barney was too bothered about that either though, for by now his mind was clearly focussed on getting home and getting his tea. Me too.