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THE VALE OF EYNSFORD. 
-}. The finest locality in England. - 1 - 
— <wmm. 
The folloiving has appeared in nearly all the London Tapers: 
■■ 7 HAVE often thought it is a pity that Eynsford is not two hundred 
miles from London, instead of eighteen. If it were in Devonshire 
instead of the most accessible portion of Kent, its grey ruined castles, 
its interesting old churches, and its quaint picturesque villages would be 
known and appreciated as they deserve. The river itself, with its swift 
and limpid current, is not unworthy of comparison with a Devon stream. 
'? > Now it twists and lingers under rich overhanging foliage of elm and ash, hazel 
and alder ; then it intersects the brightest of green pastures, where the red and 
white kine lie dreaming in the sunlight. Near the village it widens and frets 
over the shallows till pebbles gleam and sparkle like shells in the transparent clearness. 
After leaving Shoreham a path leads through willow-fringed meadows and hop gardens. 
The river Darenth glides out of sight among the shady recesses of Sir W. Hart Dyke’s 
castle and park. The walk hence to the little early English church of Eynsford is the 
most exquisite piece of the whole river, which here and there broadens into the loveliest, 
of lakelets, banked by luxuriant foliage, whose glowing tints are repeated in the placid 
surface below. The park is open to the public ; and a day may well be spent rambling 
knee-deep in fading bracken, amid its delicious glades of beech, oak, and yew. In any 
ease the hill should be climbed, for the sake of the glorious view of the valley. 
Still keeping the river path, one comes upoji the village of Eynsford, set deep in 
apple and cherry orchards, with features of its own. A winding street of half-timbered 
houses leads over a rambling old bridge to the ivy-girt rustic church. This was 
originally Norman, and there is still a fine Norman arch to be seen beneath the old 
wooden porch. 
From Eynsford to Farningliam is but a mile, the last part across fields. Or half- 
way up the western hill a true Kentish lane leads, between hedgerows gay with berries, 
to the same spot. Farningliam is a capital place for head-quarters, with clean and 
comfortable inns, a rich choice of rambles, and, if desired, some miles of trout fishing 
Eynsford is almost within sight of Swanley— distance by rail, two miles. 
C 160 ) 
