When I was a graduate student in London I would often escape city life for the day to go walking in the countryside. I took these photos on a celebratory hike near Eynsford, Kent, soon after finishing my exams for the year.
Eynsford is a small village just outside the M25 (the motorway that surrounds Greater London), about 21 miles southeast of Central London; getting there involved taking a city bus to Victoria Station and then changing trains along the way. The ‘ford’ in the name Eynsford is actually still in use, as can be seen in the first and last images. And no, the dark clouds were not added for dramatic effect—the storm broke soon after the last of the field shots. Luckily I was almost to the line of trees by then and managed to avoid getting completely soaked.
These photos are the first in a series that will document some of my favorite country walks near London. All of these walks are easily accessible by train from Central London.
