Have you forgotten something?

I expected a certain amount of flack in the aftermath of my “umbrella” post, although one or two trolls did take things further than they perhaps should have done, but my forgetfulness took a new twist last Friday, when I headed out by bus to the village that would see me completing the final section of the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk. That village was Groombridge, which literally straddles the Kent-Sussex border, and my plan was to walk from there to Southborough, a much larger settlement between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells. Two buses were involved, the No. 7 and the No. 291. The first service would take me from my home to Tunbridge Wells where, after a 30-minute wait I could board the second bus to Groombridge.

So far, so good, and the half-hour stop-over would allow me to grab a coffee from Greggs, along with a cheese and salad roll to be consumed alter on the walk. I stepped off the No. 7 and headed towards the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre to make use of the “facilities” before calling in at Greggs. As I walked through the RVP doors, I had the feeling that I was missing something, but what? It was then that it dawned on me that I’d left my map carrier, and its contents, upstairs on the bus that I’d just left behind.

A mixture of annoyance coupled with panic enveloped me, as the map carrier contained both the guidebook for the TWCW, plus the relevant OS map. My initial thoughts were whilst some public-spirited individual would hand them in. 

I would need to visit the Arriva depot at Maidstone in order to retrieve them. I then thought I could perhaps walk this stretch without the aid of map and guidebook. That thought didn't last long though, as despite the presence of way
marks along the trail, these are quite often missing or were non-existent in the first place. This means that walkers need a map, at the very least, and ideally an accurate guidebook as well.The price of the OS map, plus the guidebook, both of which had accompanied me on the previous sections of the walk were additional factors, although by then a plan had formed in my head, and I knew that all was not lost.

The No. 7 Arriva bus runs between Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells at half-hour intervals, and I was aware that after dropping passengers off at the shopping centre, the vehicle would head downhill to the station. It would turn round in order to make the return journey to Maidstone. I hurried back across the road in readiness for its appearance. I could then jump onboard and explain my loss to the driver. The handful of passengers, waiting at the stop were sympathetic to my plight, and kindly suggested I hop on first.

The driver remembered me, along with the map carrier around my neck – Mrs PBT’s claimed it made me look like a “special needs” person, but as no one had handed the item in, he surmised that it must still be upstairs. He left his seat and bounded up the stairs, and there, still on the seat where I’d obviously left it, was my map carrier.

Thanking him profusely, I headed back over the road to Greggs and bought the cheese roll that I knew would sustain me at lunchtime. Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to buy and drink a cup of coffee before the departure of the Groombridge service. With two personal belongings left somewhere in as many weeks, I was starting to get a little concerned, but worse was to come, as I’m about to reveal. I caught the 291 bus, as planned, and then walked along to the start of the trail, at the village's local community centre. The path then took a sort of “dog leg” around Groombridge Place, a 17^th Century, moated manor house, before climbing up towards the equally ancient Crown Inn.

And here we must leave the Tunbridge Wells Circular Walk for a while, although there will be a separate post about this cross-country walk, later on. I made good progress along the trail, but I would quite easily have become lost without the help of that guidebook. That erudite publication shows the distance between Groombridge and Southborough as just over six miles, but they must be “country miles” as the walk seemed considerably longer, especially after I stopped for a rest and a well-earned pint. My choice of watering hole was an obvious one, as the trail goes straight past the front door of the George & Dragon at Speldhurst.

The temperature had been climbing steadily all morning, so I was glad when I strode into the attractive hill-top village of Speldhurst, just after 2pm. This was make or break time, as there was an opportunity to abort the walk at this point, take a bus back to Tunbridge Wells, and continue this section of the TWCW. Stopping for a pint meant missing the bus, so despite being hot, thirsty and tired, a nice cool glass of Harvey’s Sussex Best won the day.

I carefully carried my five-pound pint out into the spacious garden at the rear of the pub, found a shady spot and at down to enjoy this glorious marriage of malt and hops. Apart from a French family sitting just a few tables away from me, I had this part of the garden to myself.  I was sorely tempted to unpack the cheese and salad roll that I’d bought in Greggs earlier, and do a BRAPA – Simon Everitt’s, who is known for his none too subtle habit of eating his own food in pubs, as he works his way through every entry in the Good Beer Guide.

I didn’t, in the end, even though I could have got away with it, but the fact that I’d spotted a comfortable wooden bench, in a shady spot, just outside the churchyard, across the road, meant I had somewhere to enjoy my cheese roll, without causing any embarrassment. I was about two thirds of my way through this most welcome spot of lunch when, like earlier that morning, I realised something again, was missing. 

This time it was my walking stick, and whilst at first, I thought it might have slid under the bench, it definitely wasn’t there. I finished my roll and headed back to the pub, and sure enough there was my stick resting against the white-painted picket fence, where I had left it. I shall let you be the judge over my state of forgetfulness, but twice in one day, and with two different items, takes a bit of doing!