Up to Biggin Hill Airport, and down to Darwin's Downe

Join me as we leave behind London surburbia and head out into the Kent countryside. This walk takes us under the flight path for Biggin Hill Airport and we might be lucky enough to see a couple of biz jets arrive or take off! We'll also pass by Darwin's Down House and through the pretty village of Downe with its Grade II* listed church and pretty houses. 

Points of Interest 

Hayes is a suburban area of southeast London and part of the London Borough of Bromley. It is located 11 miles (18 km) south-east of Charing Cross. An ancient parish in the county of Kent, Hayes was within the Orpington Urban District that became part of Greater London in 1965. Notable residents include William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768 and his son William Pitt the Younger, who was the last prime minister of Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800 and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom from January 1801.

Biggin Hill Airport is probably best known for the role it played defending London from enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain. However, it was one of ten airfields in south east England established during the First World War to intercept German Gotha bombers. It also took part in the first air-to-air wireless conversation in July 1917. From the July 1940 until October 1940 the Biggin Hill Sector formed a crucial part of Fighter Command’s 11 Group, defending London and the South-East from enemy aircraft. 

As military technology especially Jet Fighters continued to develop with the advent of The Cold War. No. 41 Squadron arrived in 1951, equipped with Meteor VIIIs, converting in 1955 to Hawker with Hawker Hunter F5s. The Royal Air Force display team, the Red Arrows, gave their first UK display there in 1965. In 1992, the military had gone and Biggin was home to only civilian, private small propeller-driven aeroplanes. 

Downe is a charming village, with much of the centre remaining unchanged; the former village school now acts as the village hall. The word Downe originates from the Anglo Saxon word dūn, latterly down, hence the South and North Downs. When Charles Darwin moved there in 1842, the village was still known as Down. Its name was changed later in the 1940s to Downe, to avoid confusion with County Down in Ireland.

Down House belonged to the great scientist Charles Darwin, who lived here for 40 years until his death in 1882. After moving to the house in 1842, Darwin and his wife, Emma, remodelled the house and its extensive gardens, which Darwin used as an open-air laboratory. It was here that Darwin developed his theory of evolution by natural selection and wrote his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859). 

Note, we will stop opposite Down House for lunch (if dry) so it might be possible to visit the house, but for a max 30 mins. There is a cafe, but to access it you need to either pay the admission fee or be an English Heritage member. 

The route (please click the link to see it in the OS app):

From Hayes station it's a 5 minute walk to reach Hayes Common. We'll cross the common and the A232 before our decent through Coney Hall, to pick up a footpath through the village of Nash. We'll then head south crossing the busy A233 and picking up a path towards Biggin Hill Airport. By now you should be able to hear and smell arriving and departing aircraft. We follow a footpath under the flight path and pass by the runway landing lights and around the airport perimeter fence, before turning off and taking an access road through West Kent Golf Club. There's a short steep ascent to the outskirts of Downe, then a 5 minute walk to Down House. I plan to stop here for lunch, but read the options below in 'Food and Drink'. After making our way through the charming village of Downe we'll walk back across farmland, tracks and paths to Keston Common and the village of Keston then Hayes Common again arriving back at Hayes station. 

After
Join me for a drink at the New Inn pub located directly opposite Hayes station. 

New Members

Please feel free to join this as your first OutdoorLads event. If you have any questions then feel free to message me, or go to the "My First Event" section under "About Us".

Dogs

I love having dogs on my walks and this one is suitable for them, although it will partly be along lanes. Your dog must be responsive if it is off the lead. 

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All photographs are my own taken in March 2024.