Trosley country park

A sunny afternoon with no commitments was a great opportunity for myself and the Curse to get out of London for a couple of hours, so we drove down to Trosley country park near Meopham in Kent for a leg stretch. This is one of several small country parks that are within a relatively short drive of us and are a great fall-back for walks when you can't be bothered to pore over maps or search the internet for suggestions.

They are easy to find, have car parks, cafes and toilets, and also have waymarked routes ranging from one to six or seven miles.

I'd planned to do the Coldrum trail at Trosley - it's about six miles long and takes you along the ridge (great views south over Kent) then down through fields to the Coldrum longbarrow and eventually back up to the cafe where they have a roaring wood-burning stove in front of which to warm up with a cup of tea.

However it soon became clear that descending the steep paths of the ridge would be tempting broken limbs - the paths were still thick with snow and compacted ice. Instead we contented ourselves with a slippery stroll on the path that runs the length of the park along the ridge, then back through the woodland.

It was late afternoon and the trees were alive with tits and jays flitting around and searching out whatever they could find to eat. In a largely brown, black and white landscape it was almost shocking to see the pink smears of yew berries on the snow under the trees.

By the time we got back to the car park the sun was fast disappearing and the weak heat of the afternoon was dropping off fast. Despite our shorter-than-planned walk, we still felt justified in warming ourselves with a cup of tea in front of the fire before heading home.