Summer Solstice Walk - All Through the Night! 13.7 miles, strenuous

Celebrate the Summer Solstice on this walk though the night. The Summer or Estival Solstice is the moment when the sun is at its northernmost point from the earth's equator and the Earth's pole has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. Traditionally seen as heralding midsummer, it is also seen astronomically speaking to mark the end of spring and start of summer. It is the day of maximum sunlight, a fact that has been celebrated since antiquity with festivals and ceremonies. So our modest celebratory walk will start from Sevenoaks, and then head out to the Greensand Way. We follow the ridge line on to Ide Hill and Toys Hill, as the first signs of dawn appear. Then, at the magical moment of 3.41 a.m. we will (hopefully) watch the sun rise over Kent, before returning back to Sevenoaks via Whitley Forest to a well deserved breakfast stop in the centre of Sevenoaks.

Being a night walk, torches are essential. We will be starting from the Sennockian pub in Sevenoaks and finishing at a cafe in the centre of Sevenoaks, but there will be no facilities in between, so please bring food and drink to keep you going through the night.

NB: There is a £2 payment required for non-Ramblers Assoc. members to help cover our Meetup costs. Please help the walk leader by bringing the exact change. Ramblers members are welcome on any of our walks, but we would still encourage you to RSVP on Meetup. This will give our volunteer walk leaders an idea of how many are attending, and also keep the numbers manageable. If, on the day of the walk, you are still on the waiting list and a Ramblers member, you can attend - just let the walk leader know you are coming by adding a comment 'Coming as a Rambler'. You will find the start location via our website

[Our Walks (westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk)](https://www.westkentwalkinggroup.org.uk/our-walks.html).