Squerryes Park Hillfort View all content for Squerryes Park

A bright, clear Boxing Day was a fine time to walk south from Westerham and find this beautiful spot. The hill fort itself, sadly, is covered with wretched rhododendrons, but you can still see some small banks, remains of the earthworks that one can only imagine were once very magnificent. There is an interesting bank along the edge of the field at the base of the wooded hill, made more noticeable, perhaps, by the snow. I expect this was created by the river, perhaps when in full spate at the end of the last Ice Age, and the way it deliniates the bottom of the hill may have seemed fortuitous to the first inhabitants, who may indeed have increased it as part of their defences. The site's location is perfect: the springs of the Darenth are in the meadow at the hill's base, so the inhabitants always had fresh water, and a fertile pastrure for their animals. As it leaves the vale, the nascent river describes a bend around a hilly spur, which thus encloses the place, giving it a great feeling of homeliness and safety. I am grateful for the earlier post here, that the two mounds that one passes on the way to this place from Westerham are from an air raid shelter: we spent some time wodnering if they were barrows or not: they seemed too small, and it is good to have confirmation of their red-herringness - but it is a shame: it would have been a good spot to have been buried. The site's size and location seems to indicate that it was a satelite of Oldbury Hill, which lies to the east. All in all, thoroughly worth visiting.

Posted by Anthony Adolph 29th December 2010ce

Comments (1)
There has been a lot of forestry work in the last few months, giving much better viisibility of the banks on the north and west side of the site. This work is still ongoing at the moment, but a visit in the near future could be wothwhile	Posted by woodcock1 17th March 2013ce
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