Brands Hatch is only a few minutes' ride west, and for any motorcyclist the name needs no explanation. The hills here are chalk, wooded and gently folded, and the lanes run along the ridges and through the dry valleys.
For a ride that began among the fens near Cambridge, this is a kinder landscape. The roads are narrow, with sharp bends, hedges and old trees, and the surface is variable, patched and sometimes gritty. Traffic is light on the lanes, though it builds on the A20 and the A227. The best riding is on a dry morning in spring or early autumn, when the beech woods are fresh and the air is clear. On race weekends at Brands Hatch, the roads around are busy with bikes and cars.
Meopham is an old village with a large green, a cricket pitch and a windmill that has stood on the hill for two centuries. The Pilgrims' Way, the old route from Winchester to Canterbury, runs along the foot of the Downs not far south, and its chalk path is popular with walkers. Wrotham and Trosley, villages nearby, have old churches and country parks with long views over the Weald, and are worth a short detour.
Fuel is available at West Kingsdown and Gravesend, and the village shops in Meopham sell basic supplies. For a coffee or a bite, the country pubs along the lanes are friendly, and a bacon roll at a roadside cafe near the circuit is a motorcycling tradition. The Medway valley, down to the south, has more choice.
As the closing stage of a long day, it is a landscape that eases you down: open chalk, old woods and a small circuit with a big name.