How to get to Inghtham Mote from Sevenoaks?

I'm guessing you found the 404 bus service from Sevenoaks station. Buses also leave from Tonbridge (two stops south of Sevenoaks, you'll want Bus Stop 'H' which is right outside the station on the Quarry Hill Road).

There is a slightly more regular bus service from there (09:22, 11:22, 12:22, 13:22, 14:22, 15:59 on a weekday) and you'll be getting off at the bus stop called Back Lane which is just on the outskirts as you get into Ightham (just past Plaxtol but definitely not as far as the George & Dragon pub in Ightham...ask the bus driver for the stop, they will be more than helpful. The bus stop has a bus shelter there so you'll know he's not just dumping you in the middle of the Kent countryside).

From there, there's a mile-and-a-bit walk from the bus shelter to the Mote (25 minutes at a steady 3mph, reasonably flat terrain, just walk on the right side of the road to face oncoming traffic). You'll be passing through Ivy Hatch where there's a helpful brown sign pointing the way... but if you just go against the arrow for 100 yards there's a pub built in the 17th Century called The Plough if you wish to get a drink of the hard or soft variety, or even something to eat.

That final walk down the Mote Road is very rural. Lots of shade.

The buses back from the Back Lane stop are at just after a quarter past 1, 2, 3, and 5pm. Don't forget it's a bit of a walk so leave with time to spare.

Oh, this Google Map of the last part will definitely help.

Hope this helps, anyway.

the 308 seems to run hourly, though it's probably a bit of a walk to the Mote from where it stops.

I lobe Ightham Mote! It is definitely worth making an effort to see. I can't help with how to get there by bus, but I hope you go.

Liked Ightham Mote too. Visited it and Churchill’s house at Chartwell on the same day.

The National Trust website for each property has a useful “how to get there “ section, which may help you plan.

Thank you all..particularly Shawngbr and Pete W. We shall see how daring I am! The concept of relying on public transport is daunting. I am 66, and haven't been on public transportation since I was a child with my Nana!!! I always drive here in California!!!! I suppose there is Uber available? Never used them either.... Now, how to get from London to Sevenoaks or Tonbridge the least complicated. Am I correct I can catch a train from Farringdon straight through...no transfers...in the morning? I want all my plans and maps so I do not waste any valuable time trying to figure this out while I can be enjoying my trip!!!!!

There are currently direct trains from Farringdon to Sevenoaks at just after 05 and 35 minutes past the hour (they may be at 06 or 07, then at 36 or 37, past the hour). Journey time is a shade under 70 minutes.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/ZFD/SEV/tomorrow/0930/dep?directonly

To then get a connection to Tonbridge from Sevenoaks, there are six trains per hour and it takes between eight and ten minutes more. Trains going through Sevenoaks on their way to Tunbridge Wells, or to the coast at Hastings, Ramsgate, and Dover, stop at Tonbridge too.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/timesandfares/SEV/TON/tomorrow/1000/dep?directonly#outwardJump

NOTE - if your journey is after May 20th, the new summer timetable will be in effect. The NationalRail site has yet to have the new information loaded in, but this gives you some idea of frequency and time taken.

EDIT - there is a manual trail timetable available at:

https://www.railplan2020.com/-/media/goahead/railplan2020/may-timetables/tl-may-2018-thameslink-in-to--from-great-northern-mondays-to-fridays.pdf?la=en

...after May 20th, it looks like the half-hourly service to Sevenoaks will start from London Blackfriars (two stations south of Farringdon). Not so bad for two reasons... first of all, there are around 16 trains an hour between Farringdon and Blackfriars and that's just a five minute hop (so that will be like a short tube trip, but in a railway train carriage). Secondly; because the train to Sevenoaks begins in Blackfriars, anyone getting on the train there is guaranteed to get the seat they want. The train is heading away from the direction of the rush-hour, and you'd be one of the first passengers on it!

Trains to Sevenoaks and Tonbridge depart from Cannon Street, London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross. You can’t get there directly from Farringdon - you will have to take the Circle or Metropolitan line to Moorgate and change onto the Northern line to London Bridge.

TfL.org.uk will help you plan journeys in London and the surrounding areas.

There are direct trains from Farringdon to Sevenoaks... the Thameslink service from Luton to Sevenoaks calls at points in Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire on its way to London, hits the capital at Elstree & Borehamwood, and then gets into Zone 1 at St. Pancras International (back in the day when I worked on the line the station was Kings Cross Thameslink on the Pentonville Road), then Farringdon, City Thameslink (great way to get to St. Paul's Cathedral, getting off there and walking down Ludgate Hill), Blackfriars ...then out through the zones again and leaving the original six zones of London at St. Mary's Cray (and the newer Zone 8 at Swanley) as it goes through the Kent countryside on the way to Sevenoaks.

Since you want to visit Igtham Mote (pronounced It-en, by the way), have you read Green Darkness by Anya Seton?

Cynthia....no I haven't read the book. Is there a connection?

Green Darkness is set at Ightham Mote during the middle ages and also during modern times. Excellent read...