We had a beautiful day in the stunning Darent Valley. For £56, the trip included cost of transport, entrance to Eagle Heights, lunch with choice of food, visit to the Lavender farm and tip for driver.  A full day but relaxing in the beautiful countryside with plenty of opportunities for photographs. Please note that the trip was only open to WCC U3A members - but its very easy to join and be ready to take part in future trips! Click here for further information

Our first stop was a visit to Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation one of the UKs most inspiring wildlife centres which is carrying out important conservation work.    It is home to a breathtaking array of birds of prey Eagles, Hawks, Owls and Falcons.  We were able to watch thrilling displays from these beautiful birds and have close encounters with these majestic creatures. We saw an array of animals here: Huskies, Meerkats, Lemurs, reptiles and more.  Eagle Heights is situated in Eynsford and enjoys sweeping views across beautiful countryside.

After our visit to Eagle Heights, the coach continued back into the village to the Malt Shovel Pub where we enjoyed a traditional two course lunch with a drink included.   The pub is known for its warm hospitality and good locally sourced food.  A perfect place to enjoy a leisurely countryside meal.

On our exit from Eynsford we made a short visit to the Lavender fields at Castle Farm where we were able to admire the view and wonderful scent.  It was a great place to take photos and visit their shop and perhaps have an ice cream.  This was only a short visit, but it would have been a pity to be in this part of Kent and not view the lavender fields which were in full glory at this time of year.

See below for a selection of pictures from the day!