A short walk around Hever

The Henry VII at Hever

We took a stroll around the area rather than the castle and the village. The day was cloudy and cool but Zoid the dog needed a walk and when I arrived he was eager to get going. The aim was to have  lunch, a pleasant, enjoyable lunch to mark my birthday so the priority was a dog friendly pub with good food.  We also wanted to to go for a walk without lots of crowds or to encroach on a beach where Zoid would be unwelcome (by the local authoroites). This England of health and safety, no dogs allowed, rules and regulations with an ever increasing burden of political correctness and box ticking paperwork.





  
This last is triggered by the demise of a local, popular event - the Queenborough Pirates event with new restrictions on walking the plank and the unfortunate fact that the Police are no longer allowed to thump Oiks who spoil fun events and the postponement of the Music on the Green at Bearsted near Maidstone due to excessive demands of health and safety rules and tight event compliance.  Boring!

Gripe over.  We arrived at Hever after a pleasant drive from Borough Green through to Tonbridge and Liegh and parked in the Henry VII car park.  After piddling the dog and walking him around a for a while we went inside for lunch.  Dog welcome and staff pleasant.  My pint of Early Bird was excellent and we ordered lunch.  Sister had a baguette with her favorite smoked salmon filling and I settled for the steak and kidney pud. Loverly!  Nice price too.

Carriage at Hever Station

The Henry VII is worth the stop and if the weather had been nicer a meal in the garden with a magnificent view would have been even better.

The walk we did was from the Primary School, there is a path leading to a road where you turn left and follow another footpath into and along a paddock, the entrance is gated.  We made the mistake of not going far enough and crossed the field to another path which brought us back onto the road again further down.  However, we went past some houses and a small row of cottages to turn left, and a about a hundred metres further on we turned into the road leading to Hever railway station.  Worth a visit this for the views over the valley.  The station is the offices of  a company with the initials DPL who are keeping the building in excellent condition; it is a pity there are no flowers or gardens added (Mr Beeching of the 1960's would be pleased at the cuts).  Most peculiar was the old First Class carriage set up in the car park with steps and a platform leading up to it - what is this used for?

Pretty lake 

We crossed the rail bridge and walked the path on the other side having noted on the way up a path leading to Hever which we wanted to take.  This path up from the station joined the Edenway path that wanders around the river Eden and on to Penshurst.  The treat on the way to the road we could see from the station was the cottage with the beautiful fenced garden and formal rose garden and the walkway in the trees  leading to a meadowland wild flower patch buffered by a rough, natural area just right for wildlife close to the road.

We took the path and at the first stile we stopped - two reasons - getting the dog over or under it, solved by a neat bit of biscuit bribery, and because facing us was a lake and a gardens that appeared to be part of an estate.  Rabbits and  a flash of water lilies and the meandering building that topped the hill above stopped us in our tracks to admire it and enjoy the view.

Hever Church with dog and Sister

We discovered later that the lake belonged to the property alongside the pathway, put there for trout fishing , the lake now filled with carp.  Zoid was barked at by the property owner's Labrador.

We followed the path to the lane and turned right walking past the house we had seen from the lake which turned out to be Hever Grange and headed for the Greyhound Pub approximately 600metres from the junction below the grange.  We saw a nice neat row of houses on our left and failed to recognise that we had passed them earlier; realised it and carried on past the end of the station road to the Greyhound.  there is a path there which led back to our starting point - the school alongside the pub. You reach a junction of pathways and take the lefthand one.

A view across to the Castle entrance from the churchyard

Just to say we had seen it we took a stroll around the church and explored the footpath beyond turning back when we saw it would take us a fair way past the castle grounds on a long loop back to the village. Besides, after a lunch and it being a casual walk we decided that we had done enough.  There is always more to see but later we will return and have a wander around the castle.

What the Dickens! Rochester & Castle

Eastgate House

On a day that began warm, a Saturday, and not taking a stroll elsewhere with my walking companions I decided a trip to Rochester Castle was a good idea. I used the park and ride at the top of City Way near Horsted to park the car and take the free bus into Chatham and Rochester.  As a certain ancient comedian and entertainer used to say "A good idea Son" and so it proved to be.  From the bust stop I walked casually into the pedestrianised high street, an extension or part of Watling Street as far as the art shop, Frances Iles, where I examined the goods - on the way back I purchased some water color paper.

But first, the Roman Wall and Eastgate.

The wall faces on to a car park and I could imagine horses instead of cars, and citizens, peasants and slaves looked upon by soldiers milling around shifting goods instead of shoppers forking out for parking and perhaps there for some purpose similar to mine, a little shopping and some sight seeing. And even in the increasing cloud there was still plenty to see.  I imagined the Romans doing their bit, using the river and the land around living in a busy town and controlling the crossing perhaps with a wooden bridge spanning the Medway.  As I passed by the wall, noting a man getting ready with a brass instrument to busk, was aware of the later occupation by the Normans - they stuck a castle on top of a hill to make their point - and how much their influence had shaped the city.

I can see you!

Beyond the wall at Eastgate House there are gardens and the place where Dickens' Chalet now sits, a rather incongruous but historic addition.  It backs on to the old Alms houses where six men of the parish were able to lodge.  In recent years the high street carries mostly pedestrian traffic and the motor traffic is redirected around the centre and along a wide road, nicely out of the way until you reach the bridge and apart from the odd glimpse along side streets one is not aware of it.

We have to mention Dickens and his influence on Rochester because there are reminders of his presence in the city and in Chatham. He lived at Gads Hill in Higham where he wrote some of his works and of course Rochester was the setting for Satis House (named as the place opposite The Vines) and the hub of Pip's adventures in Great Expectations. The annual Dickens Festival is well attended involving residents and enthusiasts from Kent and attracting many visitors.

But dominating the city is the Norman castle and the Cathedral both worth a visit.  On this day I chose the castle and although the sky clouded over and became quite cold I took body and camera to the grounds and using my English Heritage card I entered and took the tour.  With the aid of  a handset (hire price £1) I wandered around from the portcullis entrance, down to

the cess-pit and up onto the battlements.  Terrific views and good healthy leg exercise.  I enjoyed the experience even with the wind whistling around my nether regions on the river side.


To look at the solid walls and the height of the keep one would agree that with having to catapult rocks at the walls and try to scale the place with ladders to deal to the enemy with swords and knives against pots of boiling oil, heavy missiles and arrows an army would give up.  The silly buggers attacked.  Mind you, they were sneaky.  Having thrashed the locals and with a large enough army it was a matter of sitting tight for a while and starving the garrison out.  One successful ploy was to burrow under a tower, cook a load of pigs and burn the pig fat and timber in the mine unde

Rochester Cathedral

r the foundations and watch the tower collapse in on itself.  Result: the starving garrison driven mad by the smell of cooking pork, having eaten their horses, and not being invited to the feast suddenly had to fight some well fed, if greasy soldiers.  They lost.

However, on the ecclesiastical side I learned that the castle was initially built for a Bishop whose subsequent replacements turned up in the city instead and occupied buildings along with the church and then the cathedral.  Good idea. House are much warmer than castles and although they tend to get torched in a punch up are much easier to surrender from.

Rochester Castle

I didn't go inside the cathedral being content to walk around the gardens and was rewarded by some roses and ancient walls covered in flowers and plants and, letting my feet carry me past Kings College I strolled into The Vines gardens and saw Satis House.  On the way a squirrel popped up onto a wall and sat briefly before scuttling off.  I liked that.

An Ugly Bugger of a Building

An Ugly Bugger of a Building

"An ugly bugger of a building"(UBB) is what my sister said when she saw the SAGA headquarters perched on top Ebrook Park in Sandgate suggesting the building was more suited to housing a power station than the offices of a travel and insurance company for the over fifties.  But this was a reaction to the genteel nature of the older buildings surrounding the park and the ones you don't see from the road that face the sea.  The auditorium building is better to look at reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House, a relief from the steel grey monolithic building that dominates the skyline.  That is the objection.  It is an architect's dream of verticality with the atrium taking space that could have been used to reduce the height and maybe have stepped it down with gardens on the balcony rooftops, trees instead of lifts and stairs.

However, we came, we saw, we mocked.

The intention was to get away from the rain on the hills and head for the seaside and never having stopped in Sandgate before we decided to go there, park and wander around the township.  We walked along the waterfront to Folkstone and stopped off at the Mermaid Cafe for coffee.  From there we wandered up into the gardens and discovered the children's adventure and play area which made us jealous of the children.  Don't you just want to climb on the pirate ship?

There was much more of course.  The zig-zag pathway beckoned but we left that to walk along further to find a three men practicing agile athletic movements - somersaulting over a barbecue table was one such - handstands under control and one man who leapt onto the graduated posts set there for that purpose and did a back flip from the tallest.  Amazing.  I was impressed but Zoid the dog couldn't have cared less, there was food around to steal and a drink of water to be had.

Apartments - Folkstone

Folkstone, the Leas and the waterfront gardens, were a treat for the eye, bulb flowers in abundance, neatly planted beds interspersed with meadow-land areas, bridges with wooden rails spanning pathways in arcs  and views of the sea all added to the pleasure of the visit.  All this before we saw the full impact of the UBB.  The waterfront where once the show grounds were was clear and beginning to look as if somebody cared and the magnificent arc of tenements that once were falling apart glistened in the May sunshine.

View point: that once these buildings should have been used to house asylum seekers (and others) and allowed to deteriorate - the asylum seekers deserved better treatment anyway - was criminal in its concept.  It appears that Folkstone is at last getting its just desserts, and that is a sensible policy on dispersion for asylum seekers and a regeneration that might make the place attractive to visitors.

Amazing Grace

We liked what we saw and will make another visit.  There is a matter of scoffing shellfish (I can get rather selfish about eating shellfish) When it comes to eating cockles, mussels and shrimps, this partly portly bloke is a guts.

Walking from Sandgate to Folkstone is pleasant and walking back over the top you you can pass the Grand Hotel which is a magnificent building and appreciate quality.  We did not visit the Grand Pavilion but did appreciate the building from below.  The attraction was the zig-zag pathway.  At the top there is a bandstand, bereft this day of a band but compensated by a trio singing a version of Amazing Grace accompanied by music from their own acoustic instruments.  It was a wistful yet sincere performance.

We had left behind us the wonderful views of the new sea wall works and the breakwater groynes as well as the tasteful sand pit on the beach for the children yet wherever we went along the cliff tops we were always aware of the sea.  This day it was hazy but tranquil; the heat enough to drive Sister into the shade, the dog to demand water and me to feel as if winter was a myth.

The intention was to explore Sandgate but it looks as if we will have to visit the place again.  We walked down from the cliffs into the township admiring the ragstone buildings and the use of sandstone on some, liking the wooden clad houses and the general seaside look of the place.  We added more money to the council coffers and paid for another hour of parking after stopping off at a cafe for a pot of tea and a bun.  They let us take the dog out the back and have the tea there in the shade - Sister and Dog by this time were melting - and I felt like a bod out of one of the great artist's stories, in a cafe with bicycles around and people doing unrelated business as we sat and chatted.

View down on the Sandpit

All in all a great experience.

But back to the ugly bugger of a building; we had added the hour because we wanted to walk a round the town a little and explore the gardens.  We did not know that the building we saw was the SAGA building because we did not see the stainless steel sign at the entrance.  It was a custard pie effect when we realised that we were facing poor taste, the old custard pie routines become poor taste, but I like custard pies, I did not like the building.

Folkstone Gardens

The park was nice, a bit neat but then probably it has been saved from further encroachment by the Saga organisation, so all power to them, but I wish the building wasn't so damned intrusive.

Note that the stream running the length of the park was dry.  Not a good sign.

Waddling around Wadhurst

The Greyhound Pub

Just over the border of Kent into West Sussex is the village of Wadhurst, a place I do not remember passing through although I must have done at one time.  The change from Kent to Sussex was apparent when not so much by the county sign as the change in building style and the countryside becoming more wooded, the hedgerows less battered by indiscriminate slashing and the road signposts.  Sussex likes black and white finger posts, a different style of footpath sign and in general seems to be a little more spruce.  We like it.

With the borrowed dog asleep in the back of the car we drifted through Wadhurst to look for what we thought might be a more interesting place but we turned around instead and went back to park in the village. Note the car park was free.  Kent charge like a wou


nded bull yet here we were with plenty of room and a chance to stay all day.  Bonus, a good pub on the corner that welcomed the dog.  Good food and Harvey's ale too.  I think it was called The Greyhound but it was the one opposite Blacksmith's Lane.

Cook's Sign

We went for a walk around the village for a couple of hours and discovered a peculiar trait with the tall chimney stacks - they curved!  In fact the place was a veritable forest of chimney stacks,  most attractive and some rather odd but worth a look. Excellent brickwork and typical of what we have seen in Sussex.

The spired church dominates the village acting as a focal point for the walker and although the trip was to Wadhurst there is Durgates and Sparrows Green to take into account as worth exploring.  One attractive sight is the sign above the local Game and Butcher's shop.  Close by is Wadhurst Castle where it appears that weddings and wedding receptions are carried out as we discovered upon meeting a well dressed and groomed couple on their way just such an event.

On the way to Bewl Water

Lunch of sandwiches over we set off with dog to explore the approach to the village Ticehurst end and it was there we saw the ornate chimneys.  We also discovered from a friendly resident that we could get to the Bewl Water reservoir by walking along Blacksmiths Lane - so we did.

Mostly Wadhurst is on a hill so you will not only walk down roads and pathways but you will also have to walk back up them but the effort is worth it for the magnificent views of the surrounding countryside especially in Spring.  The path led through a farm that gave the appearance of being well managed with healthy looking animals, flourishing hop crops and tidy yards with a well cared for garden. A treat.

Shops in Wadhurst

The walk down to Bewl Water was delightful and as a bonus when we arrived within the boundaries we saw the woodland floor covered in bluebells.  We walked down as far as Cousley Wood and returned to Wadhurst  stopping beside the water for a rest and a snack watching a fisherman catch a fish.


The Spring weather this year is wonderful and as usual with bright sunshine and fresh growth everything seems to be pristine, sparkling clean and wonderfully alive.  It is a time for young animals to discover the world and for flowers to burst forth, meadows to show their stuff and for us to get off our butts and enjoy it.

Lambs and mother

As semi-intrepid walkers we see the countryside in all its moods and we can be lifted by the beauty of new growth that England can offer.  Mush, but meaningful mush.  It means that we do not want to miss out so our casual walking (all right hardly intrepid) must last as long as we need it.

Wadhurst Chimney Stack

I mentioned chimneys in Wadhurst.  The complex brickwork and the shapes would have pleased our bricklayer father who could no doubt have told us much about how it was done and what sort of work it was.  I have no doubt also that it would have been very interesting but I realise that unless you see them you have no idea what they can be like.

Bent Stack

Also look for the curved stacks throughout the village and the odd double round brick stack on one of the buildings.  If you are curious, go visit the place and enjoy lunch at the Greyhound and a walk down to Bewl Water and of course a stroll around the village.