A walk to a Windmill

Detail of the Windmill

This Saturday was a day of cold weather after the heavy rain and high wind of Friday night. Still blustery with a the occasional sunny burst the idea of walking in the mud did not appeal so we pushed intrepidiness aside and decided on a trip to a paved area.  The result was a pleasant walk around Herne close and above Herne Bay, the village dominated by the restored windmill standing proudly against the skyline.

The Famous Butcher's Arms

There is a car park on School Lane and from there we set out on foot to explore the village.  Walk to the Canterbury road and you are faced with a wide area dominated by the imposing church and stroll down the hill toward Herne Bay (Toilets in the recreation and sports field) and take a look at Strode House.  Beyond is a turning that leads up the hill to the


Windmill which is open on Sunday afternoons, Thursdays, and Bank Holidays all at limited times.

Hidden Parts

We walked along the road from there to Hunter's Forstal and turning right when we jolly well felt like it seemed a good idea.  It was.  There was a road we could walk on and to the left some interesting footpaths we could take if we wished - the going was soggy so we didn't - and a good reason to return and explore the area later.

As it was we discovered we were on School Lane eventually leading into Herne and took a paved footpath beside the school to discover the charms of the older part of Herne, a row of cottages leading to the centre and two buildings of weatherboard, the second of which, must have required some very thin and strong, agile contortionists to build so close are they.  (By this time the light was so bad that pictures were getting difficult). The most amazing conglomeration of weatherboard buildings, Georgian and Victorian houses greet you as you wander around and it is a good idea for the visitor to search them out for themselves.

Forge Cottage

We walked up a little further with the dog wanting to travel all the way to Canterbury - Saar is not far away - but we were feeling peckish so we returned to the village aware that we had barely touched the sides and sought out sustenance.  Dog friendly Pub!  The Upper Red Lion, not looking its best in the winter murk but with a car-park creating a space before the church entrance it was most welcome.  Inside  it was cosy and we had an inexpensive lunch that hit the spot.  A pint of IPA for me and a good strong cup of tea for Sister and we were set up for the day.

It only remained to have a look at the church.  The entrance was a Gothic treat lined with naked trees reaching high and dark creating an arch that framed the spire and the door at its foot in a classical 'here there be Vampyres' fashion.

I have been to Herne in the Summer and I have to say the impression then is much different.  Two friends and I had a drink or two and some bread and cheese in the Butcher's Arms. Behind the Butcher's Arms there is an old tractor with a rusting plough covered partly in weeds, but then most places have their hidden parts.

Sheppey Crossing - Kent

Base of the old bridge

It was long decided that the old King's Ferry Bridge was due for a bit of help.  Having served the Isle of Sheppey for many years as its road and rail link it was obvious that increasing traffic,long delays, especially when the centre span was lifted to allow ships to pass underneath and if there was an accident or road closure.  The A249 was a four lane road from Maidstone to the Bridge serving Sheppey, Sittingbourne and the M2 motorway.  Sheerness as a port with a steel works and freight forwarding docks shipping goods of all sorts and cars became busier and the single link was becoming more of a bottleneck than a thoroughfare.

Something had to be done.

View of the new bridge

The result was that after all the planning in 2004 the new bridge was started. Changes to the road alignment  were started earlier and as
that progressed so the traffic got more congested.  However the bridge grew and soon an arch began to form resting on large concrete pillars, the road bed became more real and in 2006 the high span bridge was opened.  Many residents took part in a charity walk across it to celebrate the opening and today we cross it  ignoring the old bridge and taking the smooth ride over for granted.  The A249 and Sheppey Way is no more than another commuter road.

Curious Marsh Resident

Basically the Island is a mixture of commuters, farming, industry - witness the steel works - light industry and dockland activity with goods ferries crossing to and fro  Europe.  Farming is a mixture of crops and grazing with the odd chicken and fish farms.  In the past the largest employer was the Sheerness Naval Dockyard and the Summer migration of visitors to Sheerness and Leysdown.  Today, although Leysdown and Eastchurch see many visitors in the season the numbers are down from the heyday of the fifties and the sixties.

Norman, bird watcher.  Interesting man

The Island, a place of many interests such as Bird Watching on the Elmley Marshes and the RSPB reserve as well as that of Shellness and Harty is also a great place to walk the dog, take part in what the Americans call Skeet shooting, clay pigeons and of course sailing.





This year (2011) I am taking part in 365 a project designed to post a picture a day for 2011 - the project is based in Faversham and runs simultaneously with another in Canterbury as well as on Sheppey.  My initial take on it is to begin with the bridge and explore the island as if I have never seen it before; to look for new views of the familiar.  After four years of use the new crossing has become familiar.  I want to start by taking a fresh look.

Burnt out boat

We begin in the Winter.

The bleak appearance of the marshes in Winter gives way to color and activity in Spring and that is one of the things I hope to capture in my journey.

Westerham and the Zoid

In the History of England there are many significant events and we all know the most common, 1066, Magna Carta, The Industrial Revolution, World War I and World War II among others.  We tend to think of the two world wars as English and British although they were the last gasp of the British Empire and a means of setting up the modern superstates and all that.  However, it is easy to overlook the achievements of some men and women in our History.  Queen Elizabeth the first springs to mind with Drake and Raleigh  who more or less fought for English claims on the Americas that shaped the future for our islands.  The battle with the Spanish and the Portugese over the Carribean and the eventual fight with the French over North America and especially Canada has great significance for the Kent town of Westerham.

The George and Dragon

We, that is Zoid the dog, my sister and myself, took a trip there to explore and have lunch at the dog friendly George and Dragon pub.  The pub was a good choice and more of that later.

We arrived at the town surprised that snow was still lingering there including a fair amount on the surrounding fields and as to be expected much dirty snow on the sidewalks and gutters although most areas were sanded.  The day was a mixture of grey cloud and sunshine, cool but not cold and starting from the main town car park we walked across the sports fields crossing the narrow but fast flowing Darent river and into the town.  Westerham boasts many old buildings and we saw many as well as some pleasant modern efforts, as well as the inevitable nondescript blocks of flats.  These older buildings that represent the centuries from Tudor to Victorian give Westerham a charm that creates for the visitor a sense of the history of England.  And indeed this is evident with the statue of General Wolfe and the Quebec House that remind us of the empire building that claimed wrested Canada from the French and claimed much of America before it turned into a Republic (and eventually saved us in two world wars).  Westerham is proud of General Wolfe.

Churchill

Straddling the A25, the once clogged East West holiday highway, Westerham sits on a hill surrounded by hills and is a hub for Emmets gardens, Ide Hill, Toys Hill and other attractions including Chartwell House the home of Sir Winston Churchill.  To show that Westerham knew how valuable the old warrior was they erected a statue to him as well. Both statues are nicely placed on the green  - we also noted there was a Christmas Tree - and having passed through the town on occasion in the Summer realise how attractive these tow monuments look.  Ah, but, when Zoid saw the statue of Winnie his hackles rose and he emitted a series of low growls.  Weird, but then he is an Australian breed and it is well known that many Aussies don't like Churchill, stemming as it does from Gallipoli and again at Singapore where much of the AIF was stranded to deal with the Japanese.  Zoid is a Kelpie, an Australian breed dog.

Westerham is small and it was a pleasure to walk through the town to the outside and discover footpaths which later we will explore.  Paths that will no doubt lead up to the hills and follow the river East to Sevenoaks and West to lands yet to be explored.

A Row of house just off the main road

But to lunch.  The George and the Dragon was a pleasant experience, friendly staff, an excellent menu and unobtrusive but friendly service.  The bar we were in with the dog was cosy and comfortable with heaters under the window seats for that cold bum and back.  Out back the garden bar offers views across the valley and in summer will make a pleasant place to eat and drink.  We will no doubt use the pub again (with or without the dog) .

Snow covered farmland

A treat was meeting up with a man in Georgian costume standing in the grounds of Quebec House taking his leisure with a clay pipe and a snuff box.  It would have been interesting to visit the place but with Zoid in tow we might not be that welcome.  However, we wandered admiring the church and took a walk up Holey Road and back before it got too dark to enjoy the sights.  

Gentleman with Pipe  

The idea will be later to visit Quebec House in March when it reopens and look on the web-site for events.  The history of Canada was set here we could say  but at the same time we have to remember that it was Europeans ripping off the locals and arguing with each other over the spoils.  Bear in mind that if it were not for Wolfe and the timely intervention of troubles in France all of Canada would be French speaking.

Chatham Dockyard

Typical quiet spot

Visiting the Historic Dockyard at Chatham was a combination of nostalgia and a glimpse in to Maritime history. The ghastly thought about the whole experience was that I was part of that history having been an employee there on and off from 1957 to 1966 - eek!  Who would have thought that so little of the place would be left and so many memories would come rushing back.  The places I worked are no longer there; the basins are subsumed by the civil docks and fill for Saint Mary's Island.  The 200 Ton crane is gone and the only Destroyer left is a world war two veteran.  The site of the old number one slip has been lost in obscurity and much of the old yard is merely a ghost of what it was; much of the workshops taken up with shopping malls, entertainment centres, roads and buildings and the old Naval Barracks now part of Greenwich University.

View of the slip 

However, there is enough to make it interesting. The idea that people can walk around and play in a place where once I and many thousands of other men and women worked for wages, saw a navy that steadily was eroded and finally outdated is quite odd.  I recall being the first tradesman to work on the preparation of the atomic powered submarine re-fueling station assembling valves in a dust free room after completing machining operations on them.  We were apprehensive then about the viability of the unit and when I heard a few years later that the nuclear facility had closed and later so had the dockyard I was quite sad. Unfortunately that is what happens.

Bob taking a rest

To more cheerful things; the trips into the yard have proved to be good fun.  I have met and talked with re-enactors, steam men, fellow workers and a lad from the school where I work who is now a security guy and looking to go to university.  It appears he has better prospects than I but he also shares the enthusiasm for the dockyard.  A reward.

Fairlight Cove - Sussex



Fairlight Church

  Fairlight Cove in Sussex was a place of myth, a place where our father took us on what was for him nostalgic trips.  This Summer during the school holidays I took a trip to Pett Level  and to Fairlight and Fairlight Cove to discover the truth of the myth.  In other words I demystified the experience of going onto the cliffs near Fairlight with my father and being frightened by the steep proximity of the sea viewed below the cliffs, the labyrinth of gorse and the mystery of why Dad wanted to walk these cliffs. 







Rocks on the beach at Pett Level



Pett Level apepares in the story because that is wheer we often stopped for a sea side picnic, to gather winkles and play among the rocks and soggy beaches.  My memories of the place were vague but I did remember roughly where we parked the car and piled out for a picnic.  I recalled the canal, the grassy verge and the walk across the road to the beach which was always interesting at low tide.  My two brothers and my sister spent hours there safe in the knowledge that our parents would not take us to a dangerous place and so we enjoyed it. Camber was our favorite but that was getting commercilised and there was a danger there of the sudden encroachment of the sea after the turn of the tide.  The long sandy flats tend to trap the unwary.  But the dunes and the sandcastles, pools and model sailboating were not to be missed.



The beach at Pett level



However, there are memories and my sister and I have different memories of the same times, she being some eight years younger than me, and sharing them was quite an experience. The first for me was the terrifying walks along the cliffs  and for her it was the rocks at Pett Level thatfascinated her.  For both of us the canal and the little houses alongside were etched there and these we found.  The rocks were there, the houses and the canal are there and so are the cliffs but these come later.   For the moment we will try to see Pett Level as it is.  The place has changed, more houses, the sea wall is good if somewhat boring and the rocks are still there on the shore and below the cliffs. To my surprise, not because it wasn't there before, the Smuggler's Inn loomed dominant as a place to have a pint and a meal.  Dog friendly and pleasant with good beer and on the second time around good food, the place seemed part of the experinece in 2010. In the 1950's I do not seem to recall the place being there but it must have been. We picnicked, my father was not a drinker (my Grandmother on my mother's side liked her glass of stout) so we would not be taken near the pub. There may have been a little shop there but only my sister remembers that.



Beach house - Pett Level



 Now, as for the trip to Fairlight; it was on the way we discussed the idea why Dad liked the place so much. It appears that he lived there at some time and was always liking the idea of going back there to live once more.  I can see his point.  Fairlight is dominated by the tall church tower (pictured at the top) which was used as a lookout and a marker for shipping.  That it can be seen from a long way is evidenced by the way it shows up on the high point of the hills from Pett and Pett Level.  For the day it was a target, a place to head for and close by is the entrance to the Hasting Country Park which stretches from Hastings, close to the funicular lift all the way along the cliffs to Fairlight Cove.



Twisted Gorse bushes



The attraction for the visitor is not only the walks but that the unique landscape of rolling sandstone cliffs and the steep dipping valleys with access to the beaches below, the well managed 'natural habitats' and the fantastic views across the bays that change with every twist and turn.  The day I went in August was a breezy, bright day and I was assailed by views so stunning that I gasped.  I met people with dogs, children, fatehrs and children on bikes, old people walking and young people enjoying what is a magnificent natural attraction. The picture of the gorse bush (commonly known as Furze) is part of the walk along the fire hills leading to Fairlight Cove and what with the heather, bracken, bramble and coarse grass in abundance as well as the outcropping of chalk the walk came a live. Insects buzzed, birds flitted and from the sea came the calls of the gulls and the ever present smell of the sea itself.  Yet walk away from the cliffs and you would think you were well in land on a rural countryside stroll.



Heather on the Fire Hills



Boats on the beach at Pett Level



 I make no apologies for waxing lyrical.  the experience was one that tied the childhood memories and the present day together and filled in some gaps. But what of the walk? Choose to go to the Country Park and start from the information centre - collect a leaflet and map - and take the the cliff path to Fairlight Cove, saving the walk to the church to last, and if you wish explore Fairlight Cove itself although a good stroll would be to walk back up through the woods to the center again and then to walk along to the Tea Rooms and sample their excellent fare before visiting the church.  After that take the walk back along the road to the centre and take the paths across the top of the cliffs and choose a point according to the time you have to wander down into the bushy tracks and climb up and down back to the car park and visitor centre.  Take your time, visit more than once and explore.  The walking is not that easy for old and fat people (me) but is varied and deceptive for the time some parts of the walks take.  The Centre to Fairlight Cove and back can take up to two hours. 

Surprisingly there are some walks around Pett Level too.  It is possible to walk from there to Winchelsea following the canal and naturally if you wish you can walk along the beach. There is a pleasant walk from the canal, crossing a wide bridge and up the hill past the pill box on the sandstone outcrop to the upper road, along to Pett and then down again to Pett Level.

There were a few other memories on the drive down that I recalled but they belong to another tale.





Robertsbridge

Robertsbridge straddles the Rother river and until recently was often a part of it during the floods but now with extensive flood defences the township is fairly protected.  It must be a bit of a bummer when wallowing in your bath the water flows in from outside and it with horror you watch your rubber duck go floating out the door on its way to the sea.  Not a pleasant sight. 

However, Robertsbridge is a pleasant sight although when walking around the ancient part of the village with its plethora of Tudor buildings and one dating from 1320 one is not aware of the more modern buildings that surround the place and squeezed in the odd spaces. The place is attractive anyway and worth a day spent simlpy wandering around exploring the footpaths and in the Summer watching a game of cricket. 

Northbridge Street Village centre

The day we went was sunny most of the time - a rare occurance this summer - and Robertsbridge looked its best.  We wandered, nibbling on roadside blackberries warmed and ripened by the sun, fed by the rain and waiting for us to eat them, and walked past Bishop's Meadow to the road from Battle and back down to the centre where we  wandered into the Seven Stars pub for a beer and lunch.  Dog firendly pub with a landlady who loved our Zoid on sight.  They have dog drinking bowls in the garden and in the mulit level pub.  Wooden floors, wooden beams and a friendly atmosphere.  Good food and beer too!  Maybe the beer and food is blessed by the church right next door although it is a Methodist church so maybe it works in spite of the church. 

From there after a light but excellent lunch we wandered (a lot of wandering) out of the village and on the way admiring the school as we passed by for its tables under the trees, allotment garden and pleasant design crossing the road toward Salehurst and hop farms to loop back through the woods and fields to the bridge again and back into the village. 

The Indian

A nice feature was the two shp keepers who sat outside their emporiums enjoying the sun and chatting to passersby.  Amazing to see an Indian motorcycle (I think it was a Scout) outside a bicycle shop and the owner, a declared Indian enthusiast selling bikes and all sorts of other things.  Business was slow on Saturday but he said he was doing all right because people were buying all sorts of bikes.  He had some fine ladies bicycles their complete with baskets as well as the latest Mountain Bike models.  A scruffy but enterprising lad.

The next shop keeper we saw was a most interesting woman selling all sorts of junk to raise funds for a school museum and school - the shop was a far cry from the one in The Last of the Summer Wine but at first glance reminded me of it.  Difference: the owner was genuinely friendly.   And to show how these things happen we also popped in to see a local art show and that was interesting.

Although we spent from midday to just before five we barely saw all that Robertsbridge had to offer and we will return to walk some of the paths and walks in the area.  It is said that one can walk from there to Bodiam but first it would be a good idea to explore the environs of Robertsbridge first.  Return maybe to the dog friendly pub. 

The End of the North Downs

A glimpse of Dover

We travelled to the end of the North Downs where stands the magnificent Dover Castle and we walked along the White Cliffs with the dog.  It was an interesting day because we met some extra dogs and three fat blokes with back packs trying to lose weight.  Their problem was not laziness or lack of fitness - they were confessed cyclists - but probably from the shape of their bellies they were great beer drinkers.  Knock off the beer lads and the wieght will drop.

South Foreland Lighthouse

However the experience for us was good and we enjoyed the walk along the cliffs to the South Foreland Lighthouse which is now a tourist attraction and on to St Margaraet's Bay at Sea although we didn't walk down to the gardens there.  Time and energy did not permit.

The White Cliffs area is administered by the National Trust and for £3 parking charge you can stay all day (as the song would have it) and also have a cup of tea and a bun.  One punter, a loud woman, one of those sort of people who have no idea how noxious to others they are, did nothing but complain.  Evidently the cakes were not labelled, the price was too high and when a paper napkin blew away in the wind she loudly pronounced; 'oh well it must be bidegradable' (moron) and she was the only spoiler of the day.  Question: why is it some people are insensible to the beauty around them?

Looking down onto the shore

Dover Castle is impressive dominating the skyline for miles around and filled with awesome history.  There was a Roman Lighthouse there that probably was a part of much greater Roman works down below in the harbor and close by a Medieval Church.  It is conjectured that a Saxon Hill fort started everybody off  and as a result theer has been military defences there for approximately 1700 years or more if we include the Saxons.  The most recent use was as a seat of government in the event of an Atomic Attack which makes me think of the word oxymoron thinking in terms of considering that if there was an Atomic Attack the government would probably have nothing to govern so what was the point.  More useful was the tunnels and lookouts and high defences against air attack in the 1939 - 45 war  (or 41 - 45 war if you are an American).

Dover Castle

But take a walk along the cliffs and discover the rare beauty of coastal landscapes and the amazing variety of plants and flowers that battle against salt winds and cold, harsh winter storms.  We enjoyed the cool, windswept landscape, flet part of it and loved the soaring seabirds racing with the wind and hovering almost motionless a few metres from the edge of the cliff or skimming the edge screeching noisily but flying so gracefully showing off their natural aerobatic skills. 

A most invigorating day.