Welcome to the Journal

This is the journal of two non-intrepid walkers who like to visit places in and around Kent and Sussex.  Myself, James Apps and my Sister Daphne plus the dog Zoid (we borrow him from my nephew) take a casual walk, mostly on Saturdays throughout the year according to our fancy.  There is no pattern although we do decide on a theme of visits depending on whether or not we have the dog with us.

We are not intrepid, that is eating up the kilometres (they are shorter than miles but appear more in numbers) but more for exploration and pleasure.  We like dog friendly pubs, dog friendly places and a mixture of countryside and towns or villages.

We like lunch, a coffee, beer and chatting with other people.  We are not into hiking boots, huge backpacks and the need to get from one place on the map to another.   Now and then we do some longish walks but the main aim is to exercise and to take the time to stop and stare.  Providing the dog will let us – he loves streets and pathways, stiles and tracks are an inconvenience he will tolerate because he is walking with people who love him (everybody loves him).

However, we do see some lovely places and like to share our experience of them with others. Do not expect a detailed description of a walk but do expect some useful comments on the pub or the place.

Looking across the valley to the organic farm at Luddesdown - Kent

And here, just to show you what we mean is a picture taken on one of our walks.

A Sandwich at Sandwich

Lunch on board – boat is under offer.

The plan was to visit the White Mill at Sandwich, have a wander around the town afterwards and see the Salutation Gardens.   The mill is closed on Saturdays – eek!

The town is open however and with a little resignation we arrived in the car park by the river and wandered along the streets looking for a toilet.  I was interested in the ducks walking on the quay who seemed content enough to be out of the water.

We are resting – please?

On the way we saw the water bus waiting for the time to arrive for the next trip.  When Daphne wanted to know if that actually was the water bus I assured her that was it by pointing to the legend on the superstructure that declared it was the Sandwich Water Bus, and that also the Nautical chap smoking his fag and sipping at a mug of tea was also the skipper.  I thought about the up-river boat The Pride of the Thames as described by Jerome K Jerome in his delightful book Three Men in a Boat but each to his own and I am sure it was all right.

I watched the ducks waddling along the quay whilst waiting and afterwards we walked along the riverside and decided to go to the gardens.  On the way Daphne’s sun hat blew off and landed on a scruffy blue boat.

Don’t we all like a kind deed?

A younger man with a wife and a dog played the hero and reclaimed the hat, which was appropriate because the name of the scruffy blue boat was Hero – I assume from Much Ado About Nothing - beauty in disguise to be revealed after a penitence.  The boat badly needs a dollop of paint.

We may have gone to the Guildhall Museum to view objects which hopefully includes the corpse of a plague rat if we were not captivated by the Salutation Gardens.   We had heard of them of course and passed by, once with Zoid the dog but as yet had not paid a visit.

A view of the White garden

The extent of the gardens took us by surprise and at this time of the year the Spring bulbs are gone, the roses are not yet ready to burst out fully and the foliage still has that fresh green.  After the recent rains the gardens looked lush with flashes of colour  and as we walked around we could see how well the original design must have worked.

The gardens have been refurbished and delightfully as you may imagine are developing as well which means that later visits will reveal even greater delights as the gardens, now re-established, will mature.   If you wish there are sculptures on sale around the place and for those who can afford them with the pedigree and authentication should be an asset.

Pig and piglets for sale

A point about the sculptures is that they are well made, carry an artists talent well and are pleasant to look at but you would need to select carefully the place you would want to display them.

A wander around the gardens took up most of the afternoon.  The slow walk was worth it as we took time to enjoy the white garden, the yellow garden and Spring wild flower garden to enjoy the formal avenue of Holm Oaks and the formal gardens filled with colour before moving on to the woodland are.

The ancient wall that wraps the grounds reminds you of the presence of the town, as does the view of St Clement’s Church tower, but otherwise you may think you were in a country estate garden.  But there is a delight in standing on the lawns and looking along the flower beds with the standing frames supporting the rose bushes that in June will be a riot of colour.

A view along the rose beds

Walk down to the lake area and enjoy the variety of plants there and some rather odd sculptures that from a distance look as if the artist has constructed a device made of re-cycled items.

On closer inspection the ‘things’ proved to be a steel wire construction with coloured glazed porcelain roses, clever but a little tatty.  Probably the sculptures looked out of place in the gardens and perhaps were more suited to an artificial surrounding.

We sat and appreciated.   We also had tea and a cake at the tea rooms.   Where does the sandwich come in?

The better of the ‘Things”

We walked around Sandwich for a time discovering more about the town, seeing the place where Thomas Paine wrote The Rights of Man and set the Americans off on their excursion into independence, a civil war, development of the Atomic bomb, Vietnam and now Afghanistan and their eventual trip to the moon, which all goes to show that at times the pen can be mightier than the sword.   We had a chat with a resident who was working on his garden and described the climbing rose he had trained over much of the house front – an ancient one – Albertine, an Old Rose with a scent and a strong pink colour.

Walking around the town was a good experience and once or twice we remarked how the double decker buses seemed to be the wrong sort of vehicle to send through the centre of the town.   Sandwich is an ancient town with narrow roads that can barely accommodate cars although of course the outer part of the town is capable.  The sight of a large bus negotiating the streets is awesome and at times walking on the sidewalks is hazardous when they come rushing past.

We walked the streets of the town and enjoyed the sight of some girls rushing through Holy Ghost Alley squealing which probably annoyed the residents but seemed to be a lot of fun.  We walked for a while admiring the houses, admiring the plants that chose a wall to grow on and eventually feeling a little peckish we called into a Spar store for some groceries and to buy some sandwiches.

Pretty cottage in town with the rose in waiting

We took the sandwiches back to the car park where, not finding any seat to watch the cricket going on in the sports field whilst we ate, we sat on a tree branch in the car park and enjoyed a sandwich in Sandwich.

 

 

Rained Out

 

 

Crops and trees at Goodnestone

Dateline 15th May 2012:  Goodnestone Gardens visit was rained off for the time being and hopefully one of us may visit when the roses are out.  However, the anticipation is great and when we visit we will post.

Goodnestone a Gem on a Gorgeous Day

The view from the footpath that passes the House.

The day was a treat, a break in the rain of the wettest April/May for years and although it was a cool day we headed for Goodnestone Gardens.  We were disappointed in our mission discovering that the gardens are open from Tuesday to Friday so we settled for a walk around the village instead.  It was a sunny, cool day with cloud and a little breeze but just right for walking.

This calf was curious – beautiful.

We parked at the gardens expecting to visit and left the car there to take a walk around instead.  We took the public footpath that leads past the wall and beyond the cricket ground  to Bonnington Farm and on the way saw calves in the fields, part of the herd of Sussex cattle bred on the farm.  Beautiful creatures.   The farm yard and the old houses are worthwhile and at this time of the year the woods are filled with bluebells, orchids and wild garlic soaked as they were by the latest rainfall were bright and vigourous.  The smell of them on the breeze was wonderful.

Wild garlic near the village pond.

The walk took us up the lane from the farm to follow the road between woods and wheat fields with the rape seed glowing bright yellow in contrast.  The Spring foliage is green and bright, looking new and fresh in the sunlight and everywhere we looked the views were stunning.  Birds were busy in the trees and that adds to the pleasure of the walk.

In the bright sunshine the Chillenden Mill stands out on the horizon across the fields where a tractor with a sprayer is dusting crops.  What with?  However, we find a footpath down through the woods and head back to the village noting a few bluebells, a fallen tree and a standing trunk that looks like a tenement block for woodpeckers, as indeed we hear some in the woods.  Crossing a track we take a look from the edge of the trees down to the house and gardens – beautiful view of the layout and the men busy working on the cricket pitch in a wonderful rural setting.  So peaceful.

On the path down to the village.

The path leads through an avenue of trees that with the new growth glow green in the sunlight on the way down to a field behind the houses and hence back to the village.  The Fitzwalter Arms, the hub of the village and conveniently next to the church, is a most welcome sight where we had  lunch and a game of bar billiards.  The things you do!

After lunch we took a stroll around the village and chatted with a volunteer gardener who told us that the village hall was once the local forge.  It is also used as the lunch canteen for the school children.  Nice to see they have an active and vibrant village primary school.   We learned that when the horses were shod they were taken down to the village pond to cool the shoes in the water.  The pond was lined on the base with flint as a hard base for walking the horses and at times was also used as the washing pond for a sheep dip.   We went there looking for frogs but found none.

A glimpse into the entrance – the Old Post Office

From there we walked along Boyes Road and took a path through and old orchard back to the road again, turned down into the village and choosing the footpath beside the weaver’s cottage and the school went up to the churchyard.   Eventually we strolled back down to the car park and determined to come back again to see the gardens.

I will continue this post on to the next one if we manage to visit the gardens as planned on Tuesday (May 15) and hopefully have more pictures of the village and some of the gardens to add to a later post.

The beauty of Kent is that there is variety in what you can discover.  Maybe the county is not as wild as northern counties, or as grand as the Peak District, Wales or Scotland but with the North Downs as a backdrop and the slopes leading to the coastlands, the Romney Marshes and the magnificent white cliffs, we have enough to show.  Little gems such as Goodnestone are a wonderful respite from the urban areas of the sprawling Medway Towns, Dartford and Gravesend and the awful industrialisation of the Thanet coastal towns.

Pretty cottage on the road to Goodnestone House.

Tenterden in the Drought

Apple blossom struggling to burst out

Okay, so we are in the middle of a drought; they say the wettest on record.  We decided, not being intrepid, and sister having one of those hay fever heads, we looked for shelter, really casual walking and a place inland away from the wind and rain on the coast.

Wisteria trying to bloom

Tenterden is a town set in the heart of the farmlands of Kent a typical Wealden town with a church dominating the skyline, ancient buildings in the centre but unique for its wide, tree lined main street and attractive shops.  In May the place is normally a riot of colour and normally busy with shoppers and visitors enjoying the Spring sunshine.  Instead it was raining and although the shoppers were there, the blossom was bravely trying to appear it was too cold and wet for people to be strolling around.

We wanted to visit the church but there was a wedding going on – the bells ringing out for the happy couple – and me walking like Quasimodo and calling out for Esmerelda crying ‘the bells! the bells!’.

A pleasant garden in the main street

We didn’t get to see the inside of the church because there was another wedding going on not long after, like the crematoriums it seems that the churches are packing them in one after the other.  I hope the Vicar gets the right names.

On a day like this it is better to walk around the town that to take a long excursion out into the country although we did see some of the orchard as we walked out to the Appledore road.  There are walks around the town but we have yet to find a cheap place to park and as we decided to go there on the spur of the moment we did not investigate, hence the walk around the town.

Two friendly Traffic Control Officers

However, it was good to poke our noses into places which we would never know existed, finding shops that we might have missed and seen some pleasant views.

On the idea of parking in Tenterden it is expensive at 50p for the first half hour and one pound for every hour.  We had a chance to put our complaint to a couple of friendly Traffic Control Officers on the way around which was quite interesting.  Maybe we can sort something out and find a nearby pub.

The attraction of Tenterden is that it is an interesting town with some good waling paths around it, some of which we found the last time we paid a visit and close by is Small Hythe and Ellen Terry’s house, a vineyard and the Steam Railway.

The chocolate shop is along the way – Pretty in Spring

We can park there and enjoy a trip to one of the stations and walk around for a while to return on another train, have a look at the museum and maybe walk around the place from there.

As far as I can see there are at least four pubs in town, a couple of wine bars, plenty of cafes and tea houses, restaurants and two superstores.  The rest of the shops are specialist stores and antique shops with a heavenly chocolate shop along the main road.  As for the pleasure of walking the town, when the flowers are in full bloom, the summer hanging baskets out and people in the sun on the patios the place is a delight.

Even on this wet day, that did eventually dry up a little and offer some sunshine late in the afternoon, the gardens of the buildings and the cottages along the way and in the closes and suburbs were delightful.  We were impressed.

Lovely cottage garden

Cherry blossom hanging over a hedge, tulips and other spring bulbs in one garden so well done that an award should be given and a small urban garden that was so filled with colour that it deserved a long look.

When we arrived the children’s playground with its colourful equipment was deserted and looked forlorn under the grey sky.  We didn’t use it in case a job’s worth was watching.

Next time we will visit the railway and take a trip because, like a lot of people our age, we  like the Choo Choo’s and fancy a trip on a steam train.

A view of one of the trains

The Tenterden trains have a good selection of carriages and locomotives and a few pleasant stop offs, the one is Bodiam Castle and the village which is always an attraction.

A Sort of Safari

Welcome to my place - good afternoon, feed me?

We wandered to Wingham.  Let’s have a look at the wildlife park we said, and expecting to have to shelter at times from the rain we stopped there and prepared for what we thought might be a mediocre experience.  Wrong.  The place was once a dowdy place mainly with birds and a few small animals but when we saw the entrance and some early morning visitors coming out looking happy we began to change our opinions.  The change was made more certain by a perusal of the map and as we progressed toward the ticket office we saw pictures of penguins, tigers and otters!  Coo – as a resident wood pigeon remarked.

The lively Otter peeks over the bank

Claiming insanity and old age we got in for a discount and, with hand stamp, a chance to have lunch and a second attack on the sights.  First thing, after a visit to the toilets, was the Guinea Fowl and the exotic chickens, ducks,  parakeet, a pair of parrots and a couple of lazy lemurs.  It was good to see the birds loose with water and trees around.  We wandered, through the Flamingo pen, having missed the otter feeding, thinking of Alice and games of croquet, and from there out into the rest of the park.

First let us get the idea of Zoos and animals in captivity in perspective.  We do not like captive, caged up animals put on display just for a spectacle.  Most zoos are not ever going to be large enough to show animals and give them the room they need, but they need to be workable; and the justification for a zoo’s existence is that it serves a number of useful purposes.

Pretty Flamingos

A zoo should be educational, look after animals properly, create an environment in which they are happy, do some public service such as help act as a breeding ground for endangered species, rescue and nurture abused animals, and it must make enough money to maintain a high standard of care.  The old idea of a zoo where large animals are kept in small cages is redundant and no longer acceptable.  In part many modern zoos are a long way from this idea.  Wingham has some of the old ideas but is steadily developing an environment that is more than acceptable.  The enthusiasm of the employees and volunteers shows this.

Clarence - rescued Lion

There is a small collection of animals so that overcrowding and management is balanced. We have to bear in mind that most animals when fed well and looked after will not want to roam  - they are not normally tourists – even the vast herds of wildebeest in Africa travel a circuit,  a territory where the balance of food and numbers is part of a greater cycle.  Given only a few of them and plenty of food they have no need to roam.  Animals define their territory.

Which brings me to the big cats.  I like pussycats.  Wingham has a pair of crossbreed  Bengal tiger cubs about a year old and two lions rescued from the circus – Clarence and Brutus.   The tiger cubs are brothers, neutered and of course lovely.   Fed each day at 2:30 we joined the crowd and watched it happen.  Wonderful.

Feeding the tigers

The big cat pens are well built and laid out so that the animals have their space and people can easily see them.  A number of pens have a walk through system and at points around the park there are places to buy feed for the birds.  The walk through pens include a children’s petting zoo with hand gel cleaning at many points.  One at times is also surprised by the sudden call of a peacock and amused to see a Royal blue neck appear above on roof tops with beady eyes peering down at you.

On the subject of big cats; the park has a beautiful Puma and although I do not know the story of its arrival I must say it looks wonderful with that sleek, smooth litheness of body  that these creatures have.  It looks comfortable, happy and showed no signs of any restless pacing.   In another pen there were a group of Scottish Wildcats, the first I have seen, looking like large tabbies, chunky tails, high rear quarters who ignored us completely.  I liked that.

Feeding the Lemurs

Gripes?  That I will have to wait for the Parrot House and the Tropical Area to be upgraded but that is a matter of anno domini and will be done.  I was not that impressed by the reptile house, I have seen better, and it seemed that the collection was inherited and not that well thought out.

It was a good to see native birds enjoying the facilities and of course noisy mallards popping inn to say hello.  In all we enjoyed the visit.  It was good to see a pair of Kookaburras and some Galahs, the latter being a favourite bird having seen them in the wild flying in flocks showing their pink and grey and crimson colours as they swoop around.  All in all a good afternoon’s wandering.

Lively little creatures

As the title says, it was a sort of safari with the only shooting being done with my camera.

The other attractions at Wingham are the educational areas that focus on children, a good children’s playground and the Meercats.

In the tropical house there are bats and butterflies and beautiful birds but for me  the tigers were the creatures I like most.  There is a good selection of birds and animals, too many to list here so go and pay a visit and find out for yourself.  See the Emus, the Wallaby, the Pelicans and all.

I think Blake was right.

Of course we must not forget that there are other attractions in the area; Wingham itself, the small township looked wonderful as we passed through.  Close by is Goodnestone with the gardens, a lovely village and a pub.

The Kings Head pub in Wingham is good although there are two others to try if you want a better bill of fare than the cafe at the Park will offer.

The Mating Call

A view over the East Lake

Sad news for us; we no longer have our hairy companion to take with us.  He succumbed to a large unstoppable growth and he is no longer with us.  No more will Zoid show us the way on paths, drag us eagerly into pubs or give us an easy means of making friends with people.  To ease the loss a little we chose a place where dogs could not be taken; the wild life reserve at Sevenoaks and had a wander around watching birds.

Great Tit feeding

We heard a Great Tit singing as we got ready to walk and when we stood in the hide to watch the Grebe’s there were birds feeding on a feeder quite close.  The Great Tit flits into the feeder and eats a little and flits out quickly.  Of course being spring it is pairs mating and pairing up which is a treat because they are so openly active.

The reserve was once a sand and gravel quarry; the evidence of the quarrying is still there  although the buildings are gone to allow the space to regenerate.   Other than cutting here and there and pathways kept maintained so that it is obvious where you should go and of course the hides the area is left to develop naturally.   The place is surrounded by main roads and one is aware of the M26/25 and the railway close by but once inside the perimeter the noise can be ignored and the birds enjoyed.

The Blue Tit waits its turn

Geese, the large bird that in some conditions seem such ungainly creatures become in their natural environment creatures that fit in with their surroundings and whatever ‘make’ they are look right.   We saw them pairing up choosing their nest sites and claiming territory, honking noisily, splashing and lashing out at each other to stake their claims.  It was exciting watching the males having a go and the females standing by demurely enjoying the attention of their mates.   Fun to watch.

There are two pairs of Swans and two huge nests – it is good that Swans do not nest in trees – the nest are massive and when you are close up to them you can see just how big the birds are.  Note: if  Her Majesty (God Bless Her) is tempted to eat one I suggest she is going plough her way through a lot of Swan Sandwiches, stew and soup.   But, as you can imagine, it was a great thing to see a nest.

Swans nesting - a rare treat.

We saw the courtship dance of the Great Crested Grebe, a duck with ducklings, a Mistlethrush  and Robins.  One Robin was in a hide filled with members of the family who had donated it to the reserve,  three generations come to visit in memory of their lost one.  Maybe the Robin comes for the same reason?

The place is interesting and the day we were there it was busy with visitors; a place we may visit again.  As it was, the mating call was strong for the birds and warmed our hearts with the sheer energy of it.  We did not see Kingfishers although somebody in one of the hides saw a flash of orange and blue on the opposite side of the North Lake.  It would be better perhaps later in the year when the trees had more leaves to see them; maybe catch them flashing down into the Darent which runs through the reserve.  Who knows?

Geese contesting territory

Anyway, the trip was worth the effort and for a time took our minds off the absence of Zoid and allowed us a chance to cogitate over other family losses and illnesses but also to talk of better things as well; academic success, a birthday and as Ian Dury would have it “Reasons to be Cheerful”.

On the idea of Swans: It is oft times I mention the book Three Men In A Boat and the mention of Swans reminds me of the episode when J and George  set off for the Inn leaving Harris in charge of the boat and the bottle of Whiskey they were reserving for hot toddy in case they ‘got upset’  (fell out of the boat) and Harris who drank much of the whiskey and had an imaginary fight with a whole fleet of Swans.  Came to mind was the oft quoted line:  ”A swan can break your leg with its wing” and having never, repeat never, known it to happen, I was happy to be close to the beautiful birds.

The Robin in the hide - sweet (Tweet?)

I also suggest that although there is tea and coffee on sale and a few snacks it would be a good idea to take a picnic lunch and eat it in the gardens close by the visitor centre.  I suggest also that as there is no entry charge a donation would be a good idea.  It is worth every penny you give.

I will of course miss having the dog with us and I know of the two of us my sister will miss him most.

A Little touch of Borden

Borden church from the gate

I had a quick look at the church dedicated to St Peter and St Paul; you cannot miss it as it dominates the centre of the village.  This Friday afternoon was beautiful and sunny and the centre of Borden looked attractive under a bright blue spring sky. I arrived mid afternoon to learn that that the children from the primary school were to have a service there which meant that I could not go in and wave the camera around but I was content to take pictures of the church once they were all inside.

A happy priest outside the church before the children's service

Borden churchyard is always attractive and in the sunshine it gleamed.  As is usually the case in Kent villages there is a pub opposite itself looking glorious complete with car park at the rear and boards outside declaring the wares.  I took a stroll around the village, had a look at the millennium gardens and the playing fields.  The parish council has installed, in addition to the children’s playground, exercise apparatus for adults, which is a good idea.

I discovered the picnic area and learned of the reserve close by.  A chance meeting with  Parish Councillor Peter Page enlightened me to the fate of the reserve which is evidently soon to be worked on.  I was told about the resistance to its upheaval and how it should go and hopefully will be done.  I was told about the wildlife that was there and it seemed to me the upheaval is a bit too ambitious for the sake of what seems to be a cosmetic change instead of simply a necessary attempt to relieve the problem of random gas escapes from what was a former tip.  You could say it was typical of the long term effects of a short term solution.  Land fills were always going to be  problem in the future especially when tipping is not controlled or restricted and solving the problem is always difficult.

View from the village to the reserve

The pressure on the area to provide land for housing also kicks in and I guess the provision of a ‘pretty’ reserve area will make it possible for developers to grab yet more land for building.  Witness the lack of gaps between Sittingbourne and Kemsley and the encroaching building around Iwade.  I cannot help thinking that the Monty Python guys had it right with the castle in The Holy Grail – you build one on marshland, it sinks, build another one on top, that sinks and you repeat the process until one stays up.  The essence is to build and keep building – stupid but seems to be the way.

I walked around the picnic area and saw a peaceful and pretty place.  I also learned about the blacksmith’s forge and how it was recently refurbished and will be turned into a museum and meeting place with information about the walks around Borden, the history of Borden and at times the forge perhaps put into use.

The picnic area at Borden

I suppose that like all villages surrounding townships in Kent there is this sort of developer’s jealousy that will make them feel as they are deprived of a chance to make a profit.  The residents themselves will often see their own community under threat of disruption and look at places on the edge of the town where houses have been built and see an ugly, monotonous, crowded area that has as little character as a caravan site, or a sprawling area of two story houses marching over the hills toward them, the threat of increased traffic, overused amenities and a loss of that essential green belt.  On the other side the development – leaving the developers out of it – is welcome to those who need a place to live, and to those who are struggling to keep the places they are already in.  The sharing of costs with the newcomers, the projected industry interest and employment plus the chance to stay where they want to live is a boon, a bonus and a necessary development for the region.

A magnificent Magnolia on the road to the centre

The trouble is that small villages such as Borden become absorbed into the whole and lose some of their community spirit.  Maybe it is only the well off who can afford to live there, some of the listed buildings are like money sink holes, and maybe it is the farming community surrounding them that is essential too and therefore we cannot afford to build willy-nilly but need to realise that affordable and social housing is needed as well as perhaps to attract a few more high earners who want a rural retreat.  I am not one to condone housing elitism but I do sympathise with those who want the rural retreat and are willing to pay for it are entitled to realise their needs.

Mind you, it would be nice to find a cheap bungalow there and move in with my cat, writing, painting and disgusting habits. The village is beautiful and I would want it to stay that way.