We’re having a long weekend in the West Country and staying at a hotel by the sea in Babbacombe. As usual, a slightly fraught journey along the A303 – the good bits are brilliant then another frustrating traffic jam… Lovely room with a balcony and sea view though:
We tried to walk down to the sea, but the path was very steep and overgrown:
So we gave up and headed for the pub instead!
A nice meal of sea bass:
And a gentle stroll along the tops back to the hotel:
I was going to head to Paddington and walk some of the Grand Union Canal today, but spotted a “semi-fast” train going to Chesham, and decided a bit of countryside at the far end of the Metropolitan Line would be bettter.
Chesham Station only has a single platform, but was surprisingly busy:
A footpath leads from the station back along the line:
And soon gets to Meades Water Gardens, a lovely little spot:
Then wiggles around under the tube line before heading uphill into Little Hodds Wood:
and a nice bench for lunch:
At the other end of the woods, there was a bit of road walking to Amersham Station:
From there, I caught a little diesel train back to Marylebone, then the tube and a fast train back to Orpington.
Quite a bit cooler today, so we went for a walk around Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. We were last there in 2012, see:
There is a new “Discovery Centre” opened recently (replacing a hut) with info on the reserve:
And an excellent cafe, with some seats by the window, complete with binoculars!
We also joined the Sussex Wildlife Trust while were there and finally (at least according to Rocco) set off for a walk:
It was quite windy along the coast. Rocco eventually found a bit of a stick on the shingle:
and once we got to the sea, he loved retrieving it from the waves:
There are many hides on the reserve; this one was good as there was a lot of bird activity just outside it:
The habitat changed as we headed inland:
And we headed to the ruins of Camber Castle, where we found a sheltered alcove to have our lunch:
The castle is no longer open to the public due to its condition, but we could have a peek inside through the gates:
Then back to the car. A nice 6 mile walk, though very windy at times!
On the way back from Tenterden was a small National Trust property, Smallhythe Place. We’d been there many years ago, but it was worth another visit:
The house was the home of the actress Ellen Terry, with many theatrical bits more of interest to Tina.
There was an interesting map showing Wittersham as an island in the 14th century:
The gardens were lovely:
The Kent & East Sussex Railway heritage line is (fairly) close to where we are staying, so we got up early to catch the train. Whilst waiting, we had a look at a very interesting museum covering the branch lines that Colonel Stephens was involved in – most of which are now long closed…
One of the station staff was kind enough to take our picture by the station:
Classic carriage, complete with route map printed on the table:
And 50 minutes later, were were at Bodiam Station, opened 25 years ago:
There was a nice field between the station and the castle where Rocco could let off steam:
Then after a coffee, we had a walk around Bodiam Castle:
Then off to the local pub for a beer and a very nice lunch:
After lunch, we gave Rocco a longer walk:
and back to the station for our train home:
A nice trip.
Today’s visit was to Hole Park, a private garden/woodland, see holepark.com
Lovely wisteria:
and a swing for Tina:
Not very interesting for Rocco as he had to stay on the lead though. After a coffee, we headed to the woodland walks, past many stunning flowering Rhododendrons:
Bears are a theme as they are part of the owning family’s motto:
and a very pleasant path through the woods, with a lot of wild garlic:
and more flowering shrubs:
and a very happy dog!
A nice day out, helped by very pleasant weather.
Not far from Appledore was the Ferry Inn, curiously named as the river by the pub is now tiny. But this wasn’t always the case, and the ferry used to run across the River Rother to the Isle of Oxney.
Excellent beers, and we each had a steak burger wrapped in a toasted tortilla – a combination we’d not seen before:
As you can see, the burger was enormous, and perfectly cooked with the meat just pink in the middle.
After that we needed some exercise, so on with the walking boots along the “Reading Sewer”, the water that now flows past the pub:
Further on was a little hill with a nice path leading up it:
and nice views of the Isle of Oxney from the top:
From there, we walked on down and then round back to the pub – a very warm walk though there was a little breeze at the end.
We decided to have a mooch around Appledore this morning.
There was a small road just off the High Street that lead to a footpath going to the Royal Military Canal:
and a very pleasant walk along the bank:
to the main bridge over the canal:
We then popped in to the church, which had an excellent tapestry depicting life in Appledore over the last 1000 years. Not easy to photograph though so here is a picture of the church instead:
We walked through College Wood on Saturday, following the public footpath on the way to the River Rother. I’d planned to go the same way this morning, however, I spotted a notice welcoming walkers on a gate post near the barn with a path across the meadow heading to the same woods. So off we went on a wider explore of the woods.
In one corner was a surprisingly steep ravine, with a small river running through and a set of stone steps following the river down:
A hidden gem! Further on, there was a lot of wild garlic:
A lovely wood! My route back took me through past the village school just as all the children were arriving – quite a challenge feeding Rocco past the children on narrow pavements…
Another glorious day here in the depths of Kent. First stop was Woodchurch Village Life Museum. Didn’t look much from the outside, but an excellently curated collection of local artifacts and tales of village life. Dog friendly too, not that Rocco got too excited by it. This is a carding machine:
From there, we went to Orlestone Forest Nature Reserve. Not sure we saw much nature, but Rocco could have a good run around and chased sticks:
After which, it was time for a drink, so we headed to the Woolpack Inn in Warehorne. A lovely pub in a nice quiet village; almost tempted to stay for lunch, but as it was Sunday, a Roast was the main offering:
We had a quick look at the village church and had intended to walk to the Royal Military Canal, but the 1st stile wasn’t dog friendly and the third field had cows and calves in, so we abandoned that and headed to Parkwood instead. This had a 1.5 mile “Oaks and Bluebells” trail with really nice paths and 8 geocaches to find:
Unfortunately, Rocco found a smelly pond, so we headed back to the barn and forced him to sit in the sunshine until he was dry. We then strolled back to the Wittersham Sports and Social club for excellent beer and a bit of a chat with the locals:
Another lovely day; let’s hope this nice weather continues through the week!