A week in Kent - Roving Ringers
25th July to 5th August - Tour organised by Mike
Itinerary
Photos
I stayed at Bolton Barn in Lenham Heath.
Roving Ringers were at Palace Farm in Doddington
My accommodation ran from Friday to Friday, whereas tour was from Saturday to Saturday, so I packed Mike's bags and left him to it on the Friday. Penny B was going to be turning up sometime in the evening and staying overnight and he was also giving a lift to Peter, so I was confident he would have someone there to pack the bike in the car etc. Louise Palmer dropped out the day before with a stress-related illness and Peter stepped into the breach as Master.
I left after lunch on Friday and found the traffic very heavy going, especially as I got further round the M25, but eventually Suki and I arrived at our destination. It was absolutely delightful - a small barn conversion, and quite the most dog-friendly accommodation I have ever had. They provided throws for the chairs and bed for when the dog is used to getting on the furniture, and even provided dog treats and a dog towel, dog bowls for food and water, and a squeaky toy. The cottage was well appointed and comfortable, although no wi fi! So my plan of settling down with a glass of wine on the first evening and catching up with some of my social emails was a non-starter. There was also no internet signal for much of the time on my phone, although the phone signal was good, although occasionally I got internet access in certain parts of the living room for a while - so I made the most of it when it happened to research routes, pubs etc. If I walked a little way up the lane I got 4G, so I did a lot of my research and emails standing around on the corner of the lane!
When I arrived I found tea and coffee, milk, 4 eggs from their chickens, a small jar of homemade marmalade and a homemade lemon drizzle cake (so much for my intention to stay away from sweet things while here!). All wonderful - I had a slice of cake every day and it lasted me all week.
There was a good supply of DVDs and books too. I watched several episodes of the original Upstairs Downstairs when I couldn't find anything on TV to watch. Suki found it difficult to settle at night. The first evening she was up scrabbling the whole night as if she was scared and I ended up watching an episode of Broken on my iPad at 3 am. She slept soundly all through it but as soon as I turned the light off she started scrabbling again. I ended up sleeping with the light on all week as it was the only way to keep her settled!
I took my cross stitch with me of course – and realised that there is a whole column of stitches missing from the pattern – the right hand edge has been chopped off where it joins the next bit of pattern on the next sheet! I am hoping it won’t be too noticeable. I would complain – but I got the kit from a charity shop so the company may not even exist any more and in any event nothing can make up for the waste of time I have already spent on it.
I also found some AA Walks in Kent cards on the bookshelf, and this gave me something of a project for the week – although I think they must have been quite old as many of the footpaths were overgrown or ploughed up, and one footpath had been diverted altogether with no indication of where the diversion goes! I did 4 of them and have listed the details at the end of this blog. Before I left home I had printed off details of several potential places to walk – country parks etc on the North Downs - and these proved more successful! Again the details are at the end. My mapping software was invaluable and I could not have done the walks without having this to keep me on the route - and sometimes to keep me going in the right direction!
I had a bit of a scare with Suki one morning. We were doing a 6 mile walk to Lenham and back and it was very hot, although there were lots of puddles from the recent torrential rain so she was not short of water. On our way back she suddenly staggered, her legs gave way and she fell over on to her side in a sort of fit. I thought she was going to convulse and possibly die (well I always thing the worst) but after a few seconds she recovered and got up again. Luckily we got to a stream fairly soon afterwards where she could cool off and she seemed fine for the rest of the walk. I was intending to walk 3 miles round the grounds of Leeds Castle in the afternoon as we were meeting Mike at Leeds to pick up the chair, but I decided instead just to have a meander around as it was still hot - we walked to the Castle from the church - and then sat in the shade for a while and I had an ice cream.
I met up with Mike several times to collect the chair and take it back to Palace Farm so that he didn't have to tow it at the end of the day, and on the Canterbury day I took it from Canterbury to the last tower and then waited around and took it back to Palace Farm after the ringing. I had started the day with a walk along the white cliffs at Dover, making good use of Mary's National Trust membership card to park for free at the NT car park. It was very hot and with Suki having had a funny turn the day before I decided not to do the 5 miles I had been planning but just a mile or so and sit in the shade watching the ferries going in and out of the harbour. I had a cream tea at the NT cafe for lunch - bravely asking some people to watch Suki while I went in to get it, and then bravely asking a passing member of staff to take my tray back for me!
I was out from 9.30 am to 7 pm and found I was completely whacked when I got back to the cottage - and was falling asleep in front of the TV.
I met up with Len for coffee at a pub in Wye on the Thursday. I parked in the free car park - where the local council flat residents were sitting on the grass outside the block watching as Suki bolted out of the car when I opened the boot and started chasing a cat around! I was screaming at her. What an entrance! We went for a lovely walk - probably the best of the week - up from Wye to the Devil's Kneading bowl and then back down a long ridge. Unfortunately it was really windy and I was buffeted a lot, especially on the ridge. I was very glad I went on it as I had been having second thoughts because of the ascent, but it was very worth it. When I got down I messaged Len and he drove over from Ashford which was only about 10 mins away. We spent a couple of hours chatting and then he came to the church with me to see Mike and then I took the chair back to Palace Farm again.
On Friday I had to leave the accommodation by 10 am - I had the car packed and had departed by 9.30 am. However I had to stay in the area all day as I was taking the chair back to Palace Farm from Rochester at the end of the day before driving home. I went to Kings Wood again and had another nice walk - stopping off for a couple of hours in a nice spot to read my book (Wilbur Smith - Golden Lion). I was then very brave and went to the pub in Wye for lunch! I ordered ham, egg and chips - and luckily spotted the deep fried bug attached to one of the chips before putting it in my mouth! I gave the chip to Suki and sent the bug back on my plate when I had finished! I then drove to Rochester and mooched about for an hour or so before collecting the chair and taking it back to Palace Farm and then driving home. I finally finished the Sherlock Holmes books on Audible during the drive home - a total of 65 hours listening!
My Walks
Saturday 29 July
Perry Wood
4.59 miles. 2 hrs 4 mins. Route Card. Map. AA Route Card 1 (map) AA Route Card 2 (route description)
Notes: Nice orchard with vast amount of fruit on trees. A bit too much road on the southern leg - and the long footpath at the end from south to north was overgrown by broad bean plants and weeds.
Sunday 30 July
Hucking Estate
4.31 miles. 1 hr 49 mins. Route Card. Map.
Notes: Obviously popular with dog walkers. Open heathland with some woodland. I did a couple of different circuits to pad it out.
Monday 31 July
Bolton Barn to Lenham Church
3.55 miles. 1 hr 28 mins. Route card. Map. AA Route Card 1 (map) AA Route Card 2 (route description)
Lenham Church to Bolton Barn
3.28 miles. 1 hr 37 mins. Route card. Map.
Notes: I did this circular walk in two halves - I stopped recording when I reached Lenham as I spent some time in the town having a coffee and looking round. The return leg should have gone to East Lenham before turning Southwards but the footpath had been closed and there was no information as to how it had been diverted. So I worked my way back to the first leg route, during which I had to circumnavigate a field where the footpath had been completely covered by growing corn.
Tuesday 1 August 2017
White Cliffs of Dover
1 mile. 30 mins. Route card. Map.
Notes: I was going to do the AA Route Card walk of 5 miles to the lighthouse and back (route card not copied as route was easy). However it was a boiling hot day, and I was worried about Suki in the heat especially after her funny turn the day before, so I ended up walking only a short distance and sitting in the shade for a while.
Hackington Circular
2.44 miles. 57 minutes. Route card. Map.
Notes: there was an interesting footpath along the side of the church which ran round most of the village and then took me on to nice heathland. I emerged on to the road just as Mike and Penny whizzed past me down the hill. Had to retrace steps to find entrance to heathland, and wandered around to begin with trying to find the start.
Wednesday 2 August 2017
Kings Wood 1
5.41 miles. 2 hrs 12 mins. Route card. Map.
Notes: A large wood with plenty of paths. I followed a route of my own.
Thursday 3 August 2017
Wye Circular
4.63 miles. 1 hr 51 mins. Route Card. Map. AA Route Card 1 (map) AA Route Card 2 (route description)
Notes: Worth the climb. Great viewpoint from the Devil's Kneading Bowl and fabulous ridge walk back down.
Friday 4 August 2017
Kings Wood 2
6.58 miles. 4 hours. Route Card. Map.
Notes: Spent the morning in this wood on my last day. Sat and read a book for an hour and a half midway.
Photos
I stayed at Bolton Barn in Lenham Heath.
Roving Ringers were at Palace Farm in Doddington
My accommodation ran from Friday to Friday, whereas tour was from Saturday to Saturday, so I packed Mike's bags and left him to it on the Friday. Penny B was going to be turning up sometime in the evening and staying overnight and he was also giving a lift to Peter, so I was confident he would have someone there to pack the bike in the car etc. Louise Palmer dropped out the day before with a stress-related illness and Peter stepped into the breach as Master.
I left after lunch on Friday and found the traffic very heavy going, especially as I got further round the M25, but eventually Suki and I arrived at our destination. It was absolutely delightful - a small barn conversion, and quite the most dog-friendly accommodation I have ever had. They provided throws for the chairs and bed for when the dog is used to getting on the furniture, and even provided dog treats and a dog towel, dog bowls for food and water, and a squeaky toy. The cottage was well appointed and comfortable, although no wi fi! So my plan of settling down with a glass of wine on the first evening and catching up with some of my social emails was a non-starter. There was also no internet signal for much of the time on my phone, although the phone signal was good, although occasionally I got internet access in certain parts of the living room for a while - so I made the most of it when it happened to research routes, pubs etc. If I walked a little way up the lane I got 4G, so I did a lot of my research and emails standing around on the corner of the lane!
When I arrived I found tea and coffee, milk, 4 eggs from their chickens, a small jar of homemade marmalade and a homemade lemon drizzle cake (so much for my intention to stay away from sweet things while here!). All wonderful - I had a slice of cake every day and it lasted me all week.
There was a good supply of DVDs and books too. I watched several episodes of the original Upstairs Downstairs when I couldn't find anything on TV to watch. Suki found it difficult to settle at night. The first evening she was up scrabbling the whole night as if she was scared and I ended up watching an episode of Broken on my iPad at 3 am. She slept soundly all through it but as soon as I turned the light off she started scrabbling again. I ended up sleeping with the light on all week as it was the only way to keep her settled!
I took my cross stitch with me of course – and realised that there is a whole column of stitches missing from the pattern – the right hand edge has been chopped off where it joins the next bit of pattern on the next sheet! I am hoping it won’t be too noticeable. I would complain – but I got the kit from a charity shop so the company may not even exist any more and in any event nothing can make up for the waste of time I have already spent on it.
I also found some AA Walks in Kent cards on the bookshelf, and this gave me something of a project for the week – although I think they must have been quite old as many of the footpaths were overgrown or ploughed up, and one footpath had been diverted altogether with no indication of where the diversion goes! I did 4 of them and have listed the details at the end of this blog. Before I left home I had printed off details of several potential places to walk – country parks etc on the North Downs - and these proved more successful! Again the details are at the end. My mapping software was invaluable and I could not have done the walks without having this to keep me on the route - and sometimes to keep me going in the right direction!
 |
| Overgrown footpath on the Perry Wood walk. The beans were shoulder high! |
I met up with Mike several times to collect the chair and take it back to Palace Farm so that he didn't have to tow it at the end of the day, and on the Canterbury day I took it from Canterbury to the last tower and then waited around and took it back to Palace Farm after the ringing. I had started the day with a walk along the white cliffs at Dover, making good use of Mary's National Trust membership card to park for free at the NT car park. It was very hot and with Suki having had a funny turn the day before I decided not to do the 5 miles I had been planning but just a mile or so and sit in the shade watching the ferries going in and out of the harbour. I had a cream tea at the NT cafe for lunch - bravely asking some people to watch Suki while I went in to get it, and then bravely asking a passing member of staff to take my tray back for me!
I was out from 9.30 am to 7 pm and found I was completely whacked when I got back to the cottage - and was falling asleep in front of the TV.
I met up with Len for coffee at a pub in Wye on the Thursday. I parked in the free car park - where the local council flat residents were sitting on the grass outside the block watching as Suki bolted out of the car when I opened the boot and started chasing a cat around! I was screaming at her. What an entrance! We went for a lovely walk - probably the best of the week - up from Wye to the Devil's Kneading bowl and then back down a long ridge. Unfortunately it was really windy and I was buffeted a lot, especially on the ridge. I was very glad I went on it as I had been having second thoughts because of the ascent, but it was very worth it. When I got down I messaged Len and he drove over from Ashford which was only about 10 mins away. We spent a couple of hours chatting and then he came to the church with me to see Mike and then I took the chair back to Palace Farm again.
On Friday I had to leave the accommodation by 10 am - I had the car packed and had departed by 9.30 am. However I had to stay in the area all day as I was taking the chair back to Palace Farm from Rochester at the end of the day before driving home. I went to Kings Wood again and had another nice walk - stopping off for a couple of hours in a nice spot to read my book (Wilbur Smith - Golden Lion). I was then very brave and went to the pub in Wye for lunch! I ordered ham, egg and chips - and luckily spotted the deep fried bug attached to one of the chips before putting it in my mouth! I gave the chip to Suki and sent the bug back on my plate when I had finished! I then drove to Rochester and mooched about for an hour or so before collecting the chair and taking it back to Palace Farm and then driving home. I finally finished the Sherlock Holmes books on Audible during the drive home - a total of 65 hours listening!
My Walks
Saturday 29 July
Perry Wood
4.59 miles. 2 hrs 4 mins. Route Card. Map. AA Route Card 1 (map) AA Route Card 2 (route description)
Notes: Nice orchard with vast amount of fruit on trees. A bit too much road on the southern leg - and the long footpath at the end from south to north was overgrown by broad bean plants and weeds.
Sunday 30 July
Hucking Estate
4.31 miles. 1 hr 49 mins. Route Card. Map.
Notes: Obviously popular with dog walkers. Open heathland with some woodland. I did a couple of different circuits to pad it out.
Monday 31 July
Bolton Barn to Lenham Church
3.55 miles. 1 hr 28 mins. Route card. Map. AA Route Card 1 (map) AA Route Card 2 (route description)
Lenham Church to Bolton Barn
3.28 miles. 1 hr 37 mins. Route card. Map.
Notes: I did this circular walk in two halves - I stopped recording when I reached Lenham as I spent some time in the town having a coffee and looking round. The return leg should have gone to East Lenham before turning Southwards but the footpath had been closed and there was no information as to how it had been diverted. So I worked my way back to the first leg route, during which I had to circumnavigate a field where the footpath had been completely covered by growing corn.
Tuesday 1 August 2017
White Cliffs of Dover
1 mile. 30 mins. Route card. Map.
Notes: I was going to do the AA Route Card walk of 5 miles to the lighthouse and back (route card not copied as route was easy). However it was a boiling hot day, and I was worried about Suki in the heat especially after her funny turn the day before, so I ended up walking only a short distance and sitting in the shade for a while.
Hackington Circular
2.44 miles. 57 minutes. Route card. Map.
Notes: there was an interesting footpath along the side of the church which ran round most of the village and then took me on to nice heathland. I emerged on to the road just as Mike and Penny whizzed past me down the hill. Had to retrace steps to find entrance to heathland, and wandered around to begin with trying to find the start.
Wednesday 2 August 2017
Kings Wood 1
5.41 miles. 2 hrs 12 mins. Route card. Map.
Notes: A large wood with plenty of paths. I followed a route of my own.
Thursday 3 August 2017
Wye Circular
4.63 miles. 1 hr 51 mins. Route Card. Map. AA Route Card 1 (map) AA Route Card 2 (route description)
Notes: Worth the climb. Great viewpoint from the Devil's Kneading Bowl and fabulous ridge walk back down.
Friday 4 August 2017
Kings Wood 2
6.58 miles. 4 hours. Route Card. Map.
Notes: Spent the morning in this wood on my last day. Sat and read a book for an hour and a half midway.
