The Elham Valley

One of the roads around here that I really love to ride is that which runs through the Elham Valley. It goes from the A2 Dover-Canterbury, just above Barham, down to the A20 just below Etchinghill.

There's some attractive villages along the way too, and a lot of history!. As usual, I worked out where I wanted to go, and what I wanted to see, and it should have been easily achievable- do the entire length of the valley and then turn left and pick up a couple of extra villages on the end.

Problem is, the British weather thought otherwise. I managed to get half way along, and it started to rain. Only lightly, but I had three washing machine loads on the line at home drying. Oh well, there'll be other days.

So, I covered tiny little Postling, then on to Etchinghill, Lyminge and Elham, with a tiny diversion between Postling and Etchinghill to find a small war memorial alongside the A20 where it just encroaches on Sandling.

Now, when I got to Elham, I walked around the village, and as I walked back to Twinkle, the bell on the church clock reminded me it was lunchtime and I was hungry.

I was almost back to the Abbot's Fireside, when I spotted a new tea rooms that wasn't there last time I went through the valley.

One bottle of sparkling Kingsdown rhubarb (my new favourite) and a delicious cheese and tomato sandwich later, served by a lovely lady, I thought this is so me.

It's a very pretty place, the food and drinks are locally sourced, the service is impeccable and the pricing appropriate to the style of food they serve. I for one will make it a regular stop every time I pass between those hilly sides.

So, unusually for me, this is a firm recommendation: 

Go on, treat yourself - The Elham Tea House, two doors down from the Abbot's Fireside in the centre of the village, right on the main road. Please visit and show your love by signing the petition on the counter, to stop the Parish Council limiting their hours unfairly.

Elham Tea House

clicky-wicky their web-site above too.

Menu

OK so over to the Kent section now to work on the pages for Postling, Etchinghill, Sandling, Lyminge, and Elham. 129 pictures to sort through, so it will probably take me the rest of the week to get it all online. And the rest of the Elham Valley will go back into my system to be done another day.

Sevington

Had to get a bike MoT'd today, and there was enough time left for a little country ride, and a visit to Sevington church.

Sevington, a tiny suburb of Ashford where the church is now divorced from its parish, separated by the new ring road, is quiet and peaceful. The church lies at the end of a lane which goes nowhere. You can hear the sound of the traffic rushing past on the dual carriageway and the M20 nearby, but as you get closer to the church, those sounds fade, to be replaced by bird song. Once inside the church, peace reigns.

New page under Kent coming up shortly......................

Sussex in the sunshine (well, until it rained, of course)

 Yesterday me and The Other Half went for a ride down through Sussex. We passed through Burwash in bright sunshine, and had to pause for traffic right by the church. 

It looked beautiful in the sunshine, so today, having a free day, I thought I'd head back there, and have a proper look around both the village and the church. 

I was met in the church by a group of people, enjoying their Monday coffee morning. I was promptly given a cup of coffee, and invited to join them for a natter.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank those lovely people, who made me so welcome. I enjoyed our chat - and the coffee. 

So - to the point of today's visit. I've taken loads of pictures of both the church and the village. As usual, it will take me a couple of days to upload the pictures, and a little longer to research the finer details. 

On this trip, I decided not to visit Batemans, the former house of Rudyard Kipling. That deserves a longer period of time for a visit than I had available today. Also, I prefer to keep 'indoor' visits for less clement weather, and use these warm and sunny days for visits by motorcycle.