And then there's Ashford................

 No longer the busy little market town of my childhood, or the place of my teenage years that was more rocker than mod.
The town centre is  run down and shabby, and there's a lot of ASBOs needed. Outside of the town, there's too many houses being built, swallowing up the countryside and farmland, and causing over-population and urban sprawl.
But in amongst the decrepit buildings and empty shops, there are still some treasures to be found. The town centre has been added to the Kent page, and I will explore the suburbs at a later date.

And there the Kent Coast ends.................(well, almost)

 So today, I visited Ramsgate. It used to be a favourite place when we were kids, and every year, the village would get a little coach trip up to go and see the Ramsgate lights (like Blackpool, only a little smaller). 

Built into the cliffside the full length of the harbour are little cavelets, mostly with seats in them, but some with little flower gardens and waterfalls. These would all be lit with coloured lights, and up the top of the hill, where the road turned right, away from the seafront, there used to be a theatre, a little motor museum and a flashing display of coloured lights depicting a ram jumping over a gate.

Now it's all gone and the water gardens are stagnant and dirty. The bandstand up the top, opposite the Plains Of Waterloo, once was the only bandstand in the world, with a polished dance floor. No more. Ramsgate, I'm afraid, has lost a lot of its' charm. Still, I found enough of interest to keep me busy for a while, mostly thanks to Augustus Pugin. 

I rounded off my trip with a return journey briefly visiting Cliffsend, Sandwich, Eastry and Elham. So these places have had more information added. They're divided between the two Kent pages

Now I have walked around every coastal town from Whitstable to Rye, but several of them still have far more to discover.................

Days, weather, boredom.....

 So, this year hasn't been productive for me as regards this blog. What with almost continual bad weather, health concerns and family life, I've got a bit behind with my travels.

On the other hand, being at home so much has enables me to catch up with research. What started as a byline to my family history searches, has now taken over as  a more interesting delve into the history that makes this country of ours interesting. 

At the start of the year, I had a single page of places I wanted to visit - mostly towns and cities. This has now grown into an 11 page missive that just details points of interest in just Kent, Surrey and Sussex, and any where in London within walking distance (for me) of any of the London train stations that I can get to direct from Ashford.

I'm hoping that, after all the wet weather, this year's Winter will prove to be dry. I don't mind the cold. After all, trains are warm, and I have heated clothing to wear on the bikes.

 So here's to more expeditions, and a reduction of my travel list!

Sounds, colours, smells and tastes in London

 Another short trip to London - specifically, Camden. No, not the whole borough, but Camden Lock, Camden High Street and the Camden Markets.

Never have I experienced such a rush on all my senses - from the beats of Reggae music, through all the colours of the rainbow - and the brighter the better - to the smells of a multitude of cuisines. I finally succumbed to the lure of Thai, when a lovely young man called William offered me a very tasty piece of chicken on a skewer. Anyway, I broke my rule of not photographing people and you will find a smiling picture of William on the London page somewhere. (not a very good one, because the camera decided to throw a bit of a hissy fit)

Anyway, I followed my visit to Camden with a leisurely stroll back to St. Pancras along Regents Canal, and very restful it was too.

The answer....................

 This is just a quick post to answer a question that I frequently get asked - which is why, when I go to a village or small town to explore, I generally start with the church.

Well, it's quite simply history. You can go to a city or a notable town, and the history is apparent. Big buildings, statues of the famous etc. But that's not where my interest lies. You can read any number of books on say, the Tower of London, or the monarchs of Great Britain, but I like finding the obscure, the odd and unwritten titbits of history, the social life of an area, and as the church was inevitably the centre of a community, that's where the history is recorded.

In the words of Sir John Betjeman:

'Our churches are our history shown, in wood and glass and iron and stone"

Just for a change - Sussex.

 Yesterday I caught a train. Unusually for me, I took a train even though it was no great distance and the weather was good. But I was heading for Rye. At the moment, the bike park on the Strand at Rye is being used by a company that is working on the waterways down there and it has made access even more tricky than it usually is, and it occurred to me, that in all my years, I have never been on a train travelling on the old diesel line that goes down that way. We also have 2 of the bikes partially off the road at the moment.

Anyway - Rye. Rye is ancient, and has seen more than its' fair share of history. It was one of our major Cinque Ports, and, in the 14th. century, was attacked by the French and burnt to the ground. It was also a hotbed of smuggling activity, and they left quite a mark on the town.

It is also steep. Very steep............

I took LOTS of pictures. Such a beautiful and historic place deserves it. It took me 4 hours last night to update this blog, so head on over to the Sussex page, if you will, and see what I found

At last................sunshine!

 this year summer has been one of the coldest and wettest on record, but finally, we have  had a few days of sunshine. Enough, in fact, for us to get the two little bikes out and go for a picnic.
We ended up in Egerton, a tiny village, and ate our picnic at a bench table on the pretty green. 
The green is conveniently placed next to the church, so I took the opportunity to have a look round. Being such a small village (less than 1,000 residents) I didn't expect much of historical interest. I was surprised........... go take a look.................

Yesterday's ride

 It was not a good weather day, and there's a train driver's overtime ban on at the moment. So I opted to stay local and carry on looking at local places. Well, I found a lot of things I didn't know about, and got to talk to a lot of strangers.

For some reason, people are curious as to why I'm taking photos of stuff they actually never noticed before. Anyway, a couple of those people filled in gaps in my local knowledge, and I was able to do the same for one person.

So here's a huge thanks to the organist at Lympne church, the lovely church warden in Dymchurch, and the smashing young lady doing the cleaning at St. Eanswythe's

As a further bonus, only 3 of the 15 or so churches I visited were locked.

Why would I go to so many churches when I'm not a Christian? It's because for centuries, the church was the heart of the community, and that's where the lesser-known histories remain

Did so much yesterday, it took me till midnight to update the two Kent pages.

Going over old ground, with new ideas

 So, I had an unexpected free day today, but the weather looked as though it was going to be too hot to do much walking - especially in full bike gear!

So, I decided to head back to Tenterden and fill in some of the gaps I hadn't covered before. It's only 12 miles from home, and with the exception of going from the railway station back up to the High Street, is fairly level and not too taxing, even in hot weather!

Well, that was the theory anyway..................

The Tenterden section on the Kent 1 page has been duly updated. But I reckon there's still more to discover in such an old town with such a rich and varied history.

I would be lost without the fabulous QuizTrails. I've mentioned them before on here, and they're a great source of both entertainment and information, and the inspiration for a lot of my trips around the South East. I've now completed 14 of them, and I've still got lots more to do

If you're looking for something to do during the school holidays, give them a go. I'm sure both adults and children will love them.

A change of scenery...........

 So, today, I fancied a change, and decided to hop on the high-speed train to St. Pancras and have a wander round the locale there.

I have long wanted to include the amazing Carrera Cigarette Factory in my list of Art Deco architecture, so I headed there first. The rest of my walk today, took in the areas of Old St. Pancras, Mornington Crescent, and Somers Town. Loved some of the stuff I found.

London page duly updated with loads of pictures and some of the titbits of research I've done on what I saw.

*naturally, I get home, tell my son where I've been, and he promptly says 'did you go to........did you see........' Why didn't he tell me before I went, then I wouldn't feel obliged to go back and do more.........(well, that's my excuse, anyway)