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)

Herne Bay

Egad, the north wind blowing in off the sea was chilly today! However, out of the wind, the warmth of the sun made for a very pleasant stroll around Herne Bay. 

Not a town I care for much - a lot of it is run down and tatty - but the section of the seafront I explored today is rather attractive. 

It has suffered very much from underfunding by the local council, and you can't help but feel that they're missing a trick here, and a bit of TLC and promotion and it could return to being a lovely seaside holiday spot, especially for older people who want something a little quieter than the brashness of say, Margate etc. 

Pictures and words added to the Kent 1 page

Sounds like Summer

 So, yesterday was the first really warm sunny day this year. The chill wind we've had for  few weeks had done one. 

We spent the day with me showing him roads he'd never paid attention to, and we delighted in the little hamlets along the Kent/Sussex border.

Several of them I've already covered, but one had escaped me as being somewhere to pass through, not to stop and look.

About  a mile outside Rolvenden, lies the little hamlet of Rolvenden Layne. Tiny it may be, but it has an interesting history, and even better, a curious museum! 

All information on the Kent1 page

Oops!

Today looked like a good day to explore Margate, and then drop down to Ramsgate to have a peek at a couple of sailing ships that are in the Royal Harbour at the moment. 

That was the plan, but it didn't all go without incident. For one thing, I think I need to replace the battery pack in my favourite camera. It seems to barely last a day now. 

Secondly, I managed to trip over an uneven flagstone, put out a hand instinctively to prevent myself from falling and slammed the back of my hand into a wall. Unfortunately, it was a very old flint wall, and I've done a bit of damage to my little finger. Luckily the skin isn't broken and there's no blood. However, it is very swollen, with a pronounced groove running diagonally across the swelling.

Went into a nearby cafe to get a coffee and wait to see if it was going to give me any problems riding the 40 or so miles home. The very nice lady not only brought me a really nice cup of coffee over, but she also produced an ice pack for my finger. That reduced the swelling measurably.

I'm just waiting to see how it is tomorrow................I don't think it's broken, which is good.

So, pictures of Margate on the Kent page, and the boats at Ramsgate on Kent2. I must do a walk around Ramsgate soon, and there is still more to explore in Margate.

The closest spot to foreign places

 Today's walk was through part of Dover. I didn't do the obvious bits of the castle, or the docks, but instead poked and prodded the 'ordinary' part of the town.

Dover, to most people, is just a place to leave from or arrive at, and most just pass through as quickly as they can. It's a great shame, as, apart from the Castle (which is easy to get to without troubling the town), it gets virtually no tourism, and it's a town dying on its' feet to a greater degree than almost anywhere else in the country.

However, pictures and bits of info on Kent1