November 6th, 2022
It was my birthday last weekend so we took my niece for her first ever trip on the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch railway which has been feature multiple times previously on this blog.
The train is indeed minature
It rained a lot in the morning but still a great day out. And I found something interesting! Here we see an earlier version of your correspondent standing next to engine number 12 in the distant past:
Around 1988 ish
And in exactly the same location, here’s number 12 again! (It’s the same engine, I asked, they just painted it black at some point.)
2022, note the platform refurbishment
October 23rd, 2022
Another surprise relocation! I’ve moved to Cambridge after being turfed out of my parents’ home. Earlier this month I set off northwards on an initial exploration towards the city of Ely.
I ended up doing this over two days due to illness (not covid) but still I somehow didn’t manage to arrive in Ely until after dark so I didn’t really see anything of England’s third smallest city.
Oh, how flat and featureless the fens are! Flat terrain can sometimes be interesting to walk through if there’s some navigation challenges or other obstacles (see my recent adventures on the Romney marsh) but as I was along this river for most of the journey the middle section after leaving Cambridge was really boring. The scenery picked up a little bit towards the end though when I could see Ely cathedral in the distance from miles away.
September 16th, 2022
I went for another walk along the Kent coast a few weeks ago, this time around the back of Folkestone near the Channel Tunnel and on to Dover.
Channel Tunnel terminal
I thought maybe I’d get a good view of the tunnel entrance from the hills above but it wasn’t as impressive as I’d imagined. Back when it first opened there was an exhibition centre somewhere around here but it must have been demolished.
A precipitous drop near Dover
The section of cliff-top path between Folkestone and Dover was awesome, I’ll give it 9/10 for walking experience. Dover itself doesn’t seem to have a lot worth visiting except the castle and the port. I dimly remember a family trip to the castle, but might warrant a repeat visit.
August 3rd, 2022
I went for a walk last weekend near Folkestone and to my surprise I discovered a castle!
It’s Saltwood castle and is, somewhat incredibly, someone’s private residence so you can’t go inside which is a shame.
July 22nd, 2022
A little walk I did recently along the South Downs Way near Eastbourne.
Nothing really remarkable happened but I got free tea and cake from a church (thanks Jesus!) and the scenery was nice. I missed these open chalk downlands.
June 30th, 2022
As promised I went out to explore the nearby wind farm and in doing so made another crossing of the Romney marsh!
The place is called Little Cheyne Court wind farm and it was built in 2008 after a lot of local opposition. There’s a public footpath running right through it so you can get up really close to the turbines. It’s actually pretty scary standing underneath them with the blades spinning.
After that I plodded over the marsh to Dymchurch. Dymchurch is lovely! It’s a very stereotypical slightly-tacky British seaside resort, like a time capsule from the 60s or 70s. I had a 99 with a flake from an ice cream van, it was wonderful.
May 30th, 2022
Last Friday was “Day of Care” at work so I decided to head out for an adventure to the wastelands of Romney Marsh.
The marsh is a large area of reclaimed land in Kent. As you might expect it’s very flat and perhaps not the most interesting terrain for walking.
Studying the map beforehand I knew I had to pay a visit to “Sheaty Sewer”, and this wooden bridge over a foetid open sewer vastly exceeded my expectations! (I think “sewer” might mean irrigation channel locally.)
Sheaty sewer
Below is the 800 year old church at St Mary in the Marsh. The church is open to look around during the day.
Church at St Mary in the Marsh
Towards the end I arrived at one of my favourite places, Dungeness! Not only is there a mini train and a lighthouse, there’s not one but two nuclear power plants! I discovered a path between them and the sea. It was very exciting. Below is Dungeness A, the older one, which is being decommissioned now but Dungeness B is still operating.
Dungeness A
May 26th, 2022
A somewhat uneventful walk from Rye to Battle, the site of the battle of Hastings no less. Here’s the river Tillingham just outside Rye.
One thing I’ve noticed down here is that footpaths are not nearly as well signposted as they were back up in Oxfordshire. I got lost quite often, including walking in a big circle at one point. Maybe my navigation just sucks now.
April 26th, 2022
Despite growing up here I’ve never done much exploring of the “interior” of East Sussex. Normally I just go for a walk along the coast in one direction of the other. Well, time to change that: a new programme of exploration is launched! The first mission is north to Bodium Castle and then to Robertsbridge.
A wood just outside Hastings
This was my favourite part of the walk, an unexpectedly lush wood just a few minutes from Hastings hospital.
Bodium Castle
Bodium Castle is basically what you get when you ask a five year old to draw a generic castle. It made a brief film appearance as “Swamp Castle” in Monty Python and the Holy Grail!
Robertsbridge high street
This was the most picturesque part of Robertsbridge, a small town on the Hastings-London train line. I’ve passed through it on the train loads of times but I don’t think this is the first time I’ve ventured into the town itself.
On the map I saw a “Robertsbridge Abbey” but what is left of the ruin is on private land and so a bit of a disappointment.
April 23rd, 2022
Unseasonably warm and sunny weather on the Easter bank holiday weekend so I decided to go for a walk in the opposite direction along the coast.
The sea was eerily calm, almost like a lake. You can see in the miniscule waves in the picture below.
The rebuilt (and bankrupt) Hastings pier
I got to Bexhill and on a whim decided to divert to Sidley, site of my former sixth form college.
All that remains of Bexhill Sixth Form college
Alas the college has since been demolished: all that hints at its former existence is a residential estate named “Scholar’s Walk” and these old railings. Demolition is a common fate of educational institutions attend by me.
Sidley, but it could be anywhere really
Sidley is pretty nondescript. It doesn’t seem to have changed much in the last 18 years (I think the Aldi is new). I wouldn’t recommend a visit.