Today we went to the Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park near Faversham. Gunpowder was manufactured here for several centuries and the site is now valuable for wildlife. There are marked trails through woods, mill ponds and remains of industrial works with information boards explaining the site. A little muddy but pretty good considering the rain we’d had recently. Couscous loved it.
The landscape here is different from other areas of Kent in that the ground is sandy not stoney-Couscous preferred it. The park is full of grass fields with thick growth of ferns either side. Dogs aren’t allowed in the house but the park is vast so it’s no bother. This is Kent’s last medieval deer park. The deer are very pretty but can be a little too friendly. We saw one that was hassling a woman and toddler for their picnic food. We took Couscous up to them to see if it would move away from a dog but instead it was very curious and stomped its hoofs enough to make us back off. The oddest thing was a lack of rubbish bins outside the café area. I intend to return to visit the house and its collections.
Sutton Valence is a small, historical village near Maidstone. There are the remains of a castle which are open to the public (free). We parked in the village (very picturesque – so good to take visitors to if you want to show them an English village that isn’t touristy) then walked round to the castle and continued round the block. There appears to be an area/field/wood to walk the dog in which is on the right hand side as you return to the village – follow the stair where you see a dog poo bin. We went from here to Mote Park – a good combination.
Chartwell is the family home of Churchill. It is managed by the National Trust. Dogs are allowed in the gardens, which are large enough to make it worth a visit. A very busy place in the summer. We have visited on Boxing Day two years running, so for us that’s a tradition.
The evidence for dogs being part of human family life goes back to at least the Ancient Egyptians. A description is given in a forthcoming British Museum publican BMSAES, by W. Vivian Davis, of the Tomb of Sataimau. Notable among the pharaonic monuments at Hagr Edfu is a group of three tombs, located at the foot of the main hill which were uncovered by the Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1941. One of the tombs belongs to a high official named Sataimau and is dated by inscription to the reign of Amenhotep I. In the tomb-chapel of Sataimau, in the First chamber, on the North and south walls is the following:
“The focal scene is that on the north wall showing the seated figures of tomb-owner and wife surrounded by their offspring (and a pet dog), before a pile of offerings. “
Reculver once occupied a strategic location at the north-western end of the Wantsum Channel, between the Isle of Thanet and the Kent mainland. This led the Romans to build a small fort there at the time of their conquest of Britain in AD 43. In the 2nd century they built a larger fort, or “castrum”, called Regulbium which later was part of the chain of Saxon Shore forts. After the Romans left in the early 5th century Reculver became a landed estate of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent. The site of the Roman fort was given over for the establishment of a monastery dedicated to St Mary in AD 669. King Eadberht II of Kent was buried there in the AD 760s. During the Middle Ages Reculver was a thriving township with a weekly market and a yearly fair, and it was a member of the Cinque Port of Sandwich. The twin spires of the church became a landmark for mariners known as the “Twin Sisters”, supposedly after daughters of Geoffrey St Clare. In the 19th century a copy of the facade at Reculver was built for the St John’s Cathedral in Parramatta, Sydney. Reculver declined as the Wantsum Channel silted up, and coastal erosion claimed many buildings constructed on the soft sandy cliffs. The village was largely abandoned in the late 18th century and most of the church was demolished in the early 19th century. Barnes Wallis’s bouncing bombs were tested in the sea off Reculver in WWII.
Humanity’s Best Friend: How Dogs May Have Helped Humans Beat the Neanderthals
Over 20,000 years ago, humans won the evolutionary battle against Neanderthals. They may have had some assistance in that from their best friends…
I have decided to add another dimension to the blog and write little blurbs on good places to take Couscous for a walk. I will start with where we went today – the Cobham Mausolem. It was recently restored and then acquired by the National Trust. It was designed by James Wyatt for the Darnley family in the late 18th century but never used for burials.
Photos of the mausoleum pre, post and during restoration can be found here.
More historical detail can be found here.
It’s easy to find. Drive along Lodge Lane and just before the bend is a carpark. The path starts by the thatched house and you walk straight until you get to it.
About 3-4 miles. Park at the George Inn at Trotiscliffe. Walk left out of the car park until you get to Green Lane. Walk to the end of Green lane and along the bridleway on the right of a house. Turn left and walk along the edge of the field. Keep going through the field until you come to a couple of gates and the walk across a lane into Trosley Park. Walk right and head diagonally up the chalk scarp. At the top, through the gate and turn left. Soon after, go right up some broad stairs. Here you hit the North Downs Way (Red Walk). Turn right and keep on the Way. Eventually you bend left and come to a green gate and another lane. Turn right, continuing on the Way and down the hill, until you get to some houses. On your right you’ll see the sign to Coldrum Longbarrow. Head to the Stones. Just before you get to them you’ll see a path to the right. After visiting the Barrow come back to this path. Follow it to the Heritage car park and then across a field to the church. At the church go right by the renovated barn and through the garage courtyard to a field. Follow the path back to Green Lane and the George Inn.
For a shorter walk just go past the first field and right along Pilgrim’s Way (skip Trosley Park) or even shorter, to the Longbarrow from the pub or from the Heritage carpark.
Trotiscliffe walk
North Downs Way
Coldrum Stones view
Had a few days out this week with the hound. She loved her first sandy beach – I’ve never seen her so excited. She couldn’t get enough of the bloke who called her gorgeous.
Richborough Roman fort
St Augustine Abbey
Reculver beach
Reculver ruins