Walk pictures - Kemsing holiday 3

Friday

Friday was 'Dad's walk' day. We were to walk from Maidstone to the bridge over the Medway near Rochester (mostly along the riverside footpath), then get a train back to Maidstone.

We began by walking quite a long way along the river, leaving Maidstone behind and passing through at least one pretty village (which I haven't selected any pictures of).

Large weir/flood barrier with tall towers. (The river's still tidal.)

1/1500 at f4, 15mm, ISO200

Part of derelict wharf next to what I think was a timber yard, which is presumably now supplied by road.

1/30 at f13, 19mm, ISO100

Another part of it.

1/350 at f4.5, 22mm, ISO100

Gantry over a small inlet.

1/180 at f13, 20mm, ISO100

Eventually we left the river and struck out across land for a bit along footpaths.

This involved walking past a large sewage works.

1/90 at f11, 12mm, ISO100

We stopped for lunch in the churchyard of a small disused church; it's not used for worship but the building is still open, it's maintained by some charity or other. (I thought it was 'Friends of Friendless Churches', but it's not on the list on their website. Hm. Maybe something else then.)

Apparently this is a thingy that would have held a bell, which had presumably been removed.

1/30 at f4, 15mm, ISO400

Angels around the altar.

1/30 at f4.5, 22mm, ISO400

The organ, a little the worse for wear.

1/20 at f3.5, 10mm, ISO800

We took a rather long way around on an embankment that followed the curve of the river (rather than cutting across it) in order to get a better view of the factory we'd been seeing for a while, which turned out to be a paper mill. I think the factory is in the wonderfully-named Snodland, 'the Middlesbrough of the South'. We went through Snodland on the train later and although there were a few factories, I don't think it compares to the Middlesbrough of the North.

Apparently the Romans invaded across the river here. That's the chimneys of the paper mill behind, on the opposite bank.

1/45 at f13, 16mm, ISO100

I just liked the stripes of colour from the embankment down to the fields.

1/45 at f9.5, 22mm, ISO100

Eventually we left the river once more and followed roads and footpaths for the last part of the walk.

Side gate of Waterman Offshore Ltd's warehouse.

1/20 at f9.5, 19mm, ISO100

Bridge over the recently-built Channel Tunnel Rail Link, with view to motorway. On top of the hill is (or is near) Borstal Prison, the original young-offenders institution.

1/125 at f11, 22mm, ISO100

Just to prove we were still in the country...

1/125 at f11, 22mm, ISO100

Large abandoned farmhouse in the shadow of the rail link.

1/250 at f11, 21mm, ISO100

Finally we crossed the now-rather-large river on the bridge that carries the motorway (there's a footway; it's part of the North Downs Way, although I'm not sure we ever crossed it when we did that).

Tidal mud in the bridge's shadow.

1/125 at f11, 17mm, ISO100

Oil.

1/45 at f11, 18mm, ISO100

The other bank.

1/45 at f11, 22mm, ISO100

Looking back at the two bridges.

1/125 at f11, 22mm, ISO100

We then managed to find a railway station which, impressively, had no information display at all; there was a printed timetable and that was that. It didn't even tell you which platform was which. And the level-crossing gates were pushed across manually, i.e. there is an actual person whose job it is to open and close gates... despite such evidence of antiquity, the train did still arrive and successfully took us back to Maidstone.

Saturday

We went to Canterbury to do the tourist thing (well, except that we didn't go into the cathedral, which is Canterbury's only tourist attraction).

The back of some statue.

1/750 at f4.5, 21mm, ISO100

Part of a private school.

1/45 at f11, 10mm, ISO100

St. Martin's church, on the other hand, we did go to see. It is supposedly the oldest parish church in England that's been in continuous use (since at least the 6th century and possibly 5th). Of course, most of it's been rebuilt since then, but still.