So, after two days of miserable hiking weather our first day in Canterbury was beautiful. Given that it was Sunday and we did not want to stumble in on any services that would be occurring at the Cathedral (I think Bill went to morning services, I, on the other hand, was nursing my accumulated injuriesContinue reading “Canterbury and Dover. A Cathedral, Castle and Secret Headquarter walk into a bar…..”
Category Archives: 2021 hike back in the UK Winchester to Canterbury
Day 6 – Last leg; Chilham to Canterbury “a man on a mission”.
First apologies for the delay in this post, just a lot of stuff going on and the muse has to strike me and unfortunately my muse tends to fade as I reenter the world :-). This day started out nice enough but there was and Orange Flag warning (think severe weather watch) for for rainContinue reading “Day 6 – Last leg; Chilham to Canterbury “a man on a mission”.”
Day 5 – Closing in, Boughton Lees to Chilham
Hiking is pain. I say this not as a complaint, or to seek sympathy, but to allow those who have not attempted to hike 60 miles or more in 10 days or less to understand an aspect of through hiking that is not often discussed. On this day my heel is still hurting and IContinue reading “Day 5 – Closing in, Boughton Lees to Chilham”
Day 4 – On the road again. Lenham to Boughten (pronounced Boatun) Lees
So before we start the hike I must take a moment to describe my funhouse bedroom at the Dog and Bear. If one is not aware, rarely is a structure torn down in the UK, it might fall down but not torn down. So, constant renovation is undertaken. In this instance I believe my roomContinue reading “Day 4 – On the road again. Lenham to Boughten (pronounced Boatun) Lees”
Aylesford Priory old, new and ducks!
So, I start this missive correcting a minor chronological faux pas. I stayed at the Priory the evening after Chartwell but prior to seeing Leeds castle. Things just kind of blend together sometimes, what can I say. The Priory website does a much better of summarizing the history than I would so the following fewContinue reading “Aylesford Priory old, new and ducks!”
Leeds Castle the Queen’s castle
Leeds Castle has an interesting story. The first reference to a castle at this location is in the 12th century. Interestingly enough the castle became part of a dower, or essentially a wedding present, from kings to their respective queens from the 12th through 16th centuries. Though the castle was modernized in the 1930’s, moreContinue reading “Leeds Castle the Queen’s castle”
Churchill the artist
Winston Churchill began painting after the disastrous WW1 amphibious landing at Gallipoli where nearly 200,000 British casualties including 32,000 dead. The strategy was the brain child of Churchill and he went into a deep depression after it’s failure. During a family holiday at a country estate prior to Chartwell, Churchill’s sister in law Gwendolyn (Goonie)Continue reading “Churchill the artist”
Chartwell, a different perspective of a British Lion part two
Moving into the house we turn to the more well known perspective of Churchill the statesman. Churchill enjoyed entertaining guests at Chartwell and the home was designed to accommodate to facilitate same. The Who’s who of pre WW2 were in attendance. Such as: Such as Lord Arthur Balfour of the Balfour declaration which stated theContinue reading “Chartwell, a different perspective of a British Lion part two”
Day 3 Alton to Farnham
We have been extremely fortunate to this point having excellent weather with sunny days and brilliant blue skies. Atypical for England where the old saw “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing” is a motto to live by. The last half of our hike will be a bit soggier. However theContinue reading “Day 3 Alton to Farnham”
Day 2 Alresford to Alton?
As we leave Alton it is a beautiful day with vendors setting up for a street market. Continuing on we went under another viaduct of the Watercress line. The Watercress line as I mentioned is now a excursion line operating between Alresford and Alton but was founded in 1865 and got its name from theContinue reading “Day 2 Alresford to Alton?”
Lou Hikes? 