Day 41 – Monday 28 May 2001 - Swale to Faversham

13.5 miles walked today

508 miles walked in total (average 12.39)

I left Portsmouth again at about a quarter to seven and started walking two hours later at Swale, which is actually nothing more than just a railway station and the name of the river.  In fact, to embark/ disembark at Swale, you practically have to jump in front of/ out of the train.  Very exciting!

The first chunk today took me on roads through Iwade and Kemsley to Sittingbourne, which surprised me by being quite a pretty little town, despite all the industrial bits.  I went to take a look at the Dolphin Yard Barge Museum, but it didn’t open for another hour and I couldn’t be bothered to wait.  Yet another missed sightseeing/ educational opportunity.

From Sittingbourne, I was back on footpaths along the Swale to Conyer.  Initially, I had to walk through a travellers’ camp which was a bit scary, but the perseverance paid off – I was soon back on proper footpaths – it was very peaceful.  It’s great to leave the concrete behind and get back on grass again.  The policies for each county regarding foot and mouth are a bit vague – some footpaths are open and some aren’t.  There doesn’t seem to be any logic behind any decisions at all.  So I didn’t see any other walkers, but I did see some big, fat, healthy sheep!

There are about a dozen houseboats at Conyer and I was in heaven, imagining my future living in one of these abodes.  I even collared one of the local residents and grilled him about living conditions – apparently, they have double glazing and carpets, can be lived in all year round and, if you’re lucky, you even get your own little garden with shed and greenhouse.  He’d lived there for three years but the people who lived in the boat opposite had been there twenty years.  In fact, the one next to him was up for sale and would I be interested?  Would I?!  I was informed that a houseboat could cost anything between £30,000 and £40,000.  Mr Minshull, take note!

I had a quick drink in the Ship and Smuggler Inn which, coincidentally, overlooked a houseboat so I got a good gawp at their kitchen arrangements as I supped my orange juice.  Mmmmm, I wouldn’t have my kitchen set out that way, but it’s started me thinking …

From Conyer, I was back on roads through the villages to Faversham – I was beginning to struggle now and really wanted to stop.  My feet were killing me and I was getting rather burnt and delirious, desperate for ice cream and a sit down!  In fact, I did the last two miles at a bit of a shuffle, rather than a walk.

Faversham is another pretty town – my guide book said it was one of the prettiest towns in Kent.  It certainly was that.  However, my feet were hurting so much that I decided not to explore this time, but to have a look next time I’m up.

A very good weekend overall.  Considering I’ve done no exercise for ages, I was rather pleased with progress.

Day 40 – Sunday 27 May 2001 - Minster, Isle of Sheppey to Swale

12 miles walked today

494.5 miles walked in total (average 12.36)

I left Portsmouth this morning at quarter to seven and started walking two hours later.  I knew today would be hard – I’ve just come back from a nine day camping trip in France where I’ve done nothing except eat, drink and sleep.  I did manage to walk one day – a paltry five miles – what a disgrace!

It’s been all road walking again with the odd track, but the footpaths are all still closed on the island.  And it’s been very hot – I’ve a most attractive, stripey effect sunburn.  (I won’t be able to wear that strappy dress now for the wedding I’m going to next week – bugger!)

At Eastchurch, I stopped to look at the memorial to flight.  “This memorial commemorates the first home of British Aviation 1909.  Near this spot, at Leysdown, Eastchurch, flights and experiments were made by members of the Aero Club (later Royal) of Great Britain.  Also the establishment of the first aircraft factory in Great Britain by the Short Brothers 1909 and the formation of the first Royal Naval Air Service Station 1911.”

The Isle of Sheppey is a caravanner’s paradise – I gave up counting after a dozen parks.  The most ridiculously named were Palm Tree Holiday Park and Coconut Grove.  Today’s been a day of summer sights, smells and sounds:  seagulls; peacocks; cuckoos; doves; wood pigeons; roses; cow parsley; rape; bonfires; newly mown lawns; children playing on the beach and bacon sizzling!

The beach at Leysdown consists entirely of crushed shells – no sand, or shingle – which gave a satisfactory crunching noise underfoot as I walked along.  I liked Leysdown a lot – it was a proper holiday place – lots of amusement arcades, bingo, fish and chips, etc.  I’m not a great fan of these kinds of entertainments, but I enjoyed seeing it.  Perhaps because it’s been so long since I’ve been at the proper seaside – Southend was a year ago, after all.  Despite being a tiny place, Leysdown was heaving – car boots and markets being the order of the day!

Swale is back on the Kent mainland so I decided to call it a day, although not even two o’clock.  Still, twelve miles in less than five hours isn’t bad, considering the amount of time I’ve spent sitting down!

Day 39 – Sunday 6 May 2001 - Queenborough to Minster, Isle of Sheppey

6 miles walked today

482.5 miles walked in total (average 12.37)

This morning, we were walking at about 10.30 am along the creek at Queenborough, past a car plant and out to the roads through Blue Town.  We passed what we discovered later to be called the “Gnome Factory” – a concrete ornament manufacturer.  We saw all sorts of garden statues, from gnomes, windmills and Buddhas, to slightly less conventional figures – Bacchus, the Virgin Mary and Michaelangelo’s David!  Apparently there are some quite dodgy ornaments too which are hidden – these are known as the “top shelf statues”!

From Tescos at Sheerness, we were back out on the sea wall to Minster – proper seaside at last!  I got rather over excited, I’m afraid – I’m so fed up with riverside and estuary walking.  I really wanted to have a paddle, but didn’t dare tell Vicky in case she had me committed!  Besides, it was blinking cold – Sheerness is so bracing!

At Minster, we gave up.  It was very sunny and we found a sheltered spot from the sea breezes to sit down.  For an hour unfortunately, which meant we lost all enthusiasm.  However, it was lovely to sit and watch the people on the beach, the windsurfers tacking back and forth and just to natter and put the world to rights.  Perfect!

We did a bit of exploring of the shells and stones on the beach.  Vicky found a jellyfish and poked it with rather a short stick to see if it was alive.  I pointed out that, as Vicky is a first aider and I’m not, she would have to talk me through the treatment if she’d been stung.  Apparently, this would involve chopping an arm off, even if the sting was on the leg!  Mmmmm.  I think that perhaps the sun had got to Vicky at this stage – this was confirmed as she was trying out her Karate Kid manoeuvres while standing on a breakwater.

We had another look at the map to work out a plan of action and ended up in The Beach pub for a drink!  We then had another look at the map for another plan of action and walked to Minster Abbey to do some sightseeing and some more sitting down.  Our guide book had mentioned a tomb in the Abbey of Sir Robert de Shurland, Baron of Sheppey and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports during the fourteenth century.  The carving on his tomb shows a horse’s head rising from the waves – a local witch had prophesied that the horse would bring about de Shurland’s death.  To prevent this, he cut off its head, but, some months later, stubbed his foot on its skeleton (rather carelessly left lying about, I thought), developed gangrene and died.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get in to see the tomb as a christening was in progress.

The Abbey was founded in the seventh century by Sexburga, widow of a Saxon king and the nuns of the Abbey seemed to have lived a good life.  When excavating around the area, thousands of oyster shells and deer and wild boar bones were found.  The Abbey well is now housed in a garden of one of the local residents, but is open to the public on request.  It’s a fertility shrine and apparently has a 100 per cent pregnancy success rate.  Vicky and I decided not to visit.

Although still quite early, we decided to call it a day and get a taxi back to the car.  Vicky spotted a cab in the road and went to get the number, which didn’t show an area code.  We dialled the number with the Gillingham code (which turned out to be wrong) and managed to get through to the Control Centre of Kingsnorth Power Station!

It’s been a brilliant weekend – obviously not too many miles today, but the weather’s been glorious and it’s just good to bum around in the sunshine.

Day 38 – Saturday 5 May 2001 - Gillingham to Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey

13 miles walked today

476.5 miles walked in total (average 12.53)

Vicky and I left Worthing this morning at 9.15 am and, after driving around Gillingham town centre three or four times to try and find somewhere to park, we started walking at eleven o’clock.

The weather today could only be described as bracing!  Very sunny, but very breezy.  I lost count of how many fleeces that Vicky was wearing at any one time!  The stretch towards the country park took us right along the waterside and the tide was right in to the sea wall.  We had our first sit down on Horrid Hill, which wasn’t very hilly, or horrid now I come to think about it.

We were on footpaths again today, which are now open after the worst of the foot and mouth outbreak is over.  This stretch of coast, though, is very marshy with little or no footpaths around the edge, so eventually we got back on roads, through Otterham Quay to Upchurch, where we sat down to eat lunch in the middle of the church yard.  It had warmed up considerably by this time and we found a sunny little spot to sit in and listen to the birdsong and the lawn mowers from the neighbouring gardens.

After our lunch stop, it was roads again and we stopped at the Three Tuns in Lower Halstow for a quick drink before heading on to Iwade along a road that hugged the coast.  We checked the Ordnance Survey map and located the paths that we could take once we’d crossed the Kingsferry Bridge over to the Isle of Sheppey, but all paths on the island are still closed because of foot and mouth.  Bugger!  So we stayed on the main road which was quite hairy as there were some huge lorries threatening to gather us up in their slipstream!  To add to the traffic chaos, there was also an accident on the bridge and we had to negotiate a police car/ ambulance obstacle before we could continue.

Elmley Marsh Nature Reserve takes up a lot of the island and we saw lots of geese, swans, ducks, rabbits and a heron in flight.  Not to mention all the horses, cows and noisy sheep we’d seen earlier.  A day full of wildlife!

We staggered along to the railway station at Queenborough, on slightly quieter roads now, to catch the train back to Gillingham and a taxi back to the car.

Immediately we were back in the car, we were lost again so spent an hour or so trying to find our B&B – we now know the Medway towns very well indeed!  The B&B was very good and the landlady very friendly, despite accusing us of being mad for walking thirteen miles.  However, she did turn her attention to a couple who had cycled fifty miles from London on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.  So we were only second in the “nutter” stakes – what a disappointment!