A walk with DATROWS

Sunday, Ides of March. On my last two walks i went astray. One can avoid this by joining a walking group. Just follow the leader.

DATROWS is the Dover and Thanet Rights of Way Society. The name implies that the best way to preserve public footpaths is to walk them. I discovered the group in 2000. They had fortnightly walks of about six miles and occasional walks of ten or more miles. More recently, they added leisurely walks of about three miles. A boon to the less agile members.

Today we met at the Viking Ship at Pegwell Bay, near Ramsgate. In 1949 the replica ship Hugin was sailed to Broadstairs by 55 Danes. This commemorated the arrival 1500 years earlier of Hengist and Horsa at Ebbsfleet. The main bay at Broadstairs is now called Viking Bay. The ship is a copy of the Gkstad ship, AD 890.

The three mile walk took us south, alongside a temporary sewer pipe, through the Pegwell Bay nature reserve, a haven for coastal birds, where seals may be seen on the mudflats at the mouth of the Stour. True to my handle, i spent much of the walk chatting on all sorts of subjects with fellow walkers

Walking is good exercise. Fresh air is good. Nature is good. There’s something else i find hard to explain. It’s good to meet, at intervals, a group of people who are not workmates or family. No connection except a common interest, in this case walking.