Thursday June 2nd, 69th anniversary of queen’s coronation. Two public holidays, days when i try to avoid travel. Postponed footpath work in Bridge. Chose favourite riverside walk from Canterbury. Maybe three miles, my present limit.
Sunny. Wore coat to keep wind out. 8.24 am. York Road quiet: no bin collection today cos of holiday. Cross Wincheap, light traffic. Maidens Head pub. Under railway bridge. A few drink cans. Left onto Rheims Way. Aldi open. Hello Neil. A volunteer with Friends of Westgate parks. Little traffic: admire curve of dual carriageway between avenue of trees.
Left into recently mown meadow with beacon for tonight. Gas burner and orange pipe. Wide path downhill. Metal bull on right. Backpacker. Bridge over Stour. Left. Part of Toddlers Cove fenced off “construction site” Onto cycle path. Female runner. Walker with two poles. Three female runners. One more with pink teeshirt “JUST DO IT” Too warm for coat, took it off at Crichton family seat. Reflections.
Under railway bridge: three arches, one for river. Admire brickwork of skewed arches. Bench in memory of Joan Allen. Parkinsons UK. Woman running with pushchair. Bench by nettles. Oxeye daisies. Picnic table. Remains of Elham Valley railway bridge. Used to creep round on mud before cycle path built. “Share respect enjoy” Symbols for walkers, cyclists, wheelchairs. National cycle network.
Lovely morning. Sun behind me. No wind. Decided to carry on to Tonford, making three mile walk. “Cyclists moderate speed and give way to pedestrians” Under A2. Now feels truly rural. To right, Bigbury where iron age hillfort is. Buildings with cone of oast. Lots trees by river on left. Tonfield Field on right, no access to public or dogs. Ground nesting birds, eg snipe. Wet area increased by digging scrapes and small ditches. Long grass, buttercups. Highspeed train heads for Canterbury West.
Lords Test later, Eng v NZ. Hope to see some on son’s Sky tv. Otherwise Radio 5X. Singleplank bench next to large molehill. Powerlines have balls attached to warn birds. Across river, three horses in field. One maybe donkey. Mallards. Houses in Tonford Lane with lawns down to river. Constant noise of A2 traffic.
Tonford Lane. Footbrige over river. 55 min so far. Here Canterbury outer ring walk, 20miles meets middle ring, 10 miles. I pause, thinking of visits with children and Sidney Cooper’s painting which i looked at Tuesday. Walk back downstream. Plenty dog walkers. Sit on bench next to molehill to eat apple. Revived a little. White stuff blowing from tree. Clive Soord, local artist, passed on bike. Ceramics and sculpture.
Notice in five languages No coarse fishing in close season. English and four eastern European languages. Under A2. Artistic graffiti on vertical parts of bridge. Cyclist with dog in rear carrier.
Turn right. Bridge over river. Uphill. Out of rural Canterbury into commercial Canterbury. On left b&m, Pets at Home, Pure Gym. On right, Park & Ride. Ahead Morrisons. Ten Perch Road, in memory of allotments once here. Standard size: 5 rods by 2. Cross The Boundary, memory of former Bretts sports ground. Across carpark, up ramp to Maiden Lane, another sports reference. Now suburban Canterbury. Seems litter has been removed. Hedge on left, fences on right. Behind one lives Michael Rundell, author of Dictionary of Cricket.
Cross Cow Lane, past Jubilee hall (not this one) cross Wincheap by lights. Near here the Elham Valley Railway crossed Wincheap. Alley to Valley Road. Cross Elham Road (get it) Past wall behind children’s playground. Cogans Terrace. Cross Victoria road, another longlived queen. St Mildreds Place. Another pink teeshirt “THIS KENT GIRL CAN” Left into MFR and home.
Walking can be a refuge from world events, such as Putin’s war. As a republican, i welcomed escape from the bally ho about the royal family
Reviving coffee at home. Felt good. Pleasant flat walk. Slow of course, 3 miles in 1 hr 50 min. Didn’t fall. Legs and feet ok. Rest of day listening to Test.
Rambling Brummie 