Am walking less and less, because of decrepitude. On Aug 4th dealt with unfinished business as Countryside Access Warden. On June 23rd looked at “issue” in Blean: to remove vegetation from bridge and stiles. Rather than force my way through a bean field … i gave up.
“Blean” seems to mean “coarse, rough place” [Judith Glover] which seems unkind to the village between Canterbury and Whitstable. Ancient Blean forest covered a big area to north of Canterbury. Large pieces remain, including Blean Woods National nature reserve, West Blean and East Blean Woods.
Blean is a village on busy A290 with two pubs, church, post office and primary school. And the excellent Meadow Grange garden centre. My interest: three paths off Chapel Lane. Risk the bus. Covid hasn’t gone. Usual misgivings about fitness, stamina. Sunny morn about 20 deg C. Bus stop on Canterbury ring road gives view of Dane John mound above city wall. Triangle bus. Only me with a mask. Woman had portable electric fan. Got off by Woodlands estate “Residential living for the over fifties, Keats Farm” Cross road to Royal Oak pub. Past Honey Cottage, Kent Cottage Holidays. Path CB19 on right. Rewrote number. Sharpie pen maybe not UV proof. Gravelly path with litter. Later fallen leaves. Leaning tree, passable. Druidstone wildlife park to left: saw two grey donkeys. Horses. Stiles either side of concrete farm road. Almost too high for me.
Pruned mostly brambles from two stiles either side of wooden bridge over ditch. Easy walking: field beans reduced to stubble. Path to right of white farmhouse. Barking dog. Ragwort. Onto Chapel Lane, turn right. Man walking dog. Right again into Badgers Close. Ahead on wide path CB18. Edge of same beanfield. Cross same concrete road, just after blue car. Turn left over manhole cover. Mather and Smith limited, Ashford, Kent. Tarmac between houses. Rowan with red orange berries. To main road. Big blue tractor passes. Retrace steps, eating two ripe blackberries. Turn right on grassy CB77 to Chapel Lane. Right and left to bus stop.
Sat on metal railings. Seemed long wait – always does – for bus. Prob 15 min. Bus busy. Only two of us masked. Shotspace on Wincheap for reviving double espresso. Wouldn’t have done that if muddy.
Count positives: dealt with “issue” Total walk two miles, very slow. Didn’t fall. A morning not thinking about all the things i don’t want to think about.
Written on Hiroshima Day. Never forget.
Ref: Judith Glover “The place names of Kent”
Rambling Brummie 