Historic barge in Hoo

The most well-known of the iconic sailing barges to have sailed along the River Thames arrived at Hoo Marina in early September, for winter storage, as she marks the end of her 110th year.

90ft-long sailing barge Cambria was built at the F. T. Everard and Sons Limited boatyard at Greenhithe in 1906 and is famous for being the last British registered vessel to carry cargo under sail alone – the final cargo being 100 tonnes of cattle cake in 1970 when she was owned by the folksinger and bargeman Bob Roberts.

Since being restored in 2007, thanks to £1.4 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Cambria has been able to provide life-changing experiences for hundreds of young people in association with the Sea Change Sail Trust as well as being hired out for private charters.  Cambria has also been active in the annual programme of traditional barge match races.

You can find out more about Cambria by visiting the Cambria Trust’s website here or take a look at the groups more up-to-date Facebook page here.

Photograph appears courtesy of Rob Powell at the Cambria Trust.

  

Seeing old Friends at Grain Coastal Park

I visited Grain Coastal Park last weekend and bumped into my old volunteering colleague Michael Dale.

Michael is now a leading-light in the park’s Friends group – a group of volunteers (mainly residents from the Isle of Grain) who spend many hours each week working hard looking after this increasingly popular and vast open space.

The Friends of Grain Coastal Park group has gone from strength to strength since it was created back in January 2012, following a successful community project undertaken by the Kent Wildlife Trust throughout 2011, in collaboration with St. James, Isle of Grain, Parish Council.  Those early project sessions were lots of fun and very interesting.

Michael and his volunteer colleagues have spent considerable time creating many great walks for visitors to enjoy.  In the noticeboard at the main car park (at the end of High Street, ME3 0BS) you will find a detailed map of the park showing all the walks.

If you’re looking to burn off some Christmas calories this weekend or during the festive period, or would simply like to get out of the house and enjoy fresh air and great views of the Essex coast and Isle of Sheppey – pop along to Grain Coastal Park.

  

The Great Escape - a walk from High Halstow to Allhallows

With improved weather and a need to lose a few pounds (or more), I escaped the hustle and bustle of village life last weekend, to explore some of the great wilderness right here on the Hoo Peninsula.

With my Gravesend, Rochester and Hoo Peninsula map (Ordnance Survey 163) and some tasty spam sandwiches in hand, I set out on Saturday morning along footpath RS42, at the end of Longfield Avenue in High Halstow.

After zig-zagging through fields and a bluebell filled woodland I eventually joined up with Decoy Hill Road, where I headed north for Egypt Bay – on the signposted ‘Curlews, Convicts and Contraband’ walk.

Egypt Bay is at the end of Manor Way, along Halstow Marshes, and this quiet spot marked the completion of my first couple of miles – making it the perfect place to grab a bite to eat (a spam sandwich no less). Aside from imagining Abel Magwitch wading ashore from a dirty old prison hulk, made famous in the opening sequence of Great Expectations, Egypt Bay is a great place to observe shipping activity on the Thames and to glimpse over to the container port at London Gateway and neighbouring Canvey Island. The only interruption was a herd of curious cows (there must have been more than 50).

After the excitement of the cows, it was time to head east along the northern coastline, in the direction St. Mary’s Bay, St. Mary’s Marshes and Dagnam Saltings.

Although only a handful of miles from some of our local villages, the route along the Hoo Peninsula’s northern edge can feel extremely remote and distant. I met only four other walkers, a cyclist and a couple fishing the entire time I was out.

Four hours after setting off from High Halstow and having covered a distance of eight miles – I finally arrived in Allhallows, to the rear of The British Pilot pub. I didn’t have time though for a swift ale on this occasion.

It was great getting out to enjoy the fresh air and nice weather, and to spend some time appreciating our unique local landscape.

I hope to go for more long walks this summer, but maybe with fewer spam sandwiches next time!

  

Stop the Thames Estuary Airport!

The campaign to prevent our area being destroyed by a Thames Estuary Airport has really taken off!

Medway Council, the RSPB and Friends of the North Kent Marshes continue to work hard, and in partnership with local residents, to prevent this catastrophe from happening.

My Photo Wall - a work in progress!

Although the media hype has calmed down in recent weeks, local residents are being encouraged to ‘keep up the pressure’ and maintain the campaign momentum.

That's why it is great to see more and more residents and businesses across the Hoo Peninsula displaying posters, leaflets and car stickers.

The dedicated Stop Estuary Airport campaign website, run by Medway Council, provides detailed information about where you can pick up leaflets, posters and car stickers. It also explains how you can get involved in the campaign.

As well as the Medway Council site, it’s also worth taking a look at the website run by the Friends of the North Kent Marshes by clicking here. The RSPB website also has an interesting section about the Estuary Airport proposals, with lots of useful and detailed analysis and information.

Step up, get up and together let’s Stop the Thames Estuary Airport from becoming a reality.
  

Cliffe Marshes Walk

Walking through the night for the Relay for Life, made me think that I ought to get back to exploring the many countryside walks around the Hoo Peninsula.

So on Sunday I headed for Cliffe, where there is no shortage of interesting walks. In fact, the newsagent/post office on Church Street (near the Six Bells pub) has a good stock of leaflets about local walks, produced by the Friends of North Kent Marshes.

Setting out from Pond Hill in Cliffe, I followed the Thames and Boundary trails (both sharing walking route RS82), which are part of the RSPB Cliffe Pools Nature Reserve. These trails lead past the pools and then on towards the sea wall - along what seems at times like a never ending gravel track.

When arriving at the sea wall, I turned right to walk north east, passing Lower Hope Point and Redham Mead, before stopping for a tea break at a point overlooking the site of the old Curtis & Harvey Explosives works.

This closed in the 1920s, but even now with relatively few of the hundreds of buildings still easily visible from a distance, it is clear this was once a very important part of our local military heritage. Although few would have known it was there at the time, given its ‘top secret’ nature.

The inward view of Cliffe Marshes is really impressive, even though the landscape seemed endless with the tea having run out and the long walk back to Cliffe still to go!

The other side of the sea wall is a little less than idyllic. Unless you have a thing for oil refineries of course. The River Thames generates lots of rubbish. I lost count of the number of Port of London safety helmets washed-up on the shore - it must cost someone (probably us!) a lot of money to keep buying replacements.

Whilst walking along the sea wall, I was stopped by a couple who were out exploring the area because of its connection with Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Vietnam war film ‘Full Metal Jacket’ (pictured below). Apparently Cliffe Marshes doubled up as Vietnamese paddy fields! I didn’t know anything about this, but I checked the internet when I got home and it’s all true - you learn something new every day.

Just before reaching Egypt Bay, I turned onto a track and followed the signs pointing south westerly to Cliffe. There’s quite a few ditches to cross on the return journey and, at one point, I had to ‘walk the plank’ in order to rectify a mistake caused by my less than perfect map reading abilities.

After 3 ½ hours walking, and having covered a distance of about 8 miles, I eventually arrived back in Cliffe via Wharf Lane.

A really enjoyable walk on a nice summer’s day.

E.ON Public Exhibitions

I went to Lower Stoke last week to take at look at the E.ON public exhibition about their pipeline proposals on the Hoo Peninsula. This exhibition, along with one held in Hoo the day before, was part of E.ON’s consultation into proposals for a Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) pipeline. The pipeline could run from Kingsnorth to St. Mary’s Marshes and out into the North Sea, if a new cleaner-coal power station were built after the existing Kingsnorth Power Station closes in 2015.

As well as talking through issues and concerns regarding the impact on the landscape and disruption to residents, I was particularly interested to hear about the work to survey the seabed from St. Mary’s Marshes, out into the North Sea and up towards the North Norfolk coast. I knew there must be quite a few shipwrecks in that area, but didn’t expect such a huge number dotted around the maps on display.

If anyone would like more information about the recent exhibitions, contact E.ON on 0800 019 8315 or by email here.

To find out more about Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) click here and here.
 

New Year’s Day Walk - Cliffe

On New Year’s Day, I headed for another RSPB Nature Reserve, this time at Cliffe Pools. I started out from Cliffe village on Pond Hill and then onto Pickles Way. Unsurprisingly, there were lots of people enjoying the fresh air and taking the opportunity for some exercise.

Although there are many trails to choose from, I opted for the Saxon Shore Way – heading through pools and lagoons towards Cliffe Creek.

When I arrived at Cliffe Creek, I had a look for Cliffe Fort, which was built in the mid-nineteenth century. Although derelict and closed to the public, it is still possible to view some of its exterior walls from the footpath. There are also the 100-year old remains of the Brennan Torpedo installation (on the shore side). Such a shame that these once important naval defences are now largely forgotten.

Within a couple of hundred yards of the fort rests the wreck of a Danish schooner, the ‘Hans Egede’. Although damaged by fire in 1955, she was used for many years as a coal and grain hulk on the Medway.

Heading back to Cliffe village, I took the less scenic, but more direct, route along Salt Lane, West Street, Higham Road and Church Street.

An excellent few hours spent exploring a small part of RSPB Cliffe Pools Nature Reserve, with some interesting local history along the way. I’ll certainly be back soon, as there are plenty more routes left to explore!

More information about RSPB Cliffe Pools Nature Reserve can be found by clicking here.

 

Support the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Special Appeal in Kent

The Hoo Peninsula is almost surrounded by water - with the Thames Estuary on one side and the River Medway on the other. Our area has strong links with the sea and increasing numbers of people use it for leisure activities, which is excellent and positive news.

As a teenager, I was proud to be a Sea Cadet. I really enjoyed my Duke of Edinburgh's Award assignment with the RNLI. I learnt many fascinating things during that time and I will never forget the dedication and commitment shown by the RNLI voluntary crew members.

According to the RNLI, last year was the busiest in their history and a lack of funds means there is a danger of them not being able to keep-up with increasing demand. In Kent alone, lifeboat crews were called out 411 times to help those in danger off the coast.

RNLI volunteers are not paid and they risk their lives to save others, and without public donations they would not be able to rescue anyone. If you would like more information about their vital work, or if you would like to make a donation, please visit their website.