Rochester Dickens Festival

As I mentioned in my previous post, many towns and villages in North Kent like to exploit their connections with the famous author Charles Dickens.

A Dickens Festival is held annually in Rochester and this year took place from the 8th to the10th June. Incidentally 2012 marks the 200th anniversary of Dickens' birth and the 9th June was the 142nd anniversary of his death.

The highlight of the Festival each year are the parades where participants dressed as characters from Dickens' famous novels are lead through the streets of Rochester by marching bands and strolling musicians up to Rochester Castle grounds. A traditional funfair is also held on the Castle grounds over the weekend.

Here are a few pictures to give you a flavour...

HRH Queen Victoria

Fagin

Scrooge - Bah Humbug!

Miss Havisham

The Council laid on a  free park and ride bus service from Chatham Historic Dockyard to Rochester so we did not have to worry about finding a parking space (which can be a problem even on a normal weekend.).

The event was very well attended and there were tourists there from all over Europe, Japan and the USA as well as the locals.

All in all it was a good (and inexpensive) day out which I would recommend to everyone

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Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell

A Day Trip to Rochester

Rochester's Lightning on the Move

Steam Open Days at Preston Court Farm

If you're looking for somewhere (free) to go in Kent next weekend and have an interest in all things steam, I would recommend a trip out to Preston Court Farm (nr. Canterbury).

On 31st December 2011/1st January 2012, Preston Steam Services will once again be hosting their annual open days.

Preston Services trade in everything from full sized steam locomotives, steam rollers and traction engines to hand built scale models.

Many have been rescued from far flung corners of the earth and shipped back to Preston for storage before eventually being sold on to steam enthusiasts for restoration.

We braved the bitter cold on News Years Day 2011 and had an enjoyable time exploring. Apart from the stored engines and locos there was plenty of other things to see. Here are a few pictures to give you a flavour...

A few of the restored traction engines on display and in steam.

A showman's engine which would have been used at fun fairs etc.

A steam powered organ playing in one of the barns (very loudly!).

Little man testing the catering facilities. The burgers and bacon rolls were going like hot cakes.
Jenny, one of the steam rollers on show. She was built in 1925 by Wallis and Steevens.

If you have a spare £ 40 k and plenty of time and energy you could become the new owner of locomotive No 1. She was built in Glasgow by Neilson and Co in 1892 and used to haul coke wagons at Beckton Gas Works in East London.

A 1912 J I Case traction engine awaiting some T.L.C.

A collection of traction engines. On closer inspection most of these appear to have been rescued from North and South America.

Last but not least one of four Orenstein and Koppel steam locomotives dating back the mid 1920's. They were operated by the sugar company San Martin de Tabarcal in Argentina to haul sugar cane to the refinery.

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Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway

The Spa Valley Railway

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Trevithick's Industrial Dartford Celebration

This weekend (7th/8th May) Central Park, Dartford will once again be filled with reminders of Britain's industrial heritage such as the steam traction engine "Challenger" pictured above.

She was built by John Fowler & Co in Leeds in 1914.

Around the same time each year the Trevithick's Industrial Dartford Celebration takes place. Central Park is filled with traction engines, vintage buses, cars and tractors of all shapes and sizes.

The celebration honours the memory of the pioneering Cornish steam engineer Richard Trevithick who worked at J & E Hall & Co in Dartford in the twilight of his career.

He died in the town and is buried close to the Dartford Martyr's Memorial off East Hill.

One day I will write a more detailed post about Richard Trevithick. He had a very colourful life but came to a sad end despite the major contributions he made to British engineering.

Admission to the park is free and it's well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Here are a few more pictures taken at last year's event....They don't make them like that any more. 1921 Foden steam omnibus.

A bit more up to date. This Routemaster RML2345 entered service with London Transport in 1965 but was later painted green and based in Northfleet, Kent. She operated the 480 service between Dartford and Gravesend. She has now been restored to her original London Transport livery and is privately owned.

Two steam rollers, "Moby Dick" (in the background) and "Rhoda" both manufactured in Rochester, Kent by Aveling and Porter.

Finally and fittingly a 1912 Hallford bus built in Dartford by Trevithick's employers J & E Hall & Co Ltd.

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Wrotham Steam Rally

Kent for less than a Fiver

Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway Steam & Diesel Gala

Spa Valley Railway

In little more than a few hours, the first steam train since 1966, in fact the first train of any description since 1985, will run from Tunbridge Wells West in Kent via Groombridge to Eridge in Sussex.

Following many years of dedicated hard work and despite limited funds, the heritage Spa Valley Railway has re-opened the line from Groombridge to Eridge.

We visited the railway in 2009 and had an enjoyable day out although the line at that time only ran as far as Groombridge.


Tunbridge Wells West station originally opened in 1866 by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway is the headquarters for the Spa Valley Railway and location for their engine shed and workshops.

They maintain a mixed fleet of heritage steam and diesel locomotives. Engines such as the GWR liveried Pannier tank locomotive 7715 pictured above are also sometimes loaned or hired in from other heritage railways.

7715 was built in Stoke on Trent in 1930 and spent most of her early working life in Cornwall hauling china clay wagons. In 1963 she was sold to London Transport and in 1970 went for preservation.


The Lady Ingrid was built in Kilmarnock in 1951 for the South of Scotland Electricity Board and spent many years working at the Braehead Power Station before going into preservation. She is currently out of service awaiting boiler repairs.


33063 R J Mitchell, named after the designer of the Supermarine Spitfire, is an example of the more modern diesel engines at the railway. She was one of 98 British Railways Class 33 locomotives built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co between 1960 and 1962.

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Bredgar and Wormshill Light Railway

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Kent Big Weekend Out - 26th/27th March 2011

Following the success of last year's event, Visit Kent is organising another Big Weekend Out on 26th and 27th March.

KENT residents are able to bid for free tickets to over 100 different attractions throughout the county including Rochester Castle, Wildwood, Chartwell (home of Winston Churchill) and the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway.

As demand is expected to be high for certain venues, tickets will be allocated by ballot and not on a first come, first served basis.

Hurry, as you only have until 17th February to apply for tickets.

Full details are available here

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Kent for less than a fiver!

Kent for Less than a Fiver

If you're planning a day out in Kent this year, here are ten suggestions of fun places you can go, or things you can do, for less than a fiver.

Yes, that's right, even in these austere times it is still possible to have a good day out in Kent, without breaking the bank.....

1. Take a Walk



There are over 4000 miles of public rights of way in Kent including long distance paths such as the North Downs Way, Pilgrims Way, Saxon Shore Way and Darent Valley Path.

Not only is this an excellent way to see the beautiful Kent countryside, you can also keep fit at the same time.

Best of all, walking is free.

If you are looking for ideas on where to go walking, I have written about a number of walks I have made over the last few months or you could also check out the following sites -

Rambling in Kent by Twisden

Kent County Council

2. Visit a Country Park or Nature Reserve


There are many country parks and nature reserves dotted throughout Kent, some run by KCC and others by organisations such as the Forestry Commission and RSPB.

Admission is usually free although in some, parking charges apply.

One of my favourites is Shorne Country Park near Gravesend where you can find the spider tickling a worm (pictured above). Parking during the week is currently £ 2 and on weekends/Bank holidays £ 2.50

There is a visitor centre/cafe, various waymarked paths suitable for all ages and even outdoor exercise equipment.

Activities are laid on for kids at various times during the year, for example - Easter Egg hunts, Christmas trail etc.

For details of some Kent country parks, please see here.

3. Visit Rochester Cathedral

Rochester Cathedral which can trace it's history back to before the Norman Conquest is well worth a visit and entry is free. The architecture is breathtaking and if you are lucky you may hear the choir singing - very atmospheric.

I would highly recommend a visit to the adjacent Cathedral tea rooms where they serve delicious home made cakes.

4. Spend A Day by the Thames

This year regattas will be held in Gravesend in June (date TBA) and on 24th July.

Apart from the rowing races, a fun fair, charity stalls and other entertainment will be provided alongside the river on the Gordon Promenade.

Entry to the Promenade is free.

5. Attend Whitstable Harbour Day


Whitstable Harbour Day takes place during the Summer. This year's date is still to be confirmed.

Various commercial and historic vessels are open to the public and there are charity and trade stalls lining the quayside. Entertainment is provided such as salsa bands (and one year, even sand dancers!).

Admission free.

6. Visit Hall Place, Bexley

Hall Place is an historic manor house in Bexley surrounded by gardens with magnificent topiary. Entrance to the house and gardens is free.

Inside the house there is a museum with an eclectic range of exhibits from wedding dresses to old bones!

7. Visit The Hurricane & Spitfire Memorial


Admission to the Hurricane and Spitfire Memorial at Manston Airport is free, although they greatly appreciate donations to assist in the upkeep of the aircraft.

Please see my earlier post for more details.

8. Visit South Foreland Lighthouse, St Margarets Bay

This historic lighthouse stands on top of the white cliffs at St Margarets Bay just outside Dover and is well worth a visit.

Excellent guided tours are provided by the National Trust and the current entrance price is £ 4.20 for adults. The tour ends at the top of the lighthouse where you are afforded excellent views over Dover Harbour and across the Channel to France.

For more information, please see here.

9. Visit New Tavern Fort, Gravesend

The New Tavern Fort next to the Promenade in Gravesend was first built in around 1780 and remained in active use until the early 1900's.

It's most famous resident was General Charles Gordon (of Khartoum) who had a house within the grounds (later destroyed by a V2).

At weekends between April and September the labyrinth of tunnels below the fort where munitions were once stored, are open to the public. There is a nominal entrance fee.

Various exhibits illustrate the fort's history from the 1780's onwards as well as that of the town of Gravesend itself during World War II.

10. Visit The Guildhall Museum, Rochester

I would recommend a visit to the Guildhall Museum in Rochester. The building dates back to 1687 and is very impressive.

The museum has numerous interesting artifacts and exhibits relating to the history of Rochester and some of it's more colourful characters like Sir Cloudesley Shovell.

An area of the museum realistically recreates one of the numerous prison hulks which once anchored in the River Medway and where French prisoners of war and convicts were incarcerated in terrible conditions.

Quite spooky!

Admission is free.

I hope you have found this post informative and enjoyable.

Please feel free to leave any comments. They are always welcome.

My Darent Valley Walk Part 3 - Otford to Chipstead and Sevenoaks

As regular followers of this blog will be aware, I am walking the Darent Valley Path through Kent in easily digestible segments, as and when time permits.

My latest walk set off from the picturesque village of Otford. I parked my car in a free car park opposite the Bull pub close to the Otford Solar System model I wrote about in My Darent Valley Walk Part 2.
Otford is a good starting point if you are interested in walking in Kent as three long distance routes converge there - the Darent Valley Path, the North Downs Way and the Pilgrims Way.

For the first part of my walk I followed the Pilgrims Way, at this point, actually a busy main road, for a short distance passing the Horns public house and restaurant pictured above. This is a former 15th century coaching inn.


The Darent Valley Path branches off from the Pilgrims Way on the outskirts of the village and passes through a small housing estate before crossing a bridge over the railway line into open fields. At this point the Darent Valley Path branches into two. You have the option of walking to Sevenoaks via Riverhead or to Chipstead via Dunton Green, as I elected to do.


It is a fairly short walk across the fields to Dunton Green where the path eventually emerges by Donnington Manor which now constitutes part of a Best Western Hotel. The manor dates back to the 15th century.


Dunton Green is unfortunately located on the very busy A224 and in order to follow the Darent Valley Path I had to cross over to the other side - easier said than done! Approximately ten minutes later I finally managed to do so and continue on my way.

The path leads across some scrubby heathland and then under the even busier M26 motorway. This section of the walk was spoiled for me by the ever present drone of the traffic in the background.


Moan over. The path continued on through open fields again and intersected the track bed of the long disused Westerham to Dunton Green railway. The line was opened in July 1881 but fell victim to Doctor Beeching's savage rail cuts, closing in 1961.

I found a very interesting web site with lots of pictures of the old railway here.



Eventually I came to Chipstead Lake, the end of this branch of the Darent Valley Path and the first leg of the day's walk. Unfortunately the lake is privately owned and used by the fishing and sailing clubs - members only.

The lake is actually man made. It is a former clay pit. The clay was extracted over many years and used for the local brick and tile industry.


Luckily the small village green overlooks the lake and I sat on a bench, had a bite to eat and consulted my map to work out my route for the rest of the day.

I decided to navigate from Chipstead via Riverhead through to Sevenoaks where I could pick up the other branch of the Darent Valley Path back to Otford. The downside was this would involve quite a lot of walking on tarmac rather than cross country.

On the plus side though my route took me via the centre of historic Chipstead village. Here are some pictures....


These cottages were built in 1694.


The former non conformist chapel parts of which date back to the early 1600's.



Hann's Store is now an office. It is good to see that the new owners did not paint out the old advertisement as often happens nowadays.


The George and Dragon pub built in the 16th century and still going strong.

My walk continued through Chipstead until I reached Riverhead on the outskirts of Sevenoaks.


The church of St Mary overlooks a road junction and dominates the town's skyline. The church is modern by Kent standards having been built in 1831 to a Decimus Burton design. As is often the case, I was not able to have a look inside the church as it was all locked up.

I continued along my "favourite" road, the dreaded A224 as far as Sevenoaks railway station where I joined the Darent Valley Path again to head back to Otford. The path, as far as I could see, is not very well marked at this point so it is advisable to have OS Explorer map 147 handy if you wish to follow the route yourself.


The path runs parallel with the railway for a while, through a housing estate, before entering Bradbourne Lakes. The lakes are a hidden gem. I was expecting some scruffy old gravel pits but they are actually small ornamental lakes which once formed part of the 18th century Bradbourne Estate. Over the years the estate was split up and sold off for housing developments. In 1935 the Lakes passed into the ownership of Sevenoaks District Council.


It is an ideal place to take small children. The lakes are full of very tame geese and ducks such as my friend Mr Greylag above. He was angling for a bit of my leftover sandwich but went away empty beaked!

On the other side of the lakes, the Darent Valley Path joins the A25. Once again I spent another age trying to cross this road. A continuous stream of cars and trucks thundering by in both directions.

Safely across the A25 the path skirts along the edge of some more lakes which form part of the Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve.

Unfortunately the lakes are fenced off and the trees and undergrowth are so thick it's not possible to see them properly from the path.

Surely a missed trick? In my opinion it would have made this part of the walk more enjoyable if a small clearing could have been made in the trees at some point along the way. You never know, maybe someone from Kent County Council is reading this blog....

Leaving the Wildfowl Reserve the path joins a very quiet country lane (Rye Lane). I followed the lane all the way back into Otford through fields full of sheep and past some of the smartest and colourful static homes I have ever seen before.

UPDATE - for Part 4 of My Darent Valley Walk please see here

If you have enjoyed reading this post, please feel free to leave a comment. They are always welcome.

From the archives...

A Walk Around Grenham Bay

Winter Walks - Nurstead and Camer Park

The White Cross of Shoreham, Kent