An easy walk across Canterbury and then alongside the marshes and (illicitly) the Great Stour

Date Walked: 25th October 2014

Distance: about 7 miles

Map used: OS Explorer 150 Canterbury and the Isle of Thanet

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Canterbury was our base for two weeks; Anne and I thought it a great place, so it’s only right that I show you a few sights. The Cedar House, where we were staying is on the North-West side of the city and the Stour Valley Walk crosses through the city centre.

Turning right at the end of our road at St Dunstans Church, the A290 crosses the railway line at a level crossing and becomes a Ring Road just before the West Gate.

There’s a great Mexican restaurant on the corner

On the other side of the gate, the city is immediately transformed to a busy shopping street with dozens of places to eat (plenty of chains and independents) and where you are as likely to hear French being spoken as English. I must have walked down this part almost every day of our holiday and I loved it.

The Stour is crossed almost without noticing it bar the guys hanging about try to sell you a (very short and not very inspiring) punt. The main shopping precinct has managed to retain enough older buildings as to maintain a mildly medieval character. A zig-zag around the Cathedral took me to the back of the Kings School.

I don’t suppose the school gives the magistrates much custom

From thence a dip under the A28 provided  a fine view back to the cathedral.

Shame about the lamppost but I’m a warts and all person on this blog

Next up as I now headed North-East, I passed St Augustine’s Abbey…

….followed quickly by Christ Church University….

…. and the prison.

I only read what’s above the door when I was writing this up.; “County Gaol and House of Correction”

Phew, you are thinking, that’s enough sight-seeing for now. You might have thought so, but I must mention Conduit House, which is also jolly interesting.

You’ll have to click the link to find out why

After all this visual excitement I was glad to be directed into the rather scrubby Timpson Wood.

Still, it wasn’t full of rubbish

A rather gross sign had been appropriately abused by local Youth.

Pure prejudice on my part- could have been done by elderly vandals

On the far side of the wood, the view opened up, passing by the rather uninspiring Sturry Road Community Park.

My apologies to the Sturry Road Community

In this context the next sign I came across was something of a surprise.

How do you know whether an object is suspicious or not?

The park crossed with no troops or suspicious objects sighted, I encountered the river briefly at the pretty village of Fordwich.

Not so much a ford as a bridge

It’s a very compact little place with some old buildings…..

You’ll never read it at this resolution. Alfred Palmer, founder of the East Kent Arts Society Lived here. 1910-1951

…..and a pub.

This looks like a boat to me rather than arms

After Fordwich the Stour Valley Walk passes through the north edge of Trenley Park Wood. This edge, at least, was relatively recently planted with small patches of a number of varieties of trees…….

Umm, not sure about these

Cherries

Sorbus, I think

…..though nearer Higham Farm it was mostly Chestnut Coppice.

I get firewood envy when I see such a lot of felled trees

At the edge of the wood, Higham Farmhouse is a lovely 16th century building right next to the farm buildings and a good example of  when farmers sell off their houses or make other use of them and then, no doubt, get planning permission for another house somewhere else in the open countryside.

Far too large and valuable a house for a poor farmer to live in, obvs.

The Stour Valley Walk pretty much follows the Stodmarsh Road for the next mile and a half, but it’s a quiet road and the view across the fields to acres of polytunnels was pleasant enough.

My guess would be soft fruits

Stodmarsh is also blessed with a pub and a pretty church.

St Mary’s, since you ask

I popped in for a shufty.

This one’s for Paul.

The path now heads towards the marshes, passing a small car park, where the toilets are housed in a building adorned with some fairly crude but probably recognisable pictures of local wildlife.

(NB. Not painted according to scale)

I saw nada of these creatures when I reached the water, but they probably had better things to be doing.

Created by flooding of ex sand and gravel pits, I think

There was a sign, if I recall, advising me that the route ahead was closed but you know by now that I am unlikely to be put off by such warnings, so I pressed on, reaching a string of barbed wire across the path which was easy enough to duck under.

And anyway, this was a half-hearted barrier in my book

Needless to say, I didn’t pass any walkers for the next bit (I hadn’t done before, either, if it come to that), but on the river there were some people enjoying the peace and quiet.

And the swans were happy to be left alone.

Nice ripples, eh?

It was a bit muddy and about half a mile from Grove Ferry  I came across the digger that was clearly sorting out some problem with the path’s surface (though, it being a Saturday, not today, to my relief).

Thankfully the tracks of the digger had made a pretty decent surface to walk on, so I wasn’t inconvenienced in my approach to Grove Ferry.

And it was very nice to have the place to myself to enjoy the swathes of the reeds eddying in the breeze.

No video; you’ll have to take my word for it

At Grove Ferry, the Grove’s car park was full ……

Two pubs passed and not a drop, drunk. How good is that?

…….but as I passed by and crossed the bridge, I was thinking about tea and a toasted tea-cake back at our place; the bus from Upstreet, just up the hill from Grove Ferry, got me back to Canterbury in no time.