Egypt4u

A Stroll Along The River Bank Path

Thursday morning, shopping morning at Sainsburys. I do the taxi job but am then banished for 45 minutes to an hour. I normally get the heavies, milk, beer, wine etc. but I did that yeaterday when I needed to go to the cashpoint. So, this morning I had time to kill and went for a short walk along the river bank path that is just behind the supermarket. I took a camera and as the green shades of spring are bursting out I thought you might like to see a dozen or so snaps from my walk. A very small river but all of the stone to build the Cathedral came upstream from France to Forwich, the little town just about 3 miles downstream. I would point out that this was only about a 400 yards stroll each way so nothing like one of Horus's treks, and I didn't have a dog to pull me along.

When we have a lot of rain on the downs in central Kent the river tends to be a muddy colour but today it is crystal clear with just a moderate flow. This bridge goes across to the swimming pool, gymnasium and fitness centre. Not somewhere that I have been known to frequent.


Same bridge but a wider angle to include the notice that it is now Close Season so no course fishing until 16 June. I think the fine is over stated. It is more likely to be £2500. The building to the right is part of the primary school that I attended from 1938. We lived in the lane leading to the school gate so I only had about 30 yards to walk to school.


Here there is a point where a small tributary joins the main river. Most of the centre of old Canterbury is on an island and both this tributary and the main river have sluices to control the water level. But on rare occasions, after very heavy rains and with the sluices fully open we still get flooding at the lowest points.


Further along I noticed something for the first time on the opposite bank. There is a footpath there and a zoomed image shows that this is a fresh log sculpture with the words 'Surrounded by Nature' carved into it.


Another view, looking back, showing the greenery of the trees and the new weed in the river.


Is this hawthorn or blackthorn H? I don't have a clue but the blossom is very pretty although short lived.


At the point where the footpath meets the road there is the remains of a flour mill that was destroyed by fire nearly 100 years ago. I have posted pictures of the double wheel race before but I was pleased to see it clear of debris which tends to collect there after flowing downstream. I set the camera to 1/40 sec to make the water appear more frothy.


Walking back this Moorhen nonchalantly walked across just in front of me.


There was a bit of an altercation here when the peace of a pair of Mallards was disturbed by another drake who chased off the duck, well, the female hen.


And this Mallard had found a high spot just out of the water.


The coach park to the rear of Sainsburys was almost full. There is an overflow park but this is typical of the every day number of visitors to Canterbury from the continent. I saw registrations from Germany, Holland, Belgium and France; so a very early start to get here by 11 am. These short pano views look East and West of the coach park. The city centre is fewer than a ten minute walk from here.


I was now back to the supermarket and I found Mrs G at a checkout so a well timed stroll.....

Very interesting. I love it when you can get the commercial (grocery store) mixed with really close rural (nature parks). I think that makes for a very healthy atmosphere for everybody.

I don't think I ever really realized Grandad that you have such a high contingent of visitors. You've always said you have lots of students right there but I don't think 'til now I put it into perspective that you must also have LOTS of tourists arriving daily as well.

Do you get tourists year 'round? Or do you get the influx in summer months? And do your tourists stay? Or are they more day trip people?

We get quite a few tourists here (not that they impact me at all) but most come in the summer. My daughter was trying to book a few weekends of summer camping for their family this summer and MOST of our Provincial Parks and camp grounds are already booked up for the entire summer season. I know our Ferry service escalates significantly come summer but I hadn't realized about our Parks. Most of our tourists that come here because they're arriving via ferry are here for, at a minimum, several days. You could come and go in one day but it would make for a LONG day.

And the Moorhen........is this a wild bird? Or ? Don't think I've ever heard of these before.

Lovely pics Grandad its such a pleasure to see so much colour after the horrible grey weather lately .

Thank you girls

Being the seat of the Anglican church LLL, there are many christian visitors from abroad who come to see the Cathedral. In addition, those visitors to the UK from Europe mostly travel by car to Dover, by ferry, or Folkestone, by Eurotunnel. It is then just a half hour drive to Canterbury and many will stop over perhaps for a day or two before continuing to London (just 60 miles) and beyond.

There are daily visitors, mostly school parties, from northern Europe. With an early start they can be here from about 10.30 am. These are mostly educational trips and they usually have some project to complete while here. They are gone by about 4pm so by the time they get home to Holland, Belgium or Germany they will have had a very long day.

I don't have any stats but visitors come throughout the year but most tourists come in the summer months. Most Americans DOING Europe will come to the city.

And the moorhen, that is a very common wild water bird with a red bill and yellow tip. A very similar bird is the coot but that has a white bill.

Lovely photos, Grandad!

Interesting Grandad I never, 'til now, considered your home a day trip destination. I can see why it would be but just nothing I'd thought about.

The Moorhen is interesting too. Hadn't ever heard of them but they're rather pretty in their own black way.

Absolutely beautiful Grandad, I have been out most of the day and only just had time to go through your pictures. It looks an idyllic spot to wander around in and just snap away, I especially like water and rivers and seeing your first one with the river weed it reminded me of the painting 'Ophelia' by the British artist Sir John Everett Millais. I can honestly say that I can stand for hours on a sunny day just gazing into the weedy depths of a flowing river, I find them quite hypnotic.

And that carved log just placed there with it's simple message says it all, it only takes a small gesture to make an area appealing to the eye. As you know I also like photographing our industrial heritage, especially when it has become a part of the landscape and nature has moved back in again, so I would certainly be snapping your mill wheel runs. Nice sharp images and I am guessing that you were using your 'X' series Fuji? You also live in a lovely interesting area so keep them coming, most enjoyable.

Thank you for your generous comments H and to be compared with the work of Sir John Everett Millais is quite a compliment. I was actually using the HS50 which, despite its complex long zoom lens and low cost, takes good images through the range. But I really need to get a polariser to enhance those water scenes.

Kent has plenty of lovely villages and countryside but these days I don't walk too far so I concentrate mostly around the city. At least I can park city centre then stroll to the parks and other places within a short walk of the centre. You mention our industrial heritage. A place that is now a big visitor attraction is Chatham Maritime Museum, formerly Chatham Dockyard where Nelsons Victory was built. More recently the buildings have been used for the filming of Call the Midwife for BBC. I have not yet been but must get there some time.

Thanks again and I think i can say that picture taking is a common interest on here

PS: Mrs G just read my post and said 'I hope they don't all think you have to nabnny me to the supermarket' I said that I had already explained that you decided to stop driving with your visual problems.......al is peace in the Grandad household again

I always reckon that the Fuji's seem to photograph water really well even without a filter.
I once visited Chatham docks some years back when I was in the area and had some time to kill, unfortunately no camera.

As for you nannying Mrs G on her shopping jaunts, well we never thought anything of the kind. Like many others on here we were under the impression that because Mrs G was such a grand lady that she needed a chauffeur and of course a personal skivvy to do her bidding on shopping trips and you fitted the bill nicely.

The river is beautiful, you are so lucky to live in such a nice area. never realised it was a tourist destination. UK is a lovely country, I only left because of the weather so love to see all your walks.

Grandad, sorry I forgot to answer your question on the blossom. To be honest I cannot tell properly from your photo, but they do seem a bit tall for Blackthorn which tend to be more bushy. I would guess that yours are some sort of flowering Crab Apple, the best way to identify the Blackthorn is literally by its 'thorns' as along the smaller branches there will be lots of very long thorns sticking out, often a couple of inches long. They resemble a larger version of the Hawthorn thorn and their flowers are quite similar, but Hawthorn come much later, you will also see the 'Sloe' berries that form on Blackthorn in the Autumn.