Sea

I must go down to the sea again,
    to the lonely sea and the sky;
I left my shoes and socks there -
    I wonder if they're dry?

So wrote the great Spike Milligan who lived in Rye only a few miles from where we are staying with our special chums Stan, Kas & Dan. Ida and I did go down to the sea today for a walk which turned out to be about four and a half miles. We headed off in the direction of the power station, a real blot on the landscape in my opinion but some of the locals think differently. The power station does guided tours which I'd like to go on but haven't organised yet, anyway, we trudged in that general direction and past various bits of flotsam and jetsam including a cormorant that had I'd imagine become a victim of nature  and a bloody great fish. No idea what type it was as it was in quite a decayed state but the pile of chips you'd need for it!
Turned back after a while and walked towards Greatstone Life Boat Station intent on having a pint at The Jolly Fisherman. Not so jolly when we got there as it was shut! However it was a very pleasant walk.

   

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Castle

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Castle: A trip over to Walmer Castle today  proved to be very interesting. About 27 miles from Greatstone self & Kas set off about midday. Neith...

Castle

A trip over to Walmer Castle today  proved to be very interesting. About 27 miles from Greatstone self & Kas set off about midday. Neither Stan nor Tara were particular about going and as dogs aren't allowed in it was convenient to leave Ida with them today. The original castle dates back to Henry VIII as a coastal defence for the South coast, Deal Castle a few miles away is similar. Walmer is the home of the Lord Wardens of the Cinque Ports. This office has been held by such luminaries as the 1st Duke of Wellington (in fact he died here), William Pitt the Younger, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Robert Menzies and the Queen Mother. Beautiful gardens but all a bit waterlogged today so we didn't really explore them.
The guides in these historic buildings are always interesting to talk to, if  in this case alittle difficult to get away from, I got told the same thing twice by one who appeared in another room after we'd left him! Beautiful views from the battlements over towards the Goodwin Sands and some very impressive cannon as well  though I'm not sure whether they are original to the castle, they only fired in anger at Englishmen! Just after the end of the English Civil War there was a resurgence of support for the King and both Walmer & Deal declared for the Royalists. However after putting down Royalist insurgency at Maidstone a Parliamentary force led by Colonel Nathaniel Rich invested the castle which surrendered after a month.
Had a very nice cream tea with very fresh scones. They also catered for Kas with vegan scones but no vegan cream. The castle was closing up then so our visit ended, one to re visit I think.

     

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Bracing

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Bracing: A very pleasant bracing walk for Ida & I along the beach today. Four and a half miles there and back walking on both beach and dunes. I...

Bracing

A very pleasant bracing walk for Ida & I along the beach today. Four and a half miles there and back walking on both beach and dunes.
Ida hates the water so we didn't go very near the sea, she preferred the sniffs of the sand dunes  and shingle away from the water. A few other hardy dog walkers out, we met a Border Terrier pup called Henry  and a black Cocker who, despite his owners shouts got Cocker Spaniel selective hearing and came bounding over.
Great to see Ida open the throttles and go belting along the beach. Tried to get her to retrieve a tennis ball I'd taken with us but she went off this after skidding to a halt to get the ball and kicking up loads of sand that made her cough & splutter!
We walked on past the life boat station and on as far as the road that leads to New Romney then returned. An interesting piece of World War Two history just off shore, the remains of part of a Mulberry floating harbour that was towed over to Normandy just after D Day in June 1944. Called a Phoenix Cassion it was going to be a mobile break water. It was supposed to be re floated and towed across the Channel but it proved impossible to re float so remained where it is, whether this was a problem with this huge bit of concrete I don't  know but there are six in total off the British coast at various points along the south coast. It became a listed building in 2014 and no one can as much as moor  a boat on it, and quite right too. Its a great tangible link with Operation Overload that changed the course of world history.

Remains of a Dog Fish I think.

The Phoenix Cassion part of the Mulberry Harbour of D Day fame.