Winter Solstice walk at Southend on Sea 22nd December 22

 I was thinking about going to Stonehenge again for the Winter Solstice but couldn't be bothered with the two and  a half hour drive either way and the risk of not being able to park. So I decided to watch the Winter Solstice sun rise over the sea at Southend in Essex.

I arrived far too early and sat in the car for a while watching the sea. I eventually decided to get out and have a walk along the seafront in the dark.

I passed the Kursaal lit up in the misty darkness.

The Kursaal is a Grade II listed building, which opened in 1901 as part of one of the world's first purpose-built amusement parks. The venue is noted for the main building with distinctive dome, designed by George Campbell Sherrin, which has featured on a Royal Mail special edition stamp.

What had been a place of gigs for rock legends, fun family days' out, and historical significance now sits entirely empty inside.

1901 - The iconic building is built by a father and son, along with acres of land used as gardens with occasional fairgrounds. The central building contains a ballroom, circus, arcade and dining room. It's named the Kursaal Palace, and opens as the first purpose built amusement park in the world.

1910 - The company running the Kursaal go out of business. The land is bought by a new company - who rename it Luna Park and heavily invest in the fairground aspect of the park. They build roller coasters, a miniture railway and a cinema. Luna Park regularly gets 100,000 visitors a week and is the star of Southend.

1915 - The new company goes out of business, and an American businessman buys the park - renaming it the Kursaal. The circus is turned into an ice rink, and the gardens begin hosting sporting events. A zoo is opened in 1916.

1919 - Southend United begin playing their home matches at a ground built in the Kursaal's gardens.

1927 - Greyhound racing begins at the Kursaal. Crowds of 5,000 turn up for the first race. The races stop in 1929.

1934 - Southend United move to the Southend Stadium.

1939 - The Kursaal closed for the length of World War Two.

1948 - The Kursaal reopens, installing new rides and attractions.

1970s - The ballroom hosts musical acts like Deep Purple, Queen and AC/DC.

1973 - Business takes a downturn and the outdoor attractions close.

1977 - The ballroom closes.

1986 - The entire building closes. The outdoor land is sold off for housing.

1998 - After more than a decade of inactivity, the building is reopened by a private company. A bowling alley, arcades, a McDonald's, a casino a multiple other businesses move in. The regeneration of the building costs millions of pounds.

2008 - The McDonald's shuts and moves into a second location on Southend high street.

2019 - MFA Bowl collapse into administation closing the bowling alley and arcade. It looks as though a nightclub company may step in to save the business but the deal falls through.

2020 - The Rendevous Casino closes down - citing COVID-19 as an factor. Only the Tesco Express remains open.

2020 - Concrete Culture form and draw up plans to turn The Kursaal into a multi-use community space, launching a public consultation in December.

I continue along the seafront in the darkness and mist, listening to a bell chime out at sea. Such an eerie feel compared to daytime when it is full of people and noise.

After walking under the pier and back on myself pass Adventure Island, I pass the pier again and take a photo of the inside and its trains through the glass. Still not open at this time of day.

Southend Pier is 2.16 kilometres (1.34 mi) long extending into the Thames Estuary, It is the longest pleasure pier in the world. The bill to build the new pier, to replace a previous timber jetty, received Royal Assent in May 1829 with construction starting in July 1829. The timber pier was replaced by an iron pier that opened to the public in August 1889. The Southend Pier Railway, opened in the early 1890s, was the first pier railway in the country.

I walk along the beach towards Thorpe Bay, hoping to see the sun rise in about half hour at 0804 hours.

It's starting to get light now and I am concerned I won't see the sun actually rise as its still so misty.

The earth rotates on a tilted axis. When this axis leans towards the sun, it’s summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the south. This is reversed as the earth continues on its orbit until the axis becomes tilted away from the sun.

During the solstice, the earth’s axis is tilted at its furthest point from the sun. This means that, for us in the northern hemisphere, the sun is at its lowest point in the sky. It’s also the shortest day of the year - and the longest night.

The longest night is over and I look forward to longer days ahead.

Since ancient times, people all over the world have recognized this important astronomical occurrence and celebrated the subsequent “return” of the Sun in a variety of different ways. Old solstice traditions have influenced holidays we celebrate now, such as Christmas and Hanukkah.

Then the magic happens, I can see the Winter Solstice sun beginning to rise up out of the sea and turning the sea a mellow orange colour.

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Happy to have seen the sun rise, I walk back to the car for the drive home.

Chilham to Chartham, Kent circular 28th November 22

GPX File here

On Monday the 28th November 2022 I drove to Chilham in Kent and parked for free in The Street CT4 8DL.

I walk by Chilham Castle but sadly was closed.

Originally built in 1616 by Sir Dudley Digges on the site of a medieval castle, the house has been lovingly restored by its current owners and occupies a beautiful position offering sweeping views of the surrounding area.

The well-maintained gardens which form part of the estate, originally designed by Thomas Heron and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, are open to the public on Tuesdays throughout the summer months. Historical tours of the house are also available by special arrangement.

Chilham Castle plays host to a number of events throughout the year, from open air performances from the touring Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Company to the annual ‘Chilham Chase’ fun run.

The Pilgrim Milestone in the square in the centre of the village of Chilham. The oak wooden carving was carved by Steven Andrews and donated to the parish of Chilham. The Pilgrims Way passes through Chilham on its way to Canterbury.

There is a nice 17th century grade II listed tea room here called The Church Mouse. Serving drinks, lights meals, snacks and nor forgetting Cream teas.

The "White Horse" is one of the most photographed inns of Kent, standing as it does in the picturesque village square. It is reputedly haunted, not surprisingly as the village and its nearby castle are steeped in history. The pub itself is fifteenth century, and was the alehouse used for festivals held at the parish church behind the inn.

It was supplied by Jude, Hanbury's Canterbury ales and stouts in 1927.

The White Horse has also appeared in a film. The pub and St. Mary's church were used in the 1965 adaptation of Daniel Defoe's classic novel "The Amourous Adventures of Moll Flanders."

In the year 1646, Samson Home, vicar of St. Mary's church came to reside at "The White Horse." With the coming of the reformation in 1660, Samson, a supporter of Cromwell and the commonwealth, opposed the church and was ejected from office in 1662. He died alone and penniless here in 1669. It was during the 1956 alterations the inglenook fireplace that had been bricked up since 1740, was uncovered. Since that date many a pint glass has fallen on the shelves only to land upright and unbroken.

Is Salmon trying to tell us something! Also during the alterations in 1956, two complete and perfectly preserved male skeletons were found under the kitchen floor - at a depth of two feet.

General supposition is that they were either soldiers who fell in the battle at Chilham during the Wat Tyler rebellion, or the much older remains of men buried in the pre-Christain era.

The skeletons now rest in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Chilham, where they were given a Christian burial by the vicar after the coroner's inquest had pronounced them to be Ancient Bones and not the result of undetected crime!

I  walk on and into the churchyard of St Marys Church in Chilham.

The church is famous as the last known resting place of the shrine of St Augustine. When the Abbey of St Augustine in Canterbury was destroyed during the English Reformation, the gilded shrine containing the saint's body was removed from the abbey and brought to Chilham church. Here it stayed until 1541 when it disappeared. Several attempts to determine what happened to the shrine have proved unsuccessful, and its whereabouts remain a great historical mystery.

It is believed Saint Thomas Becketis buried in the Churchyard.

The church of St Mary, Chilham, was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 but has a history going back perhaps as far as the 7th century. In the 12th century, the church was owned by the French abbey of St Bertin, a Benedictine monastery at St Omer. It later passed into the hands of Syon Abbey, based at Isleworth in Middlesex.

Chilham was granted by king Henry VIII. to Thomas Manners, Lord Roos, afterwards created Earl of Rutland, who in the 30th year of that reign conveyed it back again, by sale, to that king, by the description of the honour, castle, lordship, and manor of Chylham, with all its rights, members, and appurtenances.

I leave the church and walk on down The Street to continue my walk.

Further down the road I pass The Woolpack Inn.

The Woolpack Inn is a charming 600 year old inn, located in the Garden of England in the heart of the Kentish countryside. With huge oak beams and inglenook fireplaces, it’s a stunning place to stay with a dark secret – the ghost of a Grey Lady…

No one knows who this lady is… or do they? No they don’t. But here’s an interesting story ;

Back in the 1880s lived a young, successful businessman called Charles Stephens. His devoted wife was called Catherine and they lived in Mountain St, Chilham. It was an idyllic, married existence, or so everyone thought.

On Catherine’s 30th birthday, Charles was scheduled to go to a business meeting in Canterbury. He arranged to be back in time to meet Catherine at the Woolpack for a birthday lunch. Unfortunately the only business Charles was engaged in that day was funny business. He was having an affair with an unknown married woman named Betsy Rogers. Whilst Charles rodgered Betsy Rogers, Mr Rogers arrived home unexpectedly. The two men engaged in some very exuberant fisticuffs and Charles fell back, cracking his skull on the mantle piece.

His last words were “Argh… you’re standing on my hand.” But before that, he said “I’ve got to get to the Woolpack. It’s Catherine’s birthday.” But of course he never did make it to the Woolpack, nor anywhere else for that matter. He died right there in the bedroom, his blood soaking into the floor, his hand crushed under the heel of Mr Roger’s boot. He was still very cross with Charles.

Poor Catherine waited and waited. Finally she was told the dreadful news. She showed no emotion but quietly and with great dignity got up and walked home. The next day she returned. “I’m waiting for my Charles, he’ll be returning from a business trip in Canterbury any minute now,” she would tell anyone that asked. She would then sit for an hour nursing a small sherry before walking home and repeating the excursion the next day… and the next… and the next. Aside from her daily visit to the Woolpack, she lived a remarkably functional existence. People learned not to speak of her husband’s demise and she refused to engage with it.

This pattern was repeated for many years before Catherine, by now an elderly lady, passed away. Some people say she died of a broken heart, although it was more likely to be her broken neck, which she sustained by falling down the back steps of the Woolpack during her last visit.

I like to think Catherine Stephens is the Grey Lady, still waiting for Charles to return from his business trip all those years ago. If you do happen to see her, give her a smile and a nod but under no circumstances mention that Rogers woman!

I walk on down Bagham Lane crossing the A28 Ashford Road into Bagham and onto Mill Lane up to to the level crossing where I had to wait a while for a train to pass.

I walk on and cross The Great Stour river.

Bridge over The Great Stour River.

I pass by The Chilham Mill.

The large corn mill at Chilham is the best preserved on the River Stour. The waterwheel is 14 feet 6 inches (4.42 m) diameter and 7 feet 10 inches (2.39 m) wide, carried on a + section cast-iron axle of a nominal 20 inches (510 mm) diameter. This also carried a cast-iron Pit Wheel 10 feet 8 inches (3.25 m) diameter with 96 cogs driving a Wallower with 34 teeth on a cast-iron Upright Shaft carrying a cast-iron Great Spur Wheel with 114 cogs. This drove six pairs of millstones, originally all underdrift, but one of the Stone Nuts has been adapted to drive a vertical shaft which powered auxiliary machinery and drove the sixth pair of stones overdrift by belt and pulley.

 The mill stands on an island in the Great Stour and is owned by Mid Kent Fisheries (a subsidiary of Mid Kent Water) who have restored the building and developed the area for recreation and fishing. There has been a mill on this site for at least a thousand years.

I walk uphill a bit and then across Farmland towards Stile Farm.

On reaching Stile Farm I take another path across more fields.

I exit onto Pickleden Lane and follow this for a while.

I take another footpath on my right further up and cross more fields.

The footpath brings me out into Chartham by The Artichoke Public House on Station Road.

The Artichoke is one of Shepherd Neame’s most historically significant pubs. Back in the 1650s it was owned by Richard Marsh, who turned it into a brew house before going on to found the brewery in Faversham.

The earliest recorded form of the name is Certham. The name Chartham literally means 'Village on rough ground', and the word "Chart" is also found in other villages in Kent with this meaning. The Stone Street part of the name comes from Stone Street, a road and small hamlet that runs parallel to the A28 on the other side of the villages.

The river provided power for the paper mills until some point before 1955. Paper making has been a major occupation for the last 625 years; the mill dates from the late eighteenth century.

I take another footpath across more farmland.

I divert off the path to go and see the remains of a chapel in Horton.

The Grade II listed building in Chartham, Kent, which dates from the late 14th century, has no windows, doors or roof.

The chapel is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and thus considered to be of national significance, but is currently languishing on English Heritage’s At Risk register of important but decaying British buildings.

It appears to be in the process of being converted into a property.

 I walk on along the path before taking another to my left and in the distance I can see Milton Manor Church.

Milton Manor Church

I walk across a bridge over the Great Stour and pass the four lakes at the Milton Complex to try and find a path back over the railway lines.

Milton Lakes Complex is part of Mid Kent Fisheries since 1992 and consists of four Lakes: Pan Lake, Handle Lake, Swan Lake and Tonford Lake.

The Pan Lake was already partially stocked with carp from the Mill Pool at Faversham and has had a major stocking of carp in 2002. Since then the growth rate has been exceptional with carp now being over 40lb. The Pan Lake is also renowned for the huge tench and many top anglers like Martin Bowler consider it to be the best in the country.

I find a path that crosses the Railway lines.

I emerge back on the A28 Ashford Road.

After a bit of horrible road walking passing Industrial estates and car dealers I reach a path on my right and I follow a path pass a Orchard.

The path takes me through Langdale Wood.

The path crosses another railway line.

I follow the path alongside a wood called The Rough towards a Telecom Tower.

I follow the path pass more orchards.

I exit onto New Town Street in Chartham Hatch up to Hatch Farmhouse.

I follow the North Downs Way path behind Hatch Farmhouse and it isn't obvious where  the path goes, after a bit of looking about I find the path goes left behind the properties below.

The path passes more orchards and a fruit farm where I was surprised to see strawberries still growing at this time of year!

There are fantastic views across the North Downs from up here.

I decide to stop at a bench up here and brew up a cup of tea and take in the views.

I follow the North Downs Way path downhill.

I pass back under the railway line and through a caravan park.

I leave the caravan path via a path on my left and pass through another orchard.

The path dips downhill with more superb views.

The path eventually takes me out onto Lower Lees Road.

I am walking through the outskirts of Old Wives Lees.

I take another path towards Chilham.

I walk out onto the A28 Canterbury Road and follow this back to Chilham.

I follow the route I walked out and back into Chilham.

A lovely 11.5 mile walk and now for the drive back!