Richborough Roman Fort

Bumble Bee territory

The Later Fort wall

Lottie woke Van-Man at 6.30 because she needed the toilet but I remained asleep until he woke me with a cup of coffee. It was cool but clear but by the time we left the campsite for the last time the sun had raised the temperature into double figures.

Looking across a defence ditch

We headed to Richborough Roman Fort just outside Sandwich and arrived before they opened at10.00. We parked next to a wide green space and walked Lottie around it on the lead before heading into the site.

Remains of Roman hotel

Within minutes of entering the Roman Fort Lottie snapped at something hidden in the long grass. Van-Man pulled her back, but she must have been stung by the bumble bee on the ground. She shook her head then ate large quantities of grass as we wandered through the Roman fort. Eventually she was sick and Van-Man had to clean up the mess. I guess that was a dog’s way of getting poison out of her system and it seemed to be effective because afterwards she lay contentedly on the grass while we had lunch.

We had a pleasant drive home bypassing Canterbury and its traffic jams. I drove the middle part of the journey and had no trouble with the gears.

Remains of giant arch heralding the start of Watling Street

Lottie relaxed on the way home and suffered no further effects from the sting in the mouth.

Reculver Roman fort

Reculver towers in the mist

The remains of the church

Cold fog greeted us this morning but Van-Man said the forecast was for clear skies. We headed to English Heritage site at Reculver to look at the Roman fort and the church towers.

The drive was easy but there were special bays for motor homes and the charge was £10 for 23 hours! There was no cost option for a few hours but Van-Man paid up reluctantly.

the drainage channels

We walked up to Reculver towers which were partly veiled by a sea mist. After looking at them, the only remaining part of the church we wandered around the remains of the roman fort then walked along side one of the drainage channels. When the Romans were here the sea lay on two sides of the fort but as time went on the channel between Reculver and the Isle of Thanet turned into marsh land. Enterprising farmers added drains turning it into farm land.

Roman wall

Reculver from the beach

We walked back through the mist past the fort walls back to the van for lunch. By that time the sun had burnt the mist away and it was a lovely afternoon.

Lottie wanted to lie outside the van but the grass was on the far side of the car park. She kept looking at it as if to ask why didn’t you park over there? We lay a rubber mat by the back door and she lay on that.

Lottie in the sea

The old church

After lunch we walked towards Herne Bay enjoying the warm weather. First we went along the beach as the tide was out. It was mud coloured strewn liberally with rocks spoiling the terrain for running as far as our Lurcher was concerned. However she enjoyed paddloing in the sea.  Lots of the rocks were covered in living seaweed, proof that the beach disappears at high tide. 

There were pretty shells piled up at the base of the cliff. On closer inspection the cliff had layers of shells in it, many of them oysters.

The beach

Then we walked above the beach on a track through a wide grassy area. Besides the seagulls flying there were swifts catching insects. Above our heads skylarks were singing and several came down into the long grass where we think they were nesting. Lottie meandered behind us sniffing various things but not charging around as she did last time we were away from home. 

Back at the van we relaxed with a cold juice looking out to sea while Lottie lay on her rubber mat outside.

The coast path

Going back to the van

We left for home after 3.00 and the traffic was difficult at a rural school we passed on the narrow lane as it was home time. At the junction a bus was blocking the road the way Van-Man wanted to go so he turned the other way. Ignoring my instructions he tried to find his way onto the road on the far side of the bus by cutting through the housing estate. It didn’t work. Defeated he drove home following my alternate route which thankfully worked. We hit a long traffic queue through Sturry and again in Canterbury but I had plenty of time to admire the city walls as we crept along. At last we were back at our pitch where Lottie lay out on her patch of grass.

Canterbury City Wall

Canterbury Culture

The Cathedral from the city wall

Park inside the city wall

Van-Man decided to visit Canterbury city centre today by bus. Lottie breakfasted blissfully unaware of the trip ahead. We were unsure how she would react to a bus ride as she loves the car and motor home and loved our old boat. However she hates trains which meant we could be in for trouble. We walked to the bus stop outside the camp site and she looked puzzled as we stopped there instead of crossing over to the wild heath the far side of the road.

Dane John Monument

The 9.50 bus stopped and the driver was happy to take a large Lurcher on board. We headed to the back of the bus where there was some space. She was fine until the bus drove away then began trembling. One leg quivered all the way but fortunately the journey was swift without delays at the road works.

Once we disembarked we followed the old city wall clockwise heading for the Dane John monument which was perched high on an ancient Saxon burial mound. The views were fabulous from the top.

Don Jon House

We continued on to the Norman castle but were disappointed to find it closed due to falling masonry. From the castle we went outside the city wall, crossed the ring road and followed along the river through natural meadows. Our only problem was that we had to carry our coats which we had worn as the weather was supposed to be cool and the sun came out masking them redundant.

The Norman Castle

We enjoyed the spring bulbs and old buildings while Lottie enjoyed being off the lead. She cooled off in the river and waited patiently while we sat on a bench eating our packed lunch. Of course we gave her some. We walked on into Westgate gardens where Lottie had to go back on the lead and back into the city through the Westgate Towers.

Westgate Gardens

From there we went up St Peters Street and the High street where I realised I needed a greetings card. Having bought it I needed a stamp as the card shop only sold them in booklets. While we were wondering where to get a stamp a stranger approached and passed me one saying he had plenty. How kind that was. Other locals had also been helpful offering directions when they saw us reading the city map at various points. The city is to be commended on its cheerful helpful population.

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We had coffee outside a well known coffee chain and Lottie rested quietly at our feet. Coffee drunk we headed to the cathedral but decided not to go in as the entrance fee was£12.50 an adult. As dogs probable were not allowed in we would only have been able to have a quick look around in turns while the other consoled Lottie so we walked on.

unusual tree at Westgate

Westgate towers

It was not far to St Augustine’s abbey but it was only open at the weekend. Next week it will be open midweek on the summer timetable. We peeked at the university buildings as we retreated to the bus station. Lottie waited patiently but shook pathetically when we boarded the bus. We were trying to place the large Lurcher sitting out of the way n the floor by a window but she kept backing out.

“Do sit here,” a man suggested politely, vacating his seat next to the emergency door.

Medieval house at Westgate

We thanked him, the fourth kind person we had met in the city and Lottie decided the gap was acceptable. However she trembled all the way back to our stop. We were back at our van by 1.00 but three hours was probably as long as Lottie could cope with and you can’t go shopping with a feisty Lurcher telling you to hurry up after waiting a few minutes outside a shop.

Van-Man made a brew while I wrote on and addressed the card. Meanwhile Lottie relaxed on her patch of grass outside the van watching for rabbits which roam across the site.

Westgate Towers

 old University building

Spring blossom

At 15.00 we set out to post the card but the nearest post box was half a mile away towards Canterbury. After posting the card we found a path straight onto the heath land that ran just behind the houses. Using a sat nav we found a walk to a lake and then curved back to the camp site across the heath. It took us an hour and a half to return to Sally. We must have walked miles today.

St Augustine's Abbey

Two Cinque Fort castles

looking down at Deal from Deal Castle

Lottie woke us early but Van-Man was happy because the water pump was still working properly. After breakfast we set off for Deal Castle. The car park was roomy so Van-Man parked next to the grass. As Deal Castle did not allow dogs inside we went our separate ways. I had the first look at the castle which was built on an unusual set of five semi circles at the base while Van-Man walked Lottie on the beach.

I walked the outside of the castle first and noticed Van-Man heading to a bench with Lottie after a very brief visit to the beach.

Cannons pointing out to sea

I enjoyed the inside of the castle which was intact with displays in most of the rooms but found the lowest level, called the rounds very dark as I only had my prescription sunglasses on. At one point I thought the underground passage came to an abrupt end but I groped my way forward and found the passage went through a right angle turn.

 round central keep

When we met up at Sally our motor home Van-Man told me that the beach was all shingle which Lottie did not care to walk on. He promptly went to look around the castle while I settled down to wait in Sally with the disgruntled hound. Once he was out of sight she relaxed on the grass.

After lunch we walked along to the RNLI boat houses which hosed two rescue boats, a small rib for inshore work and a larger boat for rescues out to sea.

the outside of the rounds

After returning to Sally we drove to Walmer Castle which was only five miles along the coast. This castle car park was almost full but we found a space at the far end. Van-Man viewed the castle first while I walked Lottie. She didn’t want to go on the shingle but a wide belt of grass ran alongside the coastal path. When we met Van-Man she took him back to the motor home and lay beside it on the grass watching the sheep graze. She couldn’t do more than watch as she was on her extending lead.

low lying castle with thick walls

Walmer Castle was similar to Deal except that it only had four circular parts to its base. The gardens were lovely with a fine display of daffodils, tulips and primroses. This castle was lived in so only certain rooms could be visited. However the Duke of Wellington and the Queen Mother had stayed there so it was full of interesting history.

The Life Boat station

Once I arrived back at the van we returned to the campsite without any traffic problems. While Van-Man refilled with water and drained the grey water at the service point I walked Lottie round the dog walk. She settled down well for the evening in spite of the lack of sand to exercise on barely noticing when we ate our dinner.