Sunday
On Sunday, I woke up early and decided it was too hot.
So I embraced the day, and went wandering. After some thought and frantic googling at Charing Cross, I decided to strike out for Upnor near Strood.
Getting to Upnor proved to be a right pain. It was quiet, so I diced with death on the dual carriageway. But then there's a country lane... Which has some nasty sharp turns. But soon enough, I was at Upnor, which has a charming main street and a Castle.
My original plan was to go on a circular walk I'd found referenced, but on a whim I walked into the Castle. The staff were friendly and helpful, assured me I'd have no problems taking photographs, and even went so far as to recommend a better route back to Strood - which they later printed off and then wandered the grounds to hand to me!
Upnor Castle itself is more of a Bastion than a Castle. Built to defend Chatham Dockyards, it's basically a nice platform for guns and not much else.
Yet it seemed to entertain me for the rest of the day, with all thoughts of a walk long gone. I took plenty of photos, and spent much of yesterday whittling them down to these few:
The walk back was overgrown footpaths along the side of abandoned overgrown quarries, but the tall metal fences made it less attractive than it sounds. But it was indeed a better route, and gave me the pleasant surprise of seeing a Foxtrot-class submarine parked up near Strood, apparently rusting away. (Photos of that will come some other day...)
Otherwise, it was a quiet day. But a well spent day.
I should do that kind of thing more often...
So I embraced the day, and went wandering. After some thought and frantic googling at Charing Cross, I decided to strike out for Upnor near Strood.
Getting to Upnor proved to be a right pain. It was quiet, so I diced with death on the dual carriageway. But then there's a country lane... Which has some nasty sharp turns. But soon enough, I was at Upnor, which has a charming main street and a Castle.
My original plan was to go on a circular walk I'd found referenced, but on a whim I walked into the Castle. The staff were friendly and helpful, assured me I'd have no problems taking photographs, and even went so far as to recommend a better route back to Strood - which they later printed off and then wandered the grounds to hand to me!
Upnor Castle itself is more of a Bastion than a Castle. Built to defend Chatham Dockyards, it's basically a nice platform for guns and not much else.
Yet it seemed to entertain me for the rest of the day, with all thoughts of a walk long gone. I took plenty of photos, and spent much of yesterday whittling them down to these few:
The walk back was overgrown footpaths along the side of abandoned overgrown quarries, but the tall metal fences made it less attractive than it sounds. But it was indeed a better route, and gave me the pleasant surprise of seeing a Foxtrot-class submarine parked up near Strood, apparently rusting away. (Photos of that will come some other day...)
Otherwise, it was a quiet day. But a well spent day.
I should do that kind of thing more often...