Wednesday 26th January 2011

Good morning.

And welcome to day four of the Sami K tour of Kent including pubs and all that.

According to the BBC, Tuesday was to be the best day of the week, and so I thought it best to head off over the Romney Marsh to Dungeness and then on to Rye.

It was a bright and sunny morning as we headed out of St Margaret's and along to coast to Folkestone and then onto the marsh. The sun shone from an attractive blue sky scattered with puffy clouds; perfect.



Dungeness is a collection of wooden huts and houses on a broad shingle beach under the shadow of not one, but two nuclear power stations. Many of the houses are homes to artists, and on the beach fishing boats are dragged up the shingle as there is no harbour. It is an odd place to say the least.



We park up and walk along the wooden path to the waterline; down below fishermen are standing in hope that they might catch something. We head back to the car and drive on.

Of course I take Sami to Fairfield Church, standing all alone on the marsh; its a shot that has to be taken. And of course, nearby is the Woolpack Inn, and it being lunchtime, we call in for a beer and something to eat.
We have the bar to ourselves; well, just the pub cat to coach, and for us to stare into the roaring fire in the grate. Up the chimney 600 years of soot still clings to the brickwork, and I manage to get a shot looking up. we have a sandwich and then move on to Rye.



Rye is just over the border in East Sussex, and sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the marsh. It is full of ancient houses and now is a tourist trap full of nick nack shops and the like.

We wander round the town and end up in Grammar school Records where I get a vinyl copy of Roxy Music's greatest hots, with Pajamarama on it; I snap that up. We walk on and end up in an even older pub, the Mermaid, for a coffee and to soak up the atmosphere.



All the time, outside, the clouds had thickened, and as we go back outside, drizzle begins to fall, heavier and heavier. We head back to the car, and so back home.

Sami made African peanut stew for us for dinner, and while we ate, we listened to I'm sorry I Haven't a Clue on the i player.

Great day