Saturday 11th September 2021

Ride and Stride/Heritage Weekend 2021.

Last year, I went to West Kent hoping to tick off some churches I found closed previously. And although some were open, half were closed too. A strike rate of 5 open, 5 closed. And although I would like to have gone back, its a long way to go only to find churches locked when the Ride and Stride list would say they were open.

So a plan to travel around East Kent instead, redo some churches not visited for several years, and some new ones, guaranteed to be open for Hertiage Weekend.

As always would happe, driving along a road would remind me of one I had tried in the passig years snce the last visit, so we would divert there, and the list I had would be largely ignored.

But first, shopping.

With Jools working five full days, and the churches not due open to ten, we went to Tesco, especially after hearing from Jen the empty shelves she had encountered on Friday, with there being no milk as top of the shortages.

We were there soon after seven, and although in some places there was spaces, all of what we wanted was there, even milk, although there were just six boxes of Grape Nuts. I took one. I topped off with bakers yeast, to ensure I could carry on baking.

Yeah, man.

Back home to unpack and have breakfast of fruit and croissants and more coffee.

It was half nine, and we were ready.

It is hard to imagine a more Godly town than Walmer and Deal. I thought I have visited most of their churches, but found two more on the Heritage list, as well as Old St Mary being open again, so that was to be our first stop.

Having used GSV to ensure there was parking outside, we set off and after some confrontation with drivers not obeying the Highway Code, we arrived safe at Blessed St Mary of Walmer. It is an ancient church, just off the main road into town, but hidden from view from both the main road and even Church Lane.

We walked through the large churchyard which has at least a dozen also ancient yews, and the rough path brought me to the porch and the first warm welcome of the day.

The church is small, but has an intact Norman Chancel arch, with traces of a wall painting, which might have been a doom cenuries ago. I go round getting my shots, accepting the invitation to attend a service on a Thursday with good grace.

We leave, and I check the clock; five past ten, on schedule, and the post code for the next church, a modern parish chuch in Deal a ten minute drive away. Or would have been without traffic, it took nearly half an hour, but arriving I was greeted by a small army of lady wardens and cleaners, polishing and dusting and making tea: would I like a cup?

I decline.

A fine Victorian church, the same period as St Mary New Church in Walmer, but more homely than that Gothic Revival design, this felt, and was, welcoming. It was a shame to have to leave, but there was a list to tick off.

The other side of Deal was another small church, the post code had taken us into a housing estate, but retracing our tyretracks, I see the church back on the main road. We were the first visitors.

And if anything, the welcome here was warmer still, bit people on duty were very eager to lean of the churches I had visited in Kent over the years, and which ones were the most ancient.

In a first, I received a blessing before I left, and maybe it was that blessing that ensured every chuch would be open this day?

We headed out of Deal, through Mongeham and Sholden and head out over the marshed towards Sandwich. It was then I saw the signs to Worth, and I remember I had tried several times to rephotograph it over the years, but always found it closed.

We turned off the main road, past my frind, John's, house and parked outside the church. Jools went to check and I saw her hand with thumb pointing skyward over the churchyard wall.

Outside was a warden, armed with newspapers, book and CD collection, who was on duty all day. The church was open, and again she turned the lights on so I could get good shots.

Worth is another small church, an octagonal shingled tower, but with points of interest, and it being a decade since my last visit, I see losts of details I missed before, and my technique has improved much since then too.

As we took the bypass and crossed over the Stour, with Richborough castle on the banks of the river to the left, I remembered Acol church, a small Victorian chapel that I had tried two years ago, but before ten so was closed. We would be passing close to it, a short detour would take us there. The route took us past the old terminal at Manston, then along a narrow lane. Turning off, as I remembered where the church was, its tiny bellcote soon became visible.

I cruised past at walking pace, and saw the door open!

Woot!

I abandon the car on the side of the road, and walk to the church, surprising the two wardens cleaning. The church wasn't part of either event, but there were OK with me taking shots, without being enthusuastic about it, but the church was small, and so i managed to get shots of the few details, taking more time to charm the ladies.

We go back to the car and drive through fields of onions to Monkton.

Monkton is a quiet village, the main road no longer goes through the village, and the church is at the end of a dead end now, with St Mary on a rise above the road.

I park, and we walk past the old town stocks and the large village war memorial into the chuchyard, where a lady was tending to the graves of the cremated. She loves the church, and we talked for a long time about MOnkton, St Nicholas at Wade, but mostly about wild flowers and butterflies. The church itself is unremarkable, other than being very old indeed. Any plaster has been stripped off the walls, revealing the rough stonework underneath.

I take shots and leave the church, and talk some more outside.

A certain wearyness takes over after a while, but it had only been three hours or so since we left the house.

Next was a long drive along Thanet Way to the next church, Swalecliffe.

Swalecliffe is midway between Whitstable and Herne Bay, and the blurb claimed it to be the church beside the sea. Sadly, the ostcode on the event webpage, it lead to a spot near to Whitstable Castle, some two miles from the chuch itself. And only having limited internet access, Jools searched the net for directions while I drove into Swalecliffe and back out again.

Through another housing estate, and on a bend that sent the road back inland was the church, partially hidden by trees. Quite a few cycles were already there, and more would come oin the half hour I was there, making it the most populous and vibrant church visit I have ever done.

As I was taking shots, a lady came over: are you a photographer?

Yes.

Would you meet NIgel, he arranges the whole Ride and Stride for Kent and has been looking for a photographer.

I met Nigel, very pleasant with an infectious laugh. Yes I would provide him with shots, and I would take shots of him and his group. So it was that after snapping the church I took a group shot of Nigel and his friends, all of whom were laughing.

I was invisted to partake in their picnic, but other churches were calling, so I took their leave and walked back to join Jools in the car.

The final two calls were quick returns to both Oare and Teynham. So, back to Thanet Way and onto the M2, turning off into the traffic chaos that is the old A2 through Faversham as new traffic lights are installed and made to work. Ignoring the sat nav which thought a grand tour of the town was in order, we press through the roadworks then past the new Shepherd Neame brewery and through Oare village to the church still overlooking the creek.

Another warden sat in in the churchyard, and welcomed me while she dealt with two cyclists who were checking in.

The church was open, and the lights put on.

An unremarkable church, but very well care for, and the main point of interest being a modern window remembering the Mullberry Harbours used on D-Day.

With eight churches visited and all eight open, and the warden at Oare promising that Teynham would be open too. If that was the case, and it being nearly three, I would clal it a day, so we could go home listening to the footy on the radio.

As it was the Prancy Pony's second debut at the Home of Revised Dreams, Radio 5 really only concentrated on that. Ronaldo scored one before and another after half time. No other Prem games had a goal in the first half, which helped them "concentrate", meaning Norwich were level with the Arse.

But in the second, Arsenal scored a controversal goal, and that was that, Norwich bottom after four games, no points and one goal scored. Eleven conceded.

As the final whistle went, we got a call to say we were going to ahve visitors, Jane, her Mother, Bradey and his new girlfriend, Rosie, all came for a brew after hunting high and low for sloes, they got some, but its going to be a thin season.

We sat in the shelter and talked for a couple of hours, until it began to get dark and cool.

We still had to have dinner, I rustled up a batch of fritters, and in a bold move, opened a box of wine, had half a glass of cheap red mixed with soda water.

I had no adverse reaction, so we ate listening to Craig's Trunk of Funk on the wireless until it got dark.

Phew, quite a day.