Country Walks

Details:

The group meets on alternate Monday mornings throughout the year for five to seven mile walks in the countryside and occasionally for longer walks. Walks generally take place in Kent and Sussex. Group members are encouraged to lead. Walks can be taken from books, the internet, or chosen from maps and normally start and end at a pub or cafe so that those that want to can stay on for lunch.

We respect the "Country Code" and encourage car sharing to the starting point. 

Our aim is enjoyment, exercise, and companionship.

Contact: Email the group leader(s) at countrywalks@tonbridgeu3a.uk

Group Leader:  Rosemary Martin 

Ten intrepid members of Tonbridge u3a's Country Walking Group set off for Upper Upnor on Monday 3 August, undeterred by the forecast of hot – well, actually very hot – weather. We assembled in a shady car park at the top of Upper Upnor High Street and were delighted to discover that parking was free. Is Upper Upnor stuck in yesterday, when Upnor Castle was built and the village was a thriving naval community? Does it not realise that people now travel by car rather than by boat? Whatever the reason, a free parking space is always welcome. After the obligatory pre-walk pep talk, we set off, soon descending a fairly steep path with a number of steps. The group chose to forget for the moment that those same steps would have to be climbed again at the end of the walk. Some members wondered whether the walk leader had a slightly masochistic streak. She strenuously denied it. We soon reached the flat and looked across the Medway towards St Mary's Island, now home to a 150-acre housing development. Around 200 years ago, however, the island had a very different role. During the Napoleonic Wars, old ships were moored alongside it and used as prison hulks for French prisoners of war and criminals. Charles Dickens drew on stories of convicts escaping from the hulks for the opening of Great Expectations, when Pip encounters the escaped convict Magwitch. A quick look around confirmed that there was no modern-day Magwitch in sight, so we walked on. Next came the London Stones, marking the boundary of the City of London's historic fishing rights. Some members were distinctly unimpressed and wondered how any fisherman was supposed to know that he had reached the boundary when the marker was so, shall we say, modest. A little further on, we passed the figurehead of the Arethusa. Although women on board ships were traditionally considered unlucky, female figureheads – particularly those baring one or both breasts – were popular because it was believed that a naked woman could calm a storm at sea. Quite why this was thought to be the case remains something of a mystery. We then reached the ‘tricky’ part of the walk. The path runs directly across the shoreline and can only be seen at low tide. Fortunately, the walk leader had checked the tide times correctly, so we were able to proceed without resorting to swimming or wading - and without anyone blaming the walk leader. 

A Second World War pillbox provided another distraction, which two members could not resist exploring. We then continued through Hoo Marina, with its houseboats, sailing boats and other vessels. The abandoned barges provided reminders of the area's industrial past, when the river was busier and cement production was an important local industry.

Turning inland, we reached Hoo St. Werburgh parish church, where we stopped gratefully in the shade for a drink. One member produced small green fruits for everyone to try. They were about the size of gooseberries and tasted like a cross between a cucumber and a watermelon. This prompted considerable discussion and became one of the highlights of the walk. They were cucamelons. With the taste of cucamelons still on our tongues, we walked through the churchyard and spotted a blue plaque to Thomas Aveling, the father of the traction engine. We then continued back towards Upper Upnor along the Saxon Shore Way. But hadn’t we already walked along the Saxon Shore Way earlier? Indeed we had. There are two routes, allowing walkers to continue their journey when the tide is in. Interestingly, the higher route follows approximately the coastline of South East England as it was in Roman times. About one-third of the Hoo Peninsula did not exist then but was subsequently reclaimed from the sea. So, in one walk, we encountered Napoleonic prisoners, Charles Dickens, historic fishing boundaries, naked figureheads, Second World War defences, abandoned barges, a traction engine pioneer and the mysterious cucamelon.. 

All that remained was to climb those steps back to the car park – the ones we had so carefully tried to forget at the start of the walk. Hot, happy and considerably more knowledgeable than when we set out, we completed our adventure around Upper Upnor.