Yesterday new walkers arrived and I went to welcome them at Rochester station. Our new found friends from Germany and the Nederlands returned at the week-end at the end of their walks. This morning we accompanied the Norwegians on the start of their walk as they followed the North Downs Way through Nashenden Farm on the outskirts of Rochester on their way down to the Medway megaliths. If all goes well they should be looking across the superb views of the Medway gap while enjoying their packed lunches and resting awhile at the Kits Coty long barrow.

Rochester is rich in history and it’s a great starting place for people on our walking holidays. A settlement existed at Rochester pre-dating the Roman occupation; however it is believed that the Romans built the first bridge where Watling Street crosses the River Medway and fortified the town, naming it ‘Durobrivae’. Aulus Plautius led the Roman army into Kent in AD43 and forced the Belgic inhabitants of Kent across the Medway to the west bank. Christianity was brought to Rochester by St.Augustine’s mission and the first Archbishop of Rochester was Justus who was ordained by Augustine in AD 604.

Periods of instability occurred through the dark ages until the Norman Conquest in 1066 and Danes frequently sailed up the Medway and attacked the city of Rochester and the city was besieged by the Vikings in 884.

The Castle was one of the first castles to be built in Britain by the Normans. The outer walls were built by Bishop Gundulf in 1089. The keep is considered to be one of the best examples of a Norman keep in England surviving today. It was constructed by Archbishop William de Corbeil in 1127. The keep is 113 feet high and the walls are 12 foot thick.

Henry I granted control of the castle to the Archbishops in Canterbury. However in 1215 Archbishop Langton refused to cede control of the castle from Canterbury to the Bishop of Winchester. Rebel Barons took control of the castle in defiance of King John whereupon a two month siege commenced. The Barons were eventually defeated when the foundations of the castle were under-mined and the carcasses of 40 fatted pigs were set on fire in the tunnels that were dug beneath the walls. This resulted with the collapse of the walls and the South east turret. The circular south east turret that can be seen today is the new tower that was built in a stronger circular design following King John’s recapture of the castle.

Rochester is the second oldest diocese in England. It was established by Justus, who became the first Bishop of Rochester in 604. The cathedral suffered as did the rest of Rochester from attacks by the Danes throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Following the Norman Conquest Bishop Gundulf commenced the building of a new cathedral in 1080. Today only the crypt and part of the south isle wall are incorporated in the present cathedral. Gundulf’s tower can be reached via the path that runs between the north transept and the south side of St. Nicholas’ Church (Looking towards the west entrance to the cathedral this path is to your left and leads off Boley Hill and along the north side of the cathedral). It is believed that Gundulf’s tower was built after Gundulf’s death. It served as a bell tower

Much of the cathedral that we see today dates back to the Norman re-building work that started in 1227. The new building was financed in part by donations to the shrine of St.William of Perth. St. William was a local baker who it was said gave the money from 1 in 10 of his loaves to the poor. Upon leaving Rochester in 1201 to embark on a pilgrimage to the holy land he was murdered by road-side robbers. The monks in Rochester set up a shrine dedicated to St William and it was no doubt hoped that this would attract donations in a similar manner to the offerings that were received by Canterbury following the death of Beckett 31 years earlier.

Standing in Boley Hill with your back towards the castle and the River Medway, facing the west entrance (tourist) of the Cathedral one is looking at what is considered to be one of the best Norman facades in the country. The great window dates from 1470 and the Norman doorway below is much older and existed when King Henry I entered through this doorway when the Cathedral was consecrated in 1130. On each side of the door are five jamb shafts. On the left side of the door one jamb shaft is carved with a statue depicting Solomon or King Henry I and on the right of the doorway one jamb shaft is carved with a statue depicting either the Queen of Sheba or Queen Matilda (wife of Henry I).

The offerings to St William of Perth financed a big rebuilding programme starting in 1227. The transepts were enlarged and a second pair of transepts was installed. Apart from the west perpendicular window in the 15th century no further major work was undertaken until Cottingham rebuilt the central tower in 1825 and Gilbert Scott added new stonework and gables in 1870. In 1888, J L Pearson commenced a major restoration of the west front of the Cathedral. This includes the completion of the four pinnacles, which can be seen on the west front of the Cathedral. Standing back and facing the west entrance to the cathedral, if one looks down Boley Hill to the left the College Gate (also known as Chertsey Gate or Cemetery Gate) can be seen. This served as the entrance into the Cathedral precincts from the High Street.

More information can be found about Walk Awhile’s walking holidays at www.walkawhile.co.uk

Elham Valley Vineyards and the Elham Valley

This week we?ve got two groups of walkers undertaking the Discovering Rural Kent walking holiday, making their way from Canterbury down the idyllic Elham Valley towards the village of Elham and on to the White Cliffs of Dover.

What? so interesting about the Elham Valley is at the north end you pass Oswald?s House where Joseph Conrad spent the latter years of his life and at the south end you pass above Post Farm near Postling, which was rented by Conrad during a prolific writing period. Also at Bishopsbourne church can be found a stained glass window designed by Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones.

One of the places I always suggest walkers try and visit on there way between Canterbury and Elham is the Elham Valley Vineyards. It is one of Canterbury's oldest Vineyards. It is also a registered charity that provides training and support for adults with learning disabilities. The students learn to tend the vines, cook and serve in the shop. As the vineyard is about two miles before the end of the day?s walk to Elham it is provides the opportunity to taste the local produce before making the way up the east side of valley and down to Elham village. The vineyards are open all year and serve coffee and wonderful cake during the following hours:

Open all year - Easter to October Monday to Friday 9 to 5pm - November to Easter 11.00 to 4.00 at weekends open 11.00 to 4.00

For more information about Walk Awhile?s walking holidays look at the Walk Awhile web site at www.walkawhile.co.uk

Today I got a call from a couple of walkers who have made really good progress and got from Lenham over to Wye by mid afternoon. They rang to ask about the tomb of the bastard son of Richard Plantagenet who is reputedly said to be buried in a tomb in the grave yard of St Mary's church, which is within a stones throw from where the North Downs Way passses through the Eastwell Park estate.

Unfortunately today's walkers have done so well that they actually passed the church, which is hidden by some trees just to the right of the North Downs Way. The setting is beautifull and worth finding as it is by the Eastwell lake. I believe the lake is the second largest artificial lake in Kent. When the lake was draiined after the last war many bikes were found to have been dumped in the lake, supposedly commandered by troops, stationed there in the war, and thrown into the lilly covered waters after returning to camp pubs in
Ashford.

The North Downs Way crosses a drive-way leading from an imposing Georgian style house, which one passes to your left if approaching from Westwell. The North Downs Way continues along a grass verge bordering a tarmac road that continues into the grounds of Eastwell Park. The ruins of the church of St. Mary are to your right. A kissing gate leads into the grounds of the church.

The church dates form the 15th century and it said to have collapsed largely through neglect. Other accounts suggest it may have suffered bomb damage during WW II. About 20 metres from the wall of the church tower a brick built tomb can be found in the sheltered area of the grave yard. The inscription on the tomb states that it is reputed to be the tomb of Richard Plantagenet, a bastard son of Richard III.

The romantic story is that when Richard III was defeated and killed at the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, his son Richard fled south and became either a stone mason or carpenter. According to this story, Richard remained on the Eastwell estate until Sir Thomas Moyle who built Eastwell House noticed a grey haired laborer in his employment who could read. After gaining the trust of the old man, Sir Thomas learnt that the person in his employment was Richard Plantagenet. Legend has it that Sir Thomas had a small cottage built in the estate for Richard and allowed the last of the Plantagenet line to serve out his last few years in peace on the Eastwell Estate.

Tomoorrow when I meet the walkers in the morning I will give them a lift back to St Marys so they can see the tomb.

Sunday's walkers had a real challenge. Parts of the North Downs Way out of Rochester had temporarily been incorporated into the English leg of the Tour de France as it it hit London and Kent.

The roads were very quiet when we picked their luggage up first thing Sunday morning but as Blue Bell Hill was blocked off for the race, we had to use a few back lanes to ensure that their luggage was ready adn waiting for them when they reached Thurnham.

However the walkers got a bonus as the Tour de France went through Burham and passed close to Kits Coty House on the Sunday lunchtime -so they gor a great view of the pelaton as it shot Down Blue Bell Hill on route to maidstone and then on to Canterbury - it would take the walkers another four days to make canterbury on foot.

Blue Bell Hill has teh densest area of sarsen stones to be found in England outside of Whitshire. Many of them have been used in the construction of burial chambers dating from 3500 BC, such as Kits Coty House and Little Kits Coty or the Countless stones. The Mesdway Gap is a treause trove of ancient megalths and we really should make more of such important historical sites right on our doorstep.

The OS map reference for Kits Coty House is TQ 745608. Each of the three upright stones is 3 metres high with a table stone or capstone laid across the top. The stones served as the entrance to a long barrow, estimated to have been 70 metres long and covered by a mound of earth. Today the site comes under the jurisdiction of English Heritage.

Samuel Pepys wrote about the stones in the seventeenth century when he described them as " Three great stones standing upright and a great round one lying on them, of great bigness, although not so big as those on Salisbury Plain. But certainly it is a thing of great antiquity and I am mightily glad to have seen it". Hilaire Belloc in his classic description of what became known as the Pilgrims' Way linked the history of the ancient trackway with that of Kits Coty when he wrote "the overwhelming age of the way we had come was gathered up in that hackneyed place" .

Some commentators have suggested the origin of Kits Coty dates back to 2500 BC when migration to Britain. The newcomers brought new skills associated with land cultivation and livestock. However later commentaries suggest that Kits Coty was built earlier, between 4300 BC and 3000 BC. This was in the New Stone Age but prior to the migration of neolithic farmers to Britain.

Early prints show that a large stone stood at the west end of the long barrow. However it is known that this stone, known as the General's Stone was blown up in 1867, probably to make it easier to plough the land.

A survey undertaken in 1981 showed that the mound of the long barrow was 70 metres long and about 1 metre high. It is believed that originally a stone kerb or peristalith surrounded the mound, which was 11 to 15 metres wide. An example of a burial chamber that still has the mound intact can be found on the east bank of the river Stour at Chilham, which is only a few hundred metres from the North Downs Way.

Just down the road from Kits Coty House can be found the Countless stones, which lie 200 metres to the south of Kits Coty at OS 744604. These are probably the remains of a ruined prehistoric long barrow burial chamber. This group of stones has become known as the countless stones because it is said that no two people can count them and come up with the same answer. The countless stones are made of the same sarsen stone as Kit's Coty House.

About 400 metres due north east of Little Kit's Coty is to be found the White Horse stone. This single sarsen stone is situated 2 metres to the left of the North Downs Way just after the trackway crosses the Euro rail link bridge and starts its ascent into Westfield Wood.

Legend has it that the Saxon leader Horsa was buried under the stone. It has also been suggested in popular folklore that when Horsa and Hengist landed in the Britain in 449AD, the White Horse standard was draped across the stone. However armorial emblems were not used until the 12th century, so it highly unlikely that there is any validity in the link between the white horse emblem and the Saxons.

I really recommend getting up to Rochester and exploring the ancient megaliths to be found in the vicintiy of Blue Bell Hill.

Last weeks walkers have completed their walk and reached Canterbury without any difficulties, inspite of the inclement weather.

A morning I really enjoy is when I meet walkers and show them the tithe barn at Lenham. The owners of this magnificent rural cathedral have been kind enough to let me show walkers the barn in the morning before they commence their journey along what is mainly ancient trackway (chalk and flint surface just above the fields at the foot of the escarpment) all the way to Eastwell Park and across the Stour Valley gap to the market town of Wye

I'm told the present tithe barn dates back to about 1450. Another barn adjacent to the present one was unfortunately burnt down in the sixties.

A number of accounts of Lenham's history refer to a previous tithe barn that was burnt down by local poeple in the thirteenth century.
Records show that the culprits were never identified. However the late 13th century and early 14th century was a period of much friction between church and common people in Kent. Between 1272 and 1278 there are records of violent disputes between townspeople and the church in Canterbury. In 1318 local people in Thanet rioted and burnt buildings in connection with disputes over rents owed to St.Augustine’s Abbey. So unrest between church and local people in Kent was not unusual during at this time.

Jean Jennett is just one of many commentators who makes reference to the original barn being burnt down in 1297 in his book 'The Pilgrims Way - from Winchester to Canterbury'.

Lenham has been described as once being a flourishing market town on the old coach road to Canterbury and was granted a market by charter of the King in the thirteenth century.

The Saxon Pharmacy can be found on the north side of the market square. It is so named because during restoration work in the nineteen forties a Saxon grave was discovered that had been left undisturbed since the 6th century. Local historians have described the building as a typical Wealden timber framed house with a tall medieval window and a king-post roof.

Also on the north side of the square is the Limes Hotel and restaurant. The building is an original timber framed building dating back to the 14th century.

On the west side of the square is the Dog and Bear Hotel. This old coaching Inn dates back to 1602. Queen Anne is said to have visited the Hotel in 1704 and her coat of arms can be seen above the door. Many of the buildings in the square date back to the 15th and 16th century and later had Georgian and Victorian fronts added to them.

The village of Lenham formed part of the Lordship of Kenwulf, King of Mercia, in the 8th Century. Kenwulf granted land in Lenham to the Abbott of St Augustine’s Abbey and by AD 839 the land owned by the Abbot amounted to half the present Parish of Lenham. The Doomsday Book records that in 1086 the population of the village consisted of 250 adults.

On the south side of the square stands St.Marys church. The original church was burnt down at the same time as the barn fire in what has been described as the mysterious act of arson in 1297. The following year Archbishop Winchelsea excommunicated the incendiaries who were not named. St Mary's church was rebuilt in the early 14th Century and the tower was added in the 15th Century.

Lenham is one of a number of villages that grew up at the foot of the North Downs chalk escarpment. Travellers along the ancient trackway would have come into Lenham for refreshment from the springs and no doubt would stay overnight in the local Inn as do pilgrims walking along the old road today. After a hard day's journey along the the Pilgrims Way Lenham really does offer a welcome break with a friendly cafe open till late in the middle of the square, a tea-house and plenty of old pubs and Inns to choose from.

Friday 29th June - Walkers at Thurnham

A bracing day for walking without a doubt. Paws and I were out this morning early as we had two walkers at Thurnham. Paws was excited because he knows its a good stretch of the North Downs Way along to Cold Blow Farm, where we usually say goodbye to the self-led groups and leave them to either find their own way over to Leeds Castle or carry on along the North Downs Way directly to the next night's stop at Lenham village.

The rain streamed down but this week's walkers are pretty hardy and well equipped so they'll relish the downpours. I'd much rather be out walking in this than facing some of the hottest days in August.

Tommorrow we will visit the Lenham tithe barn first thing in the morning, just behind the church, which the owners have kindly given us access to show walkers. It's known as a rural cathedral - which is most apparent why when one goes inside takes in the vast expanse inside the barn. Itis believed to be one of the largest surviving tithe barns in England. The structure is absolutely impressive inside and the timber has becaome so hardened over time that I'm told on good authority that it is impossible to drill into the timber beams.

I like the strecth of the North Downs Way between Lenham and the Wye gap because much of it hugs the bottom of the North Downs chalk escarpment and is marked as ancient trackway on the Ordnance Survey maps. The chalk and flint path along this section certainly has many clues that suggest it may have been ancient trackway. It runs above the fields below but with enough height to benefit from drainage. The trackway also meets many of teh criterea laid down by the write Hillaire Belloc, when he wrote his account of the 'Old Road' in 1904. Moreover the trail also stays on the side of the chalk escarpment away from arable land.

Must liase with Tony Gowers (North Downs Way Manager) next week and find out how the Tour de France is going to impact on our walkers next. There are a number of road closures that mean we won't be able to get the Land Rover out to walkers. This will casue a few problems both at the Rocehster and Canterbury end of the walk for Walk Awhile.