Sandwich and the sea

On Sunday feeling the need to do something we haven’t done for a while we headed down to Sandwich for a long walk. It’s just over an hour from us, and that might seem a daft thing to do just to go for a walk, but we were both looking forward to being somewhere we’d not been before, or not been for many a year if we’d even been there before. The Kent Ramblers site have a number of walking routes, and while there were some closer to home, the call of the sea must have been calling us - and so we followed their Walk 67: Sandwich and the sea, by the time we finished a nearly nine mile walk (or fourteen kilometres).

It’s been a while since we’ve followed a walking route, and with my troublesome toe still not quite fixed but not interfering with walking, we were both looking forward to it. We’ve done some walking holidays in the past in Portugal and in France - the sort where you walk to your next accommodation while your luggage is transferred by road, but not for a while.

We set out from the Gazen Salts car park easily finding the start of the route and the first metal bridge. Though like all of these walks we’re keen to get onto the next written instruction and begin to doubt ourselves wondering if we’ve gone too far, or missed a turning. Rarely we have, but even so it’s always a topic of conversation, along with the picturesque scenery.

We passed many families returning along the path above, some on foot, some on bikes and some with dripping ice creams. We’d chosen to walk on Sunday as the weather looked the best that day, and it definitely turned out to be a warm, but not too warm, one. The path soon opened up into an open field with a clear indication of our route ahead.

Metal bridges featured several times on this walk and on each I think we paused to take in the fauna and the reflections in the darkness of the water, just breathing in the nature.

There were regular markings and reminders we were following one from the many network of public footpaths, something we see less of where we live but take for granted across the countryside. This walk led us across a golf course - a first for me, which was also a second for me later in the walk when we crossed another - and that too was clearly marked as the walk directions said it would be.

We walked past some small thatched buildings, and across the fairway having first checked for passing ‘traffic’ and exited the course on the road running parallel to the beach. And as you’ll see not only did we get to see the sea, we were also treated to some pretty spectacular skies and cloud formations.

Heading back inland and across the second golf course of the day we were now heading towards another footpath, following a short way on the road. It was here MOH asked why we were walking along the road, and here we realised we’d not turned where we should, thankfully it was less than 20 steps or so to get us back on track - and once again that track was clear.

The walking notes warned this might be overgrown, and they weren’t wrong. As the path continued we were walking through longer grass with purple fronds at the top, it was quite the sight and not something I’ve seen before. We walked past fields of now flowering asparagus crops, and at one point to get to a kissing gate we had to navigate some stinging nettles. With shorts on, this was trickier and more painful than if we’d had our legs covered more, but we were soon on our way again.

We opted to do the longer route and so turned left and headed past the hay bales and alongside the stream, crossing another metal bridge and then shortly after an unattended level crossing. We’d seen (and heard) a couple of trains in the distance as we walked and realised the direction we were heading. Safely across the railway we were soon admiring the hedgerow sloes and hawthorn berries, and smaller than usual blackberries which were starting to ripen.

We headed back into Sandwich along the City Walls, which would also make a great short stroll, and were starting to feel the distance we’d walked. We were also hungry, so plans were agreed to fix that. The city walls brought us right back to the Quayside where the route directions start, and from there we headed to the Drill Hall which we’d spotted when we set off for a stone baked pizza and a beer - both of which were very, very welcome and a good end to the day, along with the 20k steps we clocked up on our way!

All in all it was a fabulous day out.

Views of where old meets new

I’ve recently shared some of the sculptures and green spaces from our wander around the City of London, and they already include some of my favourite spots and views, but today I have more to share. One of the things that continues to intrigue me is how the traditional buildings marry and sit happily alongside the more modern structures. And like anything, the more you look for it, the more you see.

Outside St Paul’s Cathedral there’s a series of these ‘heads’ on columns outside the modern facade of shops. I’m sure they keep an eye on everything that goes on, but I also suspect that many that walk past them don’t see them.

This ornate structure, adorned with bikes, is also opposite the cathedral. Its detail in contrast to the modern buildings which surround it. Over at Liverpool Street Station there’s a modern sculpture which sits alongside the traditional structure of the station building.

Walking further around the station we were able to get a look at more of the building work taking place, the platforms are underneath the canopied roof. Here the towering office blocks sit in the background dwarfing the usually busy train station.

Behind our vantage point was this cacophony of steelwork, which I’m sure with people up and down it brings rhythm, noise and life to where we stood.

As we headed into Leadenhall Market, again the office blocks and the cranes in the background on Bishopsgate. The shop fronts in the market look traditional, but look more closely and you’ll see one is Pizza Express.

But my favourite views of where old meets new is on Walbrook, where the Sir Christopher Wren St Stephen’s church sits proudly, next to Mansion House. On this visit we had time to head around behind the church and check out the view from the other side too.

It’s my absolute favourite view in the City, without doubt.

Lines and sculptures in the City

Last week I shared some of the City green spaces we wandered through on our most recent visit. We know the City has changed since the time we commuted there everyday, for me that’s seven years ago now - I’m not sure how, but it is, and as well as having a new space to walk we were keen to see how things had changed. It was one of those walks where my phone wasn’t out of my hand for long, as there was something to see - and snap - almost around every corner. Only later when I was scrolling through my photos did I realise that themes were apparent - green spaces, and today’s post - lines and sculptures.

The building above is at the corner of Cannon Street and Walbrook so my phone was out almost as soon as we left the station. It’s the first time I’ve seen it properly in daylight. I’ve walked past it on evening trips to meet friends (not recently obviously) and so it was good to take a slower, closer look. As you’ll see, not all of the lines are straight - some are curved.

This post is another which could fit in the “if you look, it’s amazing what you can see” category - but it’s so true. At a quick glance you see a huge building, office space but looking closer at the detail, there’s much more to it. But that’s not new, as the railings outside St Paul’s Cathedral show.

There’s plenty of colour too, it’s not all drab grey and beige office buildings - though there are a lot of those too. At 88 Wood Street there’s an injection of primary colour at the entrance for people and the exit for air, in a way that reminded me of parts of the Pompidou Centre in Paris.

I have some favourite spots in the City and was able to sneak in a good few into our route. The Barbican is one of those places that I think each time I go I see something new, or enter/leave via a different way - and it’s great. On this visit we found ourselves recalling memories from the long-gone Pizza Express on the walkway and found ourselves pausing and admiring this view. To the left is the green space which is the penultimate image in my earlier post, but I couldn’t exclude this photo from a post about lines. Look carefully under the stairs at the ornate iron gates, and it could also be a contender for my next post in this series - where old meets new.

I mentioned colour before and I’m going to mention it again. This sculpture, called Chromorama and is by David Batchelor proves my point. It is made of 35 illuminated light boxes using the entire colour spectrum which face all directions and is just outside Broadgate. I’m not sure how long it’s been there, but it’s the far side of Broadgate and not the entrance I’d usually use, so if it’s been there a while that explains why I’d not seen it before.

Now I need to go back one evening to see it illuminated. And as if to prove my point about lines, as I turned round the office buildings behind me shouted lines, and so did the zebra crossing.

As we headed over behind Liverpool Street the skyline was dominated by these diagonals, which I’m sure have more purpose than design.

We also bumped into more sculptures than you’d think you would. I liked these neon signs outside an office block in St Mary Axe - You’ve gone touching leaves in the moonlight. The work is by lumiere artist Elisa Artesero is called Garden of the Floating Words, and has previously been on display in Canary Wharf.

I also liked how it reflected in the lights in the office building it was outside, whose reception lights gave a kind of bokeh effect.

On our way towards Fenchurch Street we passed more ‘funnels’ these ones covered in a bright geometric design. Once there we found ourselves looking up, and up again and being slightly bamboozled by all of the lines.

Our last stop in this post is in Old Broad Street with this City Wing Sculpture, which I had seen before and when it was installed a year or so before I stopped working in the City. It’s by Christopher Le Brun and is way larger than it looks - I think you’d easily be level with its tip on the third floor. I’ve one more post to come in the themed posts from our City Walk, so look out for that in the next week or so.