During the first two weeks in June we were so fortunate to have two friends come to stay with us, Jackie for two weeks and Sue for five days. Such a lovely time, with plenty of eating and talking, plus a few glasses of wine, and some trips around the south east of England.
Jackie and Walter having a rest on a comfortable bench.
Our first trip out was to Deal, as one of Jackie's relatives lived there many, many years ago. Jackie organised a very comprehensive family tree, plus written a book about her grandfather who travelled from Ireland to New Zealand. A man with a very interesting history.
First stop was Walmer Castle, which was a Tudor Fortress that later became a residence of many well known names, such as the Duke of Wellington. It is now home to the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and managed by English Heritage. We would have liked to visit the castle but our destination was Deal.
We did walk onto the shingle beach, and took photos of the seemingly never ending and deserted stretches of stones. All looking very gloomy in the sea mist.
We then drove a few miles along the coast to Deal. Before I forget, the Cinque Ports, which lie at the eastern end of the English Channel, were once used for military and trade purposes.
Deal is a charming town, well maintained and full of financially comfortable retirees. As soon as we arrived we commented on how lovely the area was, and questioned as to why have we not come here more often.
After eating our sandwiches in the car, in the railway station car park, with a great view of the supermarket car park next door, we went forth to explore the town. We were also aiming to have a cup of coffee and perhaps a cake at one of the little cafes we noticed as we drove around looking for a car park.
The small boutique butcher's shop, where we bought some delicious sausages for dinner. Pork sausages of course.
Deal was a former fishing, mining and garrison town, and now a seaside town, but without the assortment of games arcades and neon signs. Perhaps they were there too, but not in the seafront area we walked along.
The pier, casting gloomy shadows in the water.
Two very affectionate seagulls? Kissing? When I walked passed them I could see they were centimetres apart, and just happened to be on the same rock facing each other. Perhaps they were a couple. I would like to think so. I can never get over the huge size of seagulls in Britain, and they are also very noisy.
There were people on the beach too, but alas not in the water. Now I wonder where these two people disappeared to?
There were lots and lots of quaint buildings in Deal. The building on the left had been turned into a small museum.
Small fishing boats pulled onto the shingle beach, nothing changes.
The Timeball Tower, established in 1855; previously used as a Semaphore Tower. Now it is a museum of time and communication. The timeball on the top of the tower was lowered at the same time everyday, precisely at 1 p.m., to let the ships in the channel know what time it was. The ball was triggered by an electric signal directly from the Royal Observatory.
We also made a trip to Southend-on-Sea, a revamped holiday resort. It had its heyday in the late 1800s and early 1900s but after the 1960s went into decline, like many holiday towns in England, due to people wanting to travel out of the country for their holidays. So sad really as these seaside towns were very unique to this country.
However Southend is now bustling. There is a huge pleasure park on the seafront, wide footpaths on either side of the stteet by the beach, plenty of seating, cafes, pubs, amusement arcades, good car parks, good quality paving everywhere and on a sunny day plenty of people enjoying themselves.
We had a purpose in travelling to Southend, as Jackie wished to see the buildings where her grandmother worked in the early 1900s. On one of the streets we tried to imagine how it would have looked more than 100 years ago. And it would appear that many of the buildings had hardly been changed at all. The building in question, had a doctor's surgery when Jackie's grandmother worked there, and now there was a shop underneath. The rest of the building looked very original. Fascinating.
I did not realise that the tide went out so far, which left very unattractive mud flats. There were many people walking beside the water line, quite a distance out. I hope they realised that when the tide turned the water would come rushing in quickly
Southend has the world's longest pleasure pier, and best to take the small train out to the end of it. A long way to walk.
The high street is now traffic free, which makes shopping so much easier.
Fish and chips for lunch. Yum. All eaten while sitting on a bench in the sunshine.
We also drove through Sandwich after leaving Deal, and were impressed with the beautiful old streets and houses. A definite return visit to Deal and Sandwich this summer.
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