Monday, 1 March 2004

Coastwalk

Rainham → Strood

[Gasometer ironwork]

Distance: 9.52 miles
Ascent: 106 metres
Duration: 2 hours 44 minutes

Medway
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What better way to cheer myself up after last night's disappointment than to knock off another ten miles? And what better time to get past an almost entirely road-based leg than when I'm on autopilot due to lack of sleep?

Today I walked through Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester: four towns that once had distinct identities but have grown into each other. These days, they're known by the river that connects them: Medway.

[Dozyone tries out his tag]

With few sea views, the town-bound walk turns my attention to the inland detail.

  • A house whose front garden is the mock bow of a ship, ready to sail away if only the rest of the terrace would join in.
  • A pair of ugly concrete cat statues guarding a driveway, blue marbles for eyes.
  • A road called Bath Hard Lane. (No sign of Soft Shower Street.)
  • A garden of grotesque gnomes.
  • A doorway covered in graffiti that's almost all identical: Dozyone apparently perfecting his tag.
  • The iron lattice of a gasometer towering over the town.
Posted by pab at 18:38