Your Host Group: Medway

After two years of online Kent AGMs, Medway has taken up the challenge of organising the first face to face AGM for three years. To save money the booking of the hall at Headcorn has been carried forward — it is also more central for people across Kent.

Medway has had a good year with no significant disruption from the dreaded COVID. We have needed substitute leaders on a handful of walks and have run a full programme. Some 60 walks have been run with an average of 13 walkers. Membership has held up well and new members have been welcomed. We can also report that members who have suffered from COVID have, with one exception, recovered well and been keen to get back walking as soon as they tested negative.

A highlight was our annual holiday which this year was on the Isle of Wight staying at Shanklin in good if showery weather. Our organiser Adam Price and our volunteer leaders (and our dedicated coach) took us to all corners of the Island — including Freshwater, the Needles, Cowes, Blackgang, Ventnor and Godstone. We also fitted in visits to Osborne House and Shanklin Chine. We ended with a visit to the summer show in Shanklin Theatre which was loud and a bit Marmite — loved by some and hated by others. Despite rising costs we have opened bookings for next year in Bromsgrove as these holidays are so popular with our members.

We have again been able to run our own AGM on a face to face basis in the Barn at Cobham. This venue, courtesy of the National Trust, is ideal as it is large and well ventilated with many walk possibilities. We had an end of project report from Lindsay of the Old Chalk New Downs Project. The Project funded by the Lottery has done some marvellous work on improving the countryside around the North Downs broadly between the Medway and the Darenth. And we have had extra walks in the area to explore it and see the improvements made.

Four of our members have been following the actual or planned England Coast Path. Walking some 10 miles most Wednesdays they left Gravesend in October 2021 heading East. They followed the coast round Kent to Beachy Head and then followed the Wealdway back to Gravesend in November 2022 — some 300 miles in all. The England Coast Path provides great walking opportunities. Mainly very well signposted and mostly easy walking. There was one steep slope south of Dover which was VERY challenging!

The Coast Path in Medway

The section of the England Coast Path that passes through Medway is now open and I took the opportunity of walking it in preparation for producing a guide to the route. Walking east to west, the path enters Medway at the head of Otterham Creek, follows the Creek to Motney Hill, doubles back to Riverside Country Park and follows the shoreline to the Strand Leisure Park. Thus far it is familiar territory as the Saxon Shore Way follows the same route.

Continuing west was new terrain for me, starting with a view of the Medway Queen, a recently restored paddle steamer built in 1923/24 that served the Strood-Chatham-Southend-Herne Bay route until World War 2 when she was converted into a minesweeper and rescued 7000 men during the evacuation from Dunkirk.

There has been a vast amount of new development on St Mary's Island which was for centuries occupied as part of Chatham's naval dockyard. While the new housing may not be as aesthetically pleasing as woodland and meadows, it is an improvement and does at least come with new access to the shoreline offering fine views across the Medway to Cookham Wood and Upnor Castle.

After passing Chatham's marina (noting the fine brick former pumping station) and historic dockyard we briefly rejoin the Saxon Shore Way before heading down Chatham High Street. Unfortunately the next section that should take the walker back to the riverbank towards the not so invitingly named Gashouse Point is closed with little indication of when it will re-open, necessitating a diversion along Rochester High Street — which is not without its attractions.

After following the Saxon Shore Way over the Medway bridge, past a former Russian submarine and on to Hoo St Werburgh, the coast path heads across country past the site of the now demolished Kingsnorth power station to Stoke. Much of the shoreline around the Isle of Grain is inaccessible due to industrial activity but there are good views of the Grain Tower and there is new access from the village of Grain to Yantlet Creek.

From Allhallows to Cliffe Creek the route is wild and remote and soon after that the path crosses into Kent. Much work has been done installing new signage on this section of the coast path. Unfortunately a poor choice of components for some of the finger posts has allowed the blades to rotate in the wind so that many now point in the wrong direction. The problem has been reported to Natural England and a response is awaited. Meanwhile, better make sure you take a map — or our guide once it is published.

Robert Peel