Be a bystander in 2012… or sail into history?

A question of salt

This weekend I came to stay in Maldon Essex, somewhere I’d never been to before. I already knew about Maldon salt of course, I use it myself in cooking.  I half expected to see the salt factory, and take a tour, but there was no signage in evidence in the town, and there’s nothing on the website to indicate that it’s possible to visit, just lots of information including a video presentation about the manufacturing process, and a history of the business.

It was a sunny day, so, instead, based on a vague notion that Maldon must be on the coast or a tidal river,  I strolled down the High Street in seach of the quay from my base at the Blue Boar Hotel, a photogenic old coaching inn. Full of character, I was amazed to discover it even has its own on-site Farmers brewery, and, on the day I visited, a beer festival was in progress to re-inforce the point!

Summer attractions on the Hythe at Maldon

Passing by way of the well signposted local visitor information office, which although closed, distributes a free local guide, I soon found the quay, passing historic St Mary’s church on the way.

The Hythe is a lively place with several waterfront pubs, and posters advertising crabbing competitions (with monetary prizes) and other exciting sounding children’s adventure activities taking place locally. More information about visiting Maldon.

On the day I was there, river cruises were operating on the tidal river Blackwater, although I was unfortunately too late in the day to join one. However, one other interesting thing I found were plenty of advertisements from a company called Topsail Charters,  offering various adventures on board historic Thames Sailing Barges, one of which was tied up alongside the quay.

About Thames Sailing barges

I’ve discovered that, in their heyday, around 1860, there were up to 5,000 of these fine old ships, with their distinctive red ochre sails, operating as cargo vessels on the east coast of Britain, with the last few working until the 1960s. In Maldon the version known as a ‘stackie’ was used to transport bales of straw and hay, stacked to a level halfway up the mast, away from local arable farms.

Built for ease of handling, with a mast that pivots to allow them to sail under relatively low bridges, Thames Sailing Barges have a shallow draft and flat bottom. This means that they can rest without support on mudflats at low tide, in the shallow tidal rivers and creeks that are found along the Thames estuary. At the turn of the twentieth century the sailing barge fleet still numbered over 2,000 – but today only a handful of these traditional barges survive, restored and converted for leisure usage.

More pictures of sailing barges

Onboard adventures

With prices advertised for Maldon departures starting at £17 per head for a two hour two island cruise to £30 for a 3 and a half hour trip with a traditional ploughmans and apple crumble lunch, a cruise onboard a Thames Sailing Barge can be an attractive proposition. There are also various options for birdwatching cruises (sailing is almost silent, remember); and you can even hire out a barge out of season for a static self catering weekend if you’re worried about seasickness.

There are options for everything from team building events, to weddding receptions held aboard Thames Sailing barges. They’re available from Ipswich, London, Maldon or Tilbury, with operation broadly possible on the east coast of Britain between Aldeburgh in the north, down to Faversham in Kent in the south. More information and full details.
There is also a Thames sailing barge based at Whitstable in Kent offering summer cruises. More information

Thames estuary summer racing schedule

For a real adventure and fantastic photo opportunities, you can watch Thames sailing barge match races , held each summer.  Here are the remaining dates of the to be held in the summer of 2010:

* July 3 Thames (Gravesend)
* August 7 Swale (Faversham)
* August 28 Southend
* September 4 Colne (Brightlingsea)

Book well in advance if you’re interested in joining a racing barge for the day (for safety reasons on board participation is not permitted). Some of the races can also be followed on a spectator boat. These are annual events, so  check online for dates announced for future years.  Spaces for 2012 are likely to be particularly in demand in the weeks immediately prior to the London games, so I’d recommend planning ahead.

London 2012  – opening ceremony news

This week it’s been announced that Oscar-winning Danny Boyle and Stephen Daldry, will direct and produce the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the London 2012 Games. Find out how to register your interest in booking tickets.

A standalone production company, London 2012 Ceremonies Ltd, has now been set up and will be based in Three Mills Studio near the Olympic Park in East London, which I saw on a recent visit. For more information about what’s happening on on the ground in East London and at the Olympic Park at the moment, see my previous post dated May 25 on the subject, visit the London 2012 website or Inside the Games, a news site.

How Viv can help you

There will be increasing media interest in stories about tourism and the UK visitor economy during the run up to London 2012 . Commission me to help you with writing  about, filming or  photographing your destination or business, or simply researching and writing punchy copy about newsworthy events you’re involved in organising.

I’ll cut to the quick and won’t go over the top with waffle, puff  or hyperbole. A true content strategist, I can package up information in the form of anything from website content or advertorials, to news releases or video scripts, to match your end user needs.  I’ll take real pride in doing a great job, so why not contact me at Manifold Associates to find out more.

Until next time…

Travel by Javelin: benefit from high speed

As soon as I found myself planning to attend an event at the British Library, which is adjacent to London St Pancras, I decided it would be an ideal opportunity for me to try out South Eastern’s  new domestic Javelin high speed rail service. It started operating a permanent full daily timetable at the beginning of this week, following several months of less frequent ‘preview’ services on weekdays only.

What’s new?

The new services allow for better use to be made of High Speed One, Britain’s first and only high speed rail line,  linking London to the Channel Tunnel, and on to Paris and Brussels. Previously it was only accessible to international travellers using Eurostar services to Calais, Lille, Paris or Brussels.

Javelin trains have brought a dramtic reduction in domestic journey times between London and large swathes of Kent, making commuting from and visiting the ‘Garden of England’  a much more attractive proposition on new or upgraded track. Ashford is now down to a journey time of 37 minutes from London St Pancras; and passengers from Ebbsfleet International can make the trip to St Pancras or vice versa in under 20 minutes. It’s also now possible for domestic rail passengers to interchange with international services in Ebbsfleet International for the first time, in addition to Ashford International.

Javelins are now operating beyond Ebbsfleet International, to Gravesend, the Medway towns where Charles Dickens grew up (Strood, Rochester,  Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham) and continue down the north Kent coast to Sittingbourne, the foodie haven of Faversham, and stations to Margate and Broadstairs, including trendy Whitstable and more sedate Herne Bay. Taking the high speed line to Ashford, Javelins now continue beyond it to the World Heritage city of Canterbury(West), Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate; or Folkestone, and Dover. More information about visiting Kent.

Javelin timetable information

What’s different about the trains?

Once you activate and enter inside sliding doors, you’lll find smart dove grey and Air Force blue interiors with concealed lighting and overhead digital information signs updating you with information about the next station stop and connecting services, in addition to audible information announcements. Plush comfortable seats are set two by two each side of a central aisle. I particularly noticed almost half in the less popular backward facing position in my carriage. There are relatively shallow overhead luggage racks above the seating,  some space for luggage under seats, and at least one open storage rack in each carriage as well.

Currently it is not possible to make seat reservations, although I noticed an electronic system in place on the outside wall above each row of seats, to make it possible in the future.  Ticket checks were made on both legs of my particular journey. As far as I was aware there were no refreshments on offer on the train.

My opinion

As expected, both my journeys were fast, smooth and comfortable, with  smooth acceleration and braking, and no noticeable vibration, even when the train reached its top speed of 140mph/225.3kph. There are 200 Javelin services running each weekday, with a reduced service at weekends. Neither of the trains I travelled on were crowded.

In addition to making it easier for visitors to travel in comfort and style to or from 21 stations in Kent, the new service has the added advantage of making it much easier for passengers planning to travel to the north of Britain on the east coast line, to places like Leeds, Tyneside, Edinburgh or anywhere else served by rail from London St Pancras or adjacent Kings Cross. This also applies if your journey starts in the north or east of England and you’re journeying in the opposite direction to Kent. The high speed service  arrives and departs from Platforms 11-13 at London St. Pancras. To find it simply follow the signs for ‘National Rail’ and you’ll find you ascend to these platforms by escalator or lift/elevator.

On a north Kent Javelin journey from Margate, the Javelin trains only join the high-speed line at Ebbsfleet, west of Gravesend, for the final 20 miles into London, so the time saving benefits of  using the high speed services does lessen as you go further east. Services via Ashford will however run on the high-speed line for longer, and will be quicker than existing services, with  the journey from Dover  shorter by 15 minutes, and Canterbury shorter by 23 minutes, compared to other routes.

Another consideration, whichever direction you’re travelling in, is that if the high speed route is a travel option for your particular journey between Kent and Edinburgh in Scotland, the north east, or east of England, you’ll find it’s no longer necessary to endure the hassle of travel across London by bus, tube or taxi! This alone can shave an hour off your total journey time, which is another great reason to travel by Javelin. Try it soon. In many cases it’s worth the small premium on the cost of the regular service. I shall certainly use it again.

Javelin trains are also going to be used to transport people travelling to London 2012, with the Olympic Park at Stratford International, the intermediate stop between Ebbsfleet and St Pancras, just a few hundred metres away from the station. Watch the video.

Until next time…

A change of climate: from Kent To Copenhagen

Why climate change is a hot topic

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference on in Copenhagen until Friday 18^th December, my thoughts have turned to this controversial subject. A website called Do the Green Thing.com offers an alternative take on the difficulties in reaching an international agreement on climate change at Copenhagen. Scroll down the page to see  ‘A Recipe for a Successful Copenhagen’.  – click here to view the video . It uses humour to try and make a serious point about the unenviable task faced by delegates attending the event.

Symptoms of climate change?

In spite of the efforts of climate sceptics trying to prove otherwise from information purporting to support their argument from the University of East Anglia in Norwich; the most authoritative and credible sources, from the BBC to the Met Office and Nasa seem to be agreed that climate change is happening. Equally compelling from my own personal point of view, are the symptoms I’ve observed with my own eyes, in my own backyard.

As autumn turns to winter, I’ve decided this week to share my own (admittedly entirely unscientific) micro observations of what I’ve noticed happening in the area near where I’ve lived for almost 20 years. I believe I’ve begun to spot symptoms of climate change in the rural parts of  Kent, and other parts of southern and south eastern England, that I know well.

Personal observations in the rural Weald of Kent

This is a region sheltered by a lofty arc of chalk downland to the north and south, with a relatively flat Low Weald vale of clay forming a sandwich between a concentric ridge of greensand, and a central sandstone ridge known as the High Weald at its heart.

When we first moved to the Low Weald village of Marden, almost 20- years ago, the land immediately around our home consisted of strawberry fields, hop gardens , and apple and pear orchards. The beautiful rolling countryside shown in my photographs as it changes with the seasons, is dotted with oak trees,  and remnants of ancient woodland that gets carpeted with bluebells in spring. The trees and the woodland are thankfully still there, and so is the pear orchard; but where I walk our dog every day, many of the hedges, three strawberry fields, and an apple orchard have all been ripped out within the last decade.

This has followed the installation of no doubt expensive piped irrigation during the increasingly arid summers, when the clay soil shrinks and dries rock hard (for what seems a slightly longer period with each passing year); and I now have to water my personal strawberry patch to encourage the fruit to grow to its full potential.

Only in the last couple of years have I begin to notice (with increasing concern) a network of cracks several inches deep, pulling open the grass of our paddock during summer months. This is in addition to those I always noticed on the bare earth of footpaths across the adjacent open arable land, which I call the ‘Marden Prarie’. This has replaced former apple orchards and strawberry fields sheltered by tall protective hedgerows.

At the moment, with all the heavy rain we’ve had in the last few weeks, the footpaths are muddy, wellington boots are vital to protect clothes against mud splashes;  and a temporary pond has re-appeared in the natural dip in our paddock!

Consequences of change in hop growing

Kent is known for growing hops, an ingredient of beer, and it may be a simple matter of economics as well as climate; but sadly, only one hop garden now remains in Marden, sheltered and hidden away by ancient woodland. down a minor road where I occasionally ride my bike. The cultivation of hops (and local brewing) lives on in spite of the reduced acreage, particularly around Faversham. The town is home of independent brewery Shepherd Neame, which you can visit, and there’s an annual hop festival held annually at harvest time in early September. Kent Life heritage park near Maidstone, also holds an annual hop picking and beer festival in the same month.

You can learn more about the industry that’s left an indelible mark on the Kentish landscape at visitor attractions such as the Hop Farm Family Park.; or buy the dried hop bines as decoration for your home, and other hop based products at The Hop Shop, Shoreham.

Many redundant oast houses, where the hops used to be dried, have been converted into highly desirable homes, and some are available for let. Along with conversions of other agricultural buildings, some can  be booked for short breaks in winter and longer holidays or vacations in summer, from organisations such as Freedom Holiday Homes. A place I can recommend from personal knowledge is Oast House Loft, at Morley Farm Oast. Set on a  working farm near Rye, on the Kent Sussex border, it enjoys 360º views over the farm and surrounding countryside.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that spring comes earlier nowadays, and the general extension of summer throughout our area, which is good for attracting more visitors.  Summer now extends into September, weatherwise at least, with little cold weather or frost observed until well into October.

The rise of vineyards, and English Wine

Within 500 metres of our home, two fields of grape vines have recently been planted to replace a hop garden. Just a few sad remnant hop plants have clung to life, scrambling through the remaining hedgerows.

2009 has reputedly been the best year ever for English wine. Our local vineyard is part of a noticeable trend towards an increasing acreage devoted to vines in the county. You can download a free guide to the county’s vineyards and locally produced food, from Produced in Kent , and visitors are welcomed to most of them. One of the largest and most interesting is Chapel Down at Tenterden. Closer to us at Marden is Hush Heath, an award winning estate producing sparkling rosé which retails at £35 per bottle, from the same chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes, that are used to make Champagne in France! Hush Heath also produces bottled apple juice, as does nearby Biddenden vineyard , which is, in addition, a producer of cider.

As well as climate, one of the other reasons that English Wine is becoming so successful is that the underlying geology, and consequently the topography, of the landscape of southern England and the Isle of Wight, has much in common with the Paris basin, and the champagne region in particular. I’ve noticed England’s largest vineyard, Denbies of Dorking in Surrey, was this year marketing a paid-for and tutored ‘grape picking experience’ to visitors  during harvest time in October, something that, if successful, could no doubt prove to be an annual event.

Provence in Kent?

Our garden now supports an olive tree, which I can happily leave outside all the year round. Due to the seeming predictability of dry weather in summer, I’ve recently felt a conscious need to invest in planting more drought resistant plants in the garden, including shrubs such as lavender and rosemary. If you take the train up to London from here in summer, just beyond Sevenoaks, if you look out on the east side of the track, just before the North Downs tunnel, you can’t miss a huge purple field in which lavender is now grown commercially. It’s not alone: near Hadlow is Downderry specialist lavender nursery, where you can buy the plants. The phenomenon is not limited to Kent. There’s also a commercial lavender farm at Staplehurst Grange near Newport, on the Isle of Wight. They sell essential oil, shampoo, and other lovely lavender products to visitors and by mail order.

Climate South East offers more information about the effects of climate change on South East England. Can you see symptoms of climate change happening in rural locations where you live or visit? Let me know.

Until next time…

PS Apologies for the late publication of this week’s post, which was due to a technical problem earlier in the week.