Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Ashford and Shepway Roads Database (Kent, UK)


[Transcript from original web page] 

This page details all the four-figure A and B roads of the Ashford and Shepway (Folkestone and Hythe) districts of Kent, UK. For details of the two and three figure roads in the area, search for the 'Sabre Roads' website. These are the A20, A28, A251, A252, A259, A260, A261, A262, A274 & A292. There is also a YouTube video of the A262 here. Fancy a look at Ashford in the 1990s? Search for 'Ashford Ring Road' on YouTube and enjoy!

A2008 (now part of A259) Hythe (0.1 mile)

A truly microscopic road which would have linked the A259 and A261 before the one way system existed. Scanlon's Bridge Road has traffic lights at either end and passes the light railway station and bridges the Royal Military Canal. 

A2009 (now part of A262) High Halden (0.3 mile)

Having traversed some of the finest Wealden scenery and passed through quintessentially Kentish villages like Goudhurst and Biddenden, the A262 used to have one final trick up its sleeve in branching eastward to come out on the A28 a nanometre closer to Ashford! The couple of hundred yards straight ahead was the A2009.

B2011 (formerly A20) Folkestone to Dover (7 miles)

Folkestone is officially the sunniest place in the UK as well as the birthplace of William Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood. The railway bridge across the attractive harbour was once regularly crossed by Orient Express trains. At a gradient of 1 in 30, this is one of the steepest lines in Britain. Sadly the passenger ferry service is now redundant - a bit like the old A20 between Folkestone and Dover

Leaving M20 junction 13, the old Folkestone bypass is first claimed by the A259 and then the A260 (the two roads cannon off of one another at Holywell Roundabout). It is not until the A260 departs at the next roundabout, after a brief dual carriageway section, that the B2011 gets its turn.

Leaving the roundabout, the dual carriageway funnels into a 'single' with crawler lane to tackle the winding climb up onto the White Cliffs of Dover. There is a pub at the top, and central cross-hatching through the village of Capel Le Ferne. A French sounding placename is appropriate as this is about as close as you can get to France on the British road network. The Battle of Britain memorial is located nearby. We gently descend through this modern looking village to the roundabout beneath the new A20.

Continuing straight on, we are treated to a fine view of Dover's twelfth century castle, which has a Roman lighthouse in its grounds next to a Saxon church. This beacon was constructed in 46AD and was originally one of a pair in Dover. Three transmitter beacons also dominate the skyline.

Back to the road, we descend into a valley past a former garage forecourt (Hougham) and into the suburbs of Dover. There is a mini-roundabout, where we continue ahead to bridge the railway station (Dover Priory) and arrive at the roundabout on the A256, where we are again at sea level.

A2033 Central Folkestone (0.7 mile)

This road takes over Sandgate Road heading into the town centre from Sandgate, at the point where the A259 dives off down Earls Avenue. We turn left at the first roundabout and right at the second into Bouverie Road West, arriving at Middelburg Square, named after one of Folkestone's twin towns. The old HQ of a large holiday company is sited in the middle of what can be loosely described as the Folkestone ring road. We follow this round and descend via the brief dual carriageway to the roundabout, where we turn left. The A2033 continues ahead along Foord Road beneath the impressive 130-foot-high railway viaduct to rejoin the A259 by the Red Cow pub. However, if you turn right down New Street before the viaduct, this little one way system shares the 2033 number, although Dover Road (where it leads to) is now part of the A260.

A2034 Mototrway to Central Folkestone (1.5 miles)

The A20 used to run via Cheriton High Street and Cherry Garden Avenue. Today, it does a disappearing act between junctions 12 and 13 of the M20. Cherry Garden Avenue is now part of the A2034 - a short, grassy dual carriageway heading south that has been narrowed. At the busy box-junction turn left. There is cemetary on one side and a supermarket on the other. At the roundabout by Radnor Park and the Park Inn, we turn right to pass under the railway bridge by Folkestone Central station, before bearing left to meet the eastbound part of Shorncliffe Road. We eventually reach Middelburg Square (actually an oval). To travel the A2034 in the opposite direction, we leave the 'square' via Cheriton Gardens and turn right at the roundabout to briefly join the A259 back to the railway bridge. 

A2042 South Ashford to Kennington (4 miles)

This road begins at the junction of the A2070 Hamstreet bypass and the A2070 Southern Orbital. This means that the westernmost part of the Southern Orbital is the non-primary A2042. At the roundabout with Malcolm Sargeant Road (named after the famous conductor who was born in Ashford), we turn right, to head north along the dead-straight dual carriageway (Romney Marsh Road), heading for the tented designer outlet complex, which was built on the old railway works. In terms of surface area, this is the largest tented structure in Europe, even beating the notorious Greenwich Dome. The reason that the fields to the right have been left untouched while Ashford has expanded further out is because they form the flood-plain of the East Stour river.

After the roundabout for the B2229 we continue towards Ashford International Station, redesigned in the nineties to accommodate Eurostar services via the Channel Tunnel. History is attempting to repeat itself here, as it was the coming of the railway that brought about the town's first spurt of growth in the mid-nineteenth century. 

There is a junction for Newtown, and after passing beneath the covered walkway to the station, the main carriageway bears sharp right at a traffic-lighted junction to cross the railway bridge, and 'then 'singles' to proceed along Station Road, which used to be part of the legendary Ashford ring road, much loved by boy-racers. After passing the Platform 5 pub (now Cappadocia) and a bowling alley, the route turns left onto the A292 by the huge, concrete block of the Panorama (formerly Charter House), and then turns right into the single carriageway North Street, before reaching a T-junction with Canterbury Road and turning right. The A28 then joins from the left just in time to bridge the M20 and continues with a bus lane on one side and a cycle lane on the other.

Soon we part company with the Hastings to Margate road and the A2042 makes a comeback branching left as the former A251, Faversham Road - (the A251 now begins at M20 junction 9).

So we wind a little and then gently climb straight ahead through Kennington, passing a few shops, the Rose Inn and a school, to meet the A251 at a set of traffic lights on the northern fringe of the town, just before the stately looking gates of Eastwell Manor.

B2060 (defunct) Hawkinge to Lydden (9 miles)

A dog-leg of a road that has now been amputated! It used to run through two valleys. The first, the Alkham Valley, is an attractive alternative to the A20 between Folkestone and Dover. 

Our route leaves the A20 and A260 at the top of the North Downs and runs beside the thundering A20 for a mile or so before passing underneath it. The route remains a fairly fast journey through the green and pleasant valley until a series of progressively lower speed limits escort you into Alkham. This is a small village with a pub (The Marquis), and it squashes the road and gives it a sharp double-twist at the centre. Soon we are accelerating again and the road becomes tree-lined and descends to pass the grounds of Kearsney Abbey. Then we pass under the railway before a T-junction with the former A2. Worth visiting nearby is the working water-mill at Crabble which produces its own flour and is run as a charity.

Turning left, we pass through the village of Kearsney (which has its own station), before noticing that we’re in another valley - this one carved out by the River Dour, from which nearby Dover takes its name. We climb and descend through Lydden, famous for its motor racing circuit. This is a small, spread out community, located just before the sustained climb to meet the modern race-track known as the A2. Our road sprawls out into a dual carriageway as it climbs to meet it, but is nonetheless ‘unclassified’ with the 2060 number remaining defunct.

B2061 (defunct) Folkestone (0.5 miles)

This was a remarkably short affair, today merely known as Canterbury road - a short link with a double-bend in the middle through suburbia, passing a few shops en route. The beginning was just past the double-arched railway bridge over the A260 (Dover Road), and the end was near the Black Bull pub on the A259, also called Canterbury Road, but more logically actually heading towards Canterbury.

B2062 (now B2170) Shorncliffe to Sandgate (1 mile)

Some bright spark has redesignated this road as the B2170. Bizarre!
Anyway, this runs on from the southbound B2063, which splits westward at Shorncliffe. We round a right-hand bend and descend steeply into the Enbrook Valley via a wooded hill. The left-hand bend at the bottom is very sharp, and the ensuing houses remind us that we never really left suburbia. Soon we reach the T-junction with the A259 in Sandgate - a Mecca for antique lovers. The huge, glass building and tented structure to our left was the headquarters of a well-known holiday company. A more historic structure is the Martello Tower here; one of many of these rounded structures which can be found all along the South Coast. They were built to defend our shore against Napoleon should he have chosen to attack.

B2063 Cheriton to Seabrook (2.5 miles)

Leaving the A20 in Cheriton, we pass beneath a railway bridge and by the former Victoria pub along a street lined with terraced housing. Beyond the industrial park on the left, we branch right. The road is straight and wide, passing army barracks (the home of the Gurkha regiment), until we reach the very edge of town and turn 90 degrees left. After another straight, with attractive views into the valley below to our right, there are another couple of sharp bends, left and then right, before we descend steeply to Seabrook, with views of the Royal Military Canal streaking away in a straight line ahead of us. 

This waterway was constructed, like the Martello Towers, as a means of defence against Napoleon. The double bends every quarter of a mile or so would have been manned by soldiers who could keep watch along the straights either side. The canal runs all the way to Cliff End (near Hastings). On a clear day you can see this point as the eastern end of the hills on the horizon.

At the bottom of our hill, we pass all that remains of the old railway bridge on the defunct Hythe and Sandgate branch line, and meet the A259 at a T-junction by The Fountain pub. Patience is a virtue; you will need it here!

B2064 Cheriton to Central Folkestone (2 miles)

This number used to be used for Horn Street - a link from Cheriton to Seabrook that only a massochist would want to attempt at school kicking-out time. Today it takes over the former route of the A20 from M20 junction 12, into the suburb of Cheriton. Beyond the point where the B2063 departs opposite the boarded up White Lion pub, it becomes a busy High Street, with plenty of traffic lights. Whilst the Royal Cheriton remains, The Moorhall is another public house casualty. We eventually come to a box-junction where the A20 used to bear left. The B2064 bears right here, under the railway bridge by Folkestone West station and along the wide, tree-lined Shornecliffe Road, until the A259 steals its thunder coming in from the right at Earls Avenue. 

B2065 (defunct) Kingston to Hythe (14 miles)

Heading south from the village of Bridge, the former A2 (part of the UK's second longest Roman Road - Watling Street) runs parallel to its roaring modern-day counterpart and flows seamlessly into the former B2065, to begin a steep descent into the Elham Valley. This wide pass through the North Downs was carved out by a mere stream - the Nail Bourne.

First we pass Kingston, a tiny hamlet. Then a little further is Barham (pronounced Barrum). There is a curious network of narrow lanes to the east of this village, linking our route with the A2 nearer Dover. These were formerly signposted ‘(B2065)’. We climb a little, after passing through the village, and at a green and barren spot overlooking the valley, a lane feeds in from the left, and we begin to descend again.

Our road is fairly wide until just before Elham (pronounced Eellum). This is a delightful village with a kind of square at its centre. There’s a liberal sprinkling of amenities here too, including pubs and restaurants.

The road is quite narrow between Elham and the next village - Lyminge. At some places it has even surrendered its white lines. Like Elham, the former B2065 forms Lyminge’s main street and passes a respectable range of village shops. The pub (The Coach and Horses) is in a back-street. A few bends later, we pass the old railway station, which is now a library. The Elham Valley line used to run from Canterbury to Folkestone but closed in the fifties. Some of the track-bed has been incorporated into the Elham Valley footpath.

A mile or so beyond Lyminge, we turn 90 degrees left and pass Etchinghill golf course. Leaving the putters behind, we come to the smaller village of Etchinghill, passing the rustic looking ‘New Inn’. Etchinghill, known for its beacon at the top of the hill which we will pass shortly, doubled in size in the nineties when the site of a former hospital was built upon. 

Somehow, the B2065 manages to squeeze past the scarp slope of the North Downs without any significant incline. Things become a bit narrow and winding past the woods, but within half a mile, England’s second longest hill range is behind us and we reach the A20 at Beachborough roundabout.

On we go, and a modern bridge crosses the multitude of railway lines around the Channel Tunnel terminal. The road winds a bit, climbs a bit, bends a bit and then descends steeply to Hythe (which literally means ‘haven’). Look for evidence of a former railway bridge as you descend - this one was on the Hythe and Sandgate branch line. Beyond the sharp right-hand bend, we are presented with a graceful suburban run down to the A259 roundabout.

Hythe has a pleasant beach, a quaint High Street, one of the most attractive stretches of canal you will come across and a steam railway with a difference, being built on a scale of one-third.

B2066 (defunct) Hythe (0.3 mile)

Presumably, this loop, comprising Rampart Road, Prospect Road and Theatre Street, was given this number when the A259 would have run along the High Street. The B2066 number has since migrated to Brighton.

B2067 Tenterden to Lympne (16 miles)

This undulating rural ride has its own blog on this website (posted March 2016). There is even a video here.

B2068 Stanford to Canterbury (14 miles)

This road used to begin in Lympne (see B2067), heading northward as the Roman ‘Stone Street’. The village almost blends into Newingreen (reputedly the site of England’s first motel). Here we continue ahead, multiplexing with the A20, leaving the Roman road to continue as the lane to Westenhanger station and Folkestone racecourse, beyond which it has an argument with the M20 - ultimately losing, as the bridge is not for motor vehicles!

Back to the A20, we soon reach a roundabout, followed by a hundred yards of dual carriageway and a disproportionately large roundabout serving M20 junction 11, now adorned with a service area.

The current B2068 begins here, and after a wide, straight stretch, built at the same time as the motorway, we rejoin Stone Street from Stanford village (The Drum Inn is nearby) and head once again in a straight line northward, with the North Downs ahead of us.

After limbering up for the climb, we take a sharp bend left and wind steeply through the trees, emerging at windswept Farthing Common, where there is a picnic area to the right for those who want to admire the stunning views across Romney Marsh, all the way to Dungeness nuclear power station - two huge square blocks on the horizon.

After skirting around a ‘punchbowl’ in the hills, we settle back into dead-straight mode, streaking towards Canterbury. Emerging from the woods, the road opens out with cross-hatching at Sixmile, where lanes radiate in three directions.

Eventually the road narrows and undulates a little, eventually to be muzzled into a ‘50 limit’ to pass a few houses and a pub near Petham. Then we descend the long dip-slope of the hills, with a sweeping curve to the right at the bottom. The Roman road continues as a lane for a mile or so, straight ahead at this point, but soon loses itself somewhere near the A2.

Our route, on the other hand, remains wide and climbs gently via the hamlet of Nackington, bridging the dual carriageway. We are now entering the cradle of English Christianity, but all we witness of it is the hospital and Kent County Cricket Ground. We come to a T-junction with Old Dover Road. We turn left and then right for a final little link to New Dover Road - the A2050. For the cathedral and centuries of history, turn left here.

B2069 (defunct) Bonnington to Smeeth (3 miles)

This road leaves the B2067 in one of Kent’s tiniest villages, near the former school. It has four sharp bends before facing up to the sustained climb onto the ridge of greensand hills. First the climb is shallow and straight, passing the site of the former Aldington prison (now houses), then we curve a little before it steepens to meet the Roman road from Lympne that forms the village’s main street.

Aldington village is spread out along the knife-edge known as the Greensand Ridge. It has long associations with smuggling and the infamous Ransley gang. At the fourteenth century Walnut Tree Inn, we turn right and then left to begin a wide and straight descent. The road narrows and becomes twistier just before we bridge the East Stour River around the back of a house which looks like it should be a pub.

Climbing again, we bend sharply right and then left, where we can view the lake that has been created in this small tributary. The fields behind the dam are allowed to flood as a preventative measure to protect boom-town Ashford, around six miles downstream, from watery oblivion. There is another such dam on the Great Stour to the west of the town.

The economic boom is evident along the former B2069 too, as it is here that we cross the high speed rail link, where Eurostar trains streak past at 186mph. A little further, we cross another high-speed conduit - the M20. To our right is Evegate craft centre. The road is wider here and soon it meets is demise at Smeeth crossroads on the A20. For an attractive church, continue straight ahead.

B2070 (defunct) New Romney to Ashford (14 miles)

The B2070 has upped sticks and moved to Petersfield in Hampshire, but before it got the tarmac equivalent of itchy feet, it was the main road from New Romney to Ashford. Much of the route was upgraded to ‘A’ road in the seventies, and in the nineties a new alignment was constructed, rendering the B2070 defunct. Here we trace the original route.

We leave the adequate High Street of New Romney (A259) opposite the road to St Nicholas's Church, which is actually below the level of Romney Marsh; and therefore has a history of flooding. New Romney was once an important ‘Cinque Port’ though the sea has now receded by a mile. 

Reaching the flat, marshland countryside, we are confronted with a sequence of right-angle bends and the 30mph limit rises to 40. Passing the ruins of Hope All Saints church, isolated in a field, and then beneath the pylons which stride purposefully all the way to Dungeness nuclear power station, our route straightens a little and crosses a single-file bridge over a dike.

Soon, we are in Ivychurch, a tiny village with a pub (The Bell), a church and the world’s most inappropriately sized nameplates. The village has a 40mph limit either side of the 30mph limit at its centre and there is a 50mph limit either side of the 40. This seemingly excessive level of speed stipulation was introduced in 2024 soon after common sense was abandoned by the public at large.

The road soon meets the newly aligned A2070, but the old road bears right, past the tiny hamlet of Snave. However, we are delaying the inevitable, and soon we have to join the speeding traffic. Just before the Hamstreet turn, look left and you’ll see the remains of a sharp bend that used to be Ham Lees corner. This is beginning to feel like an episode of Time Trail isn’t it? 

The former B2070 bears right into Hamstreet (see B2067), bridging the Royal Military Canal. As the pace reduces to 30mph, the road crams itself into the village High Street, before passing the Duke's Head and beneath the railway bridge to climb the ridge of clay hills that have dominated the skyline all the way across the totally flat Romney Marsh.

There is another junction with the modern-day A2070, a tunnel of trees, a long straight with deceleration lanes, some bends, an elongated hamlet called Bromley Green, a football stadium and the linear ‘Mill Hill’ before Kingsnorth - a village which is on the verge of being submerged by Ashford.

The Queen’s Head pub is old, but the roundabout, superstore and sprawling modern suburb of Park Farm are all relatively new. The B2070 used to disintegrate into sharp bends again at this point (reminiscent of leaving New Romney), but it is now a simple left turn off the roundabout into Kingsnorth Road, bearing right at another new roundabout to serve yet another new estate.

It is hard to imagine now that, as late as the early nineties, the following two-mile suburban crawl was the only route into Ashford from the south. Kingsnorth Road used to run straight into the long Victorian terraced street of Beaver Road, but now both give way to the B2229. These streets are now resplendent with ‘traffic calming’ measures including a collapsible bollard which has been wrecked several times by motorists pretending to be buses or taxis.

After passing the Locomotive pub and a few shops, the road climbs a little to reach the town centre. It used to pass a splendid 1930s cinema here and bridge the multitude of railway lines as a single carriageway. Now we have a traffic-lighted junction, with the dual carriageway A2042 bridge ahead and Victoria Way (named after a bulldozed pub) to the left. You've read the description, now watch the video - does what it says on the tin!

A2070 Brenzett to Kennington (13 miles)

Appearing in the picture at the top of this page, this modern, business-like road has its own blog on this website (posted March 2016) as well as a video here.

B2071 New Romney to Littlestone (1 mile)

This takes over where the former B2070 left off, leaving the A259 at the northern end of New Romney High Street, heading for the coast.

We pass a school and bridge the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, which has its main station here. Then the road forms the wide, tree-lined straight known as ‘The Avenue’ all the way to the sea. Turn right at the T-junction for a semi-urban seaside drive all the way to the surreal landscape of Dungeness.

B2072 (defunct) Ashford (0.3 mile)

This was the number for Magazine Road when the A28 used North Street (pre-ring-road). Like many things, the number retired to Eastbourne and has since passed away.

B2073 (defunct) Ashford (0.2 mile)

Bank Street. Another pre-ring-road number. This was a link between the B2074 (when it ran all the way into the heart of the town) and the High Street (A20). It now forms part of Ashford's ground-breaking shared space system, famously denigrated by BBC TV's Jeremy Clarkson.

B2074 (defunct) Ashford (0.5 miles)

This used to link the former Ashford ring road with the Tenterden-bound A28. Now it is just a stump known as Goddinton Road; a typical Victorian terraced street, complete with parking problems.

At the end of the straight is a bridge over the high-speed Channel Tunnel rail link and a barrier system preventing the ordinary motorist from proceeding further. You won’t miss much - there’s just a barren T-junction beyond, and if you’re in a bus or taxi, you can bear right running down to the roundabout near where the B2074 used to meet the A28.

B2075 New Romney to Lydd (3 miles)

This has occasionally been shown on atlases incorrectly as the A2075. The mistake is understandable, as it is a busy and reasonably fast link from the A259, just west of New Romney, to the small town of Lydd (beyond which lies Dungeness nuclear power station).

Our route is totally flat and open for its duration. After passing Lydd Airport, which operates flights to Le Touquet as well as pleasure flights, there is a humpback bridge over a railway line that once carried passengers but now carries only nuclear waste (in secure flasks, I hasten to add).

All Saints church in Lydd can be seen for the route’s entire length, and is known as the ‘Cathedral of the Marsh’ because of its high tower. We wind around the churchyard into the town’s High Street, which isn’t as busy as New Romney’s but is nonetheless pleasant. The B2075 meets its demise heading out of the town again, at a T-junction. Cyclists may be interested to know that there is a pleasant cycle-way from here to Rye and Winchelsea.

B2076 (defunct) Old Romney to Lydd (3 miles)

This road is like a drunken ‘B2075’ that has lost its way.
Old Romney is a small village on the A259. We pass the Rose and Crown pub, and the road narrows into a mere lane and bucks from left to right all the way across the bleak farmland to Lydd. We cross the old branch line (see B2075) using one of its twelve level crossings.
Eventually, we pass a sports centre and meet the B2075 by the churchyard.

B2077 (defunct) Biddenden to Leaveland (15 miles)

This used to leave the A274 (which itself was once merely a 'B' road - the B2078) north of Biddenden and travel across the fertile Wealden Plain, passing a gold course and gently descending towards Smarden with a fine view of the Greensand Rodge of hills ahead. We cross the River Beult via a narrow bridge and bend ninety degrees left and then right past Smarden church, into the village’s ‘picture postcard’ main street with a wealth of historic buildings scattered around the village. The quintessential view is looking back towards the church from the Pluckley end of the village. A little further, lorries are directed to an industrial estate, but thankfully this doesn’t detract from Smarden’s charm.

A few miles of farmland later, we climb onto the Greensand Ridge to Pluckley, reputedly England’s most haunted village. To ‘witness’ the ghosts, turn right at the top of the hill and pop into the Black Horse pub. The former B2077 then descends panoramically into the Great Stour valley, only to climb again to bridge the M20 and Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The scenery is now more wooded. 

Eventually we bridge the domestic railway line and enter the large village of Charing. There was once a cross-bearing pilgrimage to London from here. This is where the name ‘Charing Cross’ originates. The village is well worth exploring as it contains both the archbishop’s manor residence and the Pilgrims Way - a delightful walking and cycling route along the bottom of the North Downs. 

Soon we come to the A20, complete with lights and traffic islands. If you fancy a trip to the crematorium, turn right; if not, continue straight ahead through the narrow but well endowed High Street, which climbs to meet the A252 northern bypass.

We turn right to multiplex with this road, complete with ‘suicide’ and ‘crawler’ lanes, to tackle the climb onto the North Downs. At the top, we pass some unusually located businesses, before the former B2077 splits left as the A252 rounds the right-hand bend. The remaining few miles are wooded in places and the route is generally winding. We eventually meet the A251, Ashford to Faversham road, north of Challock (rhymes with...).

B2078 (now A274) Biddenden to Maidstone (13 miles)

This road was upgraded to 'A' road many years ago, but I will do a narrative on it nonetheless. Biddenden is a charming village with numerous restaurants. Upon the little triangular island where the A262 splits off is the village sign depicting the Biddenden Maids, two Siamese twins (ever seen The Shining?) who left a charitable endowment to the poor of the village. Biddenden vineyard is also famous for its cider and is the oldest commercial vineyard in Kent. Our road takes a mile or two to find its feet but soon finds itself streaking in a dead-straight line past Headcorn aerodrome - a venue popular with parachute jumpers.

Crossing the railway line to London (one of the longest sections of straight railway in the country), we enter this large commuter village that has an impressive range of amenities in its High Street. The local supermarket once hit TV news headlines by opening on Christmas Day. At the church, our route turns sharply right and straightens out again, but one is quite sensibly held back by speed limits for the first mile.

The range of hills ahead is the Greensand Ridge, which is Kent's second most prominent hill-range, in places rivalling the North Downs for height.The fast pace slows as we climb steeply into the narrow street through Sutton Valence. A private secondary school is located in this attractive village, the centre of which is worth a detour right.

Back to the A274 / former B2078; the gradient slackens off, but it is another mile before we completely level out. The B2163 then crosses, (surprisingly this number, according to a 1920s AA guide, was once used to classify a couple of streets in New Romney). Beyond this, our road continues through the hamlet of Langley, passing a large industrial estate on the left and entering the suburbs of Kent’s county town via a roundabout to serve new housing. Our road reaches its terminus at the A229, which descends scenically to the town centre as a four-lane single carriageway.

B2079 Goudhurst to Cross-at-Hand (7 miles)

This ‘rural ride’ is actually within the Maidstone area. This is a local site for local people; sorry, no details here. 

B2080 Brenzett to Tenterden (10 miles)

This is a very patient road. The section through Brenzett was first the B2081, then the A2070 and now at last it has been claimed by the B2080.

Beyond the roundabout by the former Fleur de Lis pub, the road is dead-straight for a mile to Snargate, where the Red Lion pub welcomes the visitor into a bygone era of beer straight from the barrel and lamplight. The tower of the church to the right of the road used to always be open for those wishing to take in an aerial view of Romney Marsh.

Beyond the next few corners, we cross a single-file bridge, and soon we are heading for the level crossing at Appledore Station; an important junction when the Lydd branch carried passengers. It is, remarkably, around two miles from its namesake. The road is quite fast to Appledore, where a sharp corner precedes the bridge over the Royal Military Canal, which shoe-horns us into the village’s main street. There are 40mph speed limits approaching the village and a 30mph limit at its centre.

This is a wide and attractive drive through what was once an important port before it was deserted by the River Rother. The history of this peaceful village, which has one of its original three pubs (The Black Lion) and a tea-room to entice the visitor, is rather bloody. In 892AD, 250 Danish longships made Appledore their base for an invasion, and in 1380 the French thought they’d also have a go, burning both the church and village. A tapestry in the church charts this history today. 

The B2080 branches left beyond the village, and begins to undulate gently around the little hillocks, before straightening out for the run to Reading Street - a hamlet with its own church. This was built to replace Ebony church, which used to stand on a nearby hill. An open-air service is held once a year to commemorate this fact.

The road bears sharply right and climbs directly onto the ridge of hills that Tenterden commands. The two cylindrical agricultural towers at the top of the climb have been on our horizon ever since we left Brenzett. 

From effluent to affluent, we pass an industrial estate and then into the leafy ‘mid twentieth century’ suburbs. After a football field to our right, we climb a little more, crossing the B2067 to reach the A28 just north of the centre of the town, famed for its steam railway, folk festival and parish church of St Mildred's.

B2081 (defunct) Brenzett to Snave (2 miles)

Although still signposted from many locations in Ashford, Brenzett is one of those ‘blink and you miss it’ places.

The Hastings-bound A259 used to branch off of itself where the current roundabout with the A2070 is, leaving the B2081 to continue straight ahead. After a couple of hundred yards, we reach another roundabout which used to be just a crossroads. Continue straight on and you’re on the B2080 bound for Tenterden, but turn right at the former Fleur de Lis pub and you stay on the old B2081. A large Second World War tank used be sited outside this pub.

Passing the turn for Brenzett church, the road winds gently and flatly for a mile and a half until meeting the modern A2070. The B2081 eventually became part of the A2070. Now that the bypass has been built, the road is unclassified.

B2082 Rye to Tenterden (10 miles)

We begin in the historic Cinque Port of Rye, a quaint little town of cobbled streets, built on a hill with its church at the highest point. Just as the sea left Rye a mile upstream along the muddy River Rother, we too leave the town behind, bridging the Hastings to Ashford railway line and climbing steeply through the trees.

This A268 used to be a 'B' road, forming the lion's share of the B2087. Until recently signs in Rye read ‘Hawkhurst’, but now it seems that the Tenterden is the chief destination, and for this we need the B2082.

This road exits right at Playden and soon arrives at the pretty village of Iden. Iden Lock, where the Royal Military Canal leaves the Rother, is actually around a mile from the village. Beyond, our route is fairly twisty and plunges us into the land of the trees, descending steeply to cross the aforementioned Rother, which marks the Kent and Sussex border here. These valleys feel very much a natural extension of Romney Marsh - look east and you’ll see nothing but flatlands.

We begin to climb steeply onto the Isle of Oxney. It is easy to imagine this being an island, centuries ago when the valley was covered with water. There was even a ferry from the Appledore side of this ridge of hills, and the Ferry Inn celebrates this fact, displaying an old list of toll fees. Back to the B2082, we bend sharply left at the summit, where the road to Stone, Appledore and Hamstreet exits right. Here at The Stocks, there is a water tower and a restored windmill.

The road is fairly straight to Wittersham, a pleasant village that straggles for half a mile before we descend to sea-level again to cross another ‘limb’ of the Marsh. After a few aberrations in our route to cross dikes, we reach Smallhythe - the former port of Tenterden. Our road begins its steep, tree-lined climb as it passes the former home of actress Ellen Terry. At the summit, the houses begin, and just before we reach the A28, we pass a new supermarket foisted upon the residents of this traditional Kentish town in spite of their protestations. Needless to say,it has been a roaring success.

B2164 (now part of A2070) Willesborough to Kennington (2 miles)

Now the final section of the A2070 (see the March 2016 blog on this site). It is worth noting that the B2164 used to continue to Faversham Road via The Street, Kennington.

B2170 Shorncliffe to Sandgate (1 mile)

The new name for the B2062. See above.

B2229 South Ashford to Brookfield (1.5 miles)

The first part (Norman Road) was built in the nineties, leaving the designer outlet ‘tent city’ for the suburbia of South Ashford. The road takes its name from Norman Cycles which used to be one of the town’s major employers. There is a roundabout for a DIY superstore, and a little further we come to a set of traffic lights where the former B2070 Beaver Road exits right. Then after some Victorian terraced housing and the Beaver Inn, the former B2070 Kingsnorth Road exits left.

We continue westward past Court Wurtin shopping parade, a set of lights where Beaver Lane departs and Brookfield Court shopping parade. Twentieth century housing lines our route past the Crusader pub, where the road widens out with traffic islands and a forty limit for the junction with Knoll Lane. A modern link-road exits right just before we meet the A28 at Brookfield roundabout. Worth seeking out is the attractive cycleway that crosses the B2229 nearby, running from Singleton Lake to Ashford town centre.

The B2067 - Original Web Page

[Transcript of original web page. Last updated August 2023]


The B2067 is a rambling, cross-country route across an unspoiled corner of Southeast Kent, which was used for the Tour of Britain cycle race in September 2006. This is not a road for anybody who wants to get anywhere fast; however the Sunday afternoon driver should find it a great route, should they wish to experience the true rural nature of Kent. In fact, save the climate, leave the car at home and watch the video here

1) Tenterden to Woodchurch

0m Tenterden is the quintessential wealden town. Situated on the A28 between Hastings and Ashford, it would be impossible to do it justice in this small paragraph. The wide, tree-lined High Street is over-shadowed by the square tower of St Mildred’s church. Tenterden has all the local shopper could require – historic pubs, a leisure centre, schools and a full range of shops, including two supermarkets. For the tourist there is the steam railway, which trundles slowly up to the town from Bodiam, ten miles to the southwest. The town also has historic links with William Caxton (of printing press fame) and the actress Ellen Terry.
The B2067 leaves the town centre at a junction by the recreation ground. This road used to be signed 'Hamstreet' but is now signed 'Woodchurch' only, with Hythe-bound traffic encouraged to use the B2080 instead. The B2067 always used to take a left turn into Golden Square a couple of hundred yards later, but now the motorist is encouraged to continue to the B2080 and turn left and then right to bypass this pinch-point. As we leave the town on Woodchurch Road the transition from town to country is instant, with a comforting line of cat's eyes leading down through a long tunnel of trees, winding past the golf course and descending from the ridge of hills.

2m Brook Street. This is an open and fairly straight section, crossing farmland to Woodchurch. You will notice several converted oast houses at various points to the left, their white 'cowls' and conical roofs serving as a reminder of Kent's hop-picking past.

4m Entering Woodchurch, one encounters two ninety-degree bends, so the 30 limit introduced in 2007 seems appropriate. You will pass the site of the former Stonebridge Inn to the right (now a care home). The village itself is well worth a quick detour left, with two public houses (Six Bells and Bonny Cravat) sited opposite the large parish church - three of the aforementioned bells are still in use today. You will also find a range of shops and services including a coffee shop, a butcher's store, a garage, a school and a surgery. Woodchurch has a large green at its centre, which is regularly used for cricket matches. On the hillside above the village is its most striking feature – the white painted 'smock' windmill. Also worth a visit, a further half a mile out of the village, is the museum of village life. 

2) Woodchurch to Hamstreet

Back on the B2067, our route splits off of itself again with a turn to the left. 

6m Kenardington. Having passed the South of England Rare Breeds Centre and undulated gently for a couple of miles in and out of woodland, one reaches this small village with a brief 40 limit. It has its own church, located upon the site of an old Saxon fort that was stormed by the Danes in the ninth century. From here onward, our route bumps its way up and down the ridge of hills that surrounds the totally flat expanse of Romney Marsh to the right.

7m Warehorne. The next mile of the route was improved in the sixties. You will notice traces of the original route that are now laybys to the left and right. We pass the site of the former World's Wonder pub and then make a sweeping climb to Warehorne, another tiny village noteworthy for its smuggling connections. An underground tunnel used to connect the church (1/3 mile to the south of the B2067) with the Woolpack Inn.

8m Hamstreet. We descend to the 'gateway to the marsh', which makes a great base for ramblers, with three long distance paths: the Greensand Way, the Saxon Shore Way and the Royal Military Canal Path. Hamstreet has a church which was formerly a chapel, as well as a range of shops and services, a railway station, public house (Duke's Head), Indian restaurant, fish and chip shop, cafe, garage, school, surgery and dentist. Public woodland covers the hills that surround the village. 
The village is famous for its appearance in map-form on a set of postage stamps marking the bicentenary of the Ordnance Survey. As you enter Hamstreet (cue 30 limit), you will pass under two bridges, the A2070 bypass and the Ashford to Hastings railway line. A pedestrian crossing with lights was introduced in 2023 and the road narrows into a small street as it winds to the crossroads.

3) Hamstreet to Postling Green

Beyond Hamstreet crossroads you will enter a one-way street. A few hundred yards later is a T-junction beside the village green. The B2067 turns left and proceeds to leave the village, climbing Cotton Hill. The next section is narrow, winding and undulating, with many locations where the road surrenders its white lines due to lack of width.

10m Ruckinge. Half way to Ruckinge, you will pass a small industrial estate. Ruckinge itself is a small village with big signs and a long 30 limit. The headquarters of the lively Ruckinge and Hamstreet Scout and Guide movements can be found here. The Blue Anchor pub is sadly no more, but a different kind of spiritual matter can be appreciated at the church of St Mary Magdalene. It is believed that the Ransley Brothers, notorious smugglers, are buried in the churchyard. 

11m Bilsington. Another small village that, like Ruckinge, joined the 30 limit club in 2005. The public house is the White Horse, and there is a monument near the cricket pitch dedicated to Sir William Richard Cosway, a local landlord, famed for his generosity to his staff. He died tragically in a riding accident. This obelisk was partially rebuilt as a millennium project.

12m Bonnington. The tiniest of all the villages. The former B2069 leaves for Aldington opposite the former school. All the villages from Kenardington to Bonnington are spring-line settlements, situated on the slopes of the ridge of clay hills. As one descends past the scattered houses of Bonnington, the wooded greensand escarpment looms ahead. Before this climb the B2067 gives way to the Aldington to Dymchurch road, with a turn to the right, and another to the left a hundred yards later. Next comes the long, twisty climb up out of the woodlands where the road surrenders it's central white lines temporarily.

Upon reaching the top, one encounters splendid views to the coast on the right-hand-side, before arriving at Postling Green, where the final turning for Aldington branches left. The church tower of St Martin's can be seen from here, as can the ridge of the North Downs. Aldington has shops, a fire station, a school, a surgery and a public house (Walnut Tree). It used to have a prison too. Noel Coward's former abode is also nearby, and a number of more recent celebrities including Julian Clary, Paul O'Grady and Vic Reeves have graced the area too.

4) Postling Green to Sellindge or Pedlinge

This final section is part of the original Roman road, which ran from Lympne to Aldington, Cheesemans Green, Park Farm (Ashford) and beyond. It is therefore much straighter than the preceding section, but it still surrenders its white line on occasion due to lack of width. As the route is now running along the top of the Greensand Ridge, there are no further significant climbs and the scenery consists of flatter open farmland.

14.5m Court-at-Street (pictured above). A mere hamlet, which once boasted its own pub called the Welcome Stranger, but has swapped it for a 40 limit, added in 2020. 'Street' in a place-name often indicates a location along a Roman road.

15.5m Otterpool Lane. After passing Port Lympne Zoo to the right, the official route of the B2067 branches left. Confusingly, Hythe is no longer signed at this junction, and both Hamstreet and Tenterden have been given the heave-ho too, with only Aldington signed westbound. The B2067 runs northward for a mile along a straight section of road, passing Lympne Industrial Estate (the site of a former airport) and the entrance to the zoo. The road then descends gently from the ridge, with pleasant views of the North Downs, to meet the A20 at a rural T-junction with over-the-top traffic lights and a 50 limit near Sellindge.
The original route of the B2067 (now declassified) continues eastward from the Otterpool Lane T-junction, to Lympne and beyond.

16m Lympne (promounced 'Lim') is a large village with a few local shops, the County Members pub, a school and the all-essential 30 limit. Modern suburban housing, (built presumably because Westenhanger station isn't too far away), has been added to this historic village, which was once an important Roman settlement. The ruined Roman castle at the bottom of the hillside is overlooked by the more recent castle, now a popular venue for weddings. Romney Marsh was once covered by water, hence this was an important landing place. Roman roads radiate from Lympne, the most noteworthy being Stone Street (B2068) to Canterbury.

18m Pedlinge. As we leave Lympne, the '30' briefly becomes a '40' until just beyond the turning for the steeply descending lane to West Hythe, beyond which the former B2067 meanders to its conclusion along the top of The Roughs; an open and barren stretch of land. From Romney Marsh below, a 'listening ear' dish can be seen upon this ridge of hills. This was constructed to detect incoming aircraft in the days before RADAR. 
Our road is just a single-track lane with passing places for the remainder of its course. After a mile and a half It bends sharply to the left, leaving the byway of Old London Road to pursue the direct course ahead into Hythe. A few hundred yards later, the now northbound former B2067 meets its demise at the A261 in the hamlet of Pedlinge. 

Hythe

It is worth making the mile-long descent into Hythe. The town has many pubs, a well-endowed traffic-free High Street, a pleasant beach and a quaint steam railway - this time built on one-third scale. The town is sandwiched between the sea and the greensand escarpment, upon which  the tower of St Leonard's church proudly stands. 

The Royal Military Canal passes through the town. This stretch of the canal is famed for the annual Venetian fete and a seven-mile section of it is now adorned with a cycle-way. One can only hope that eventually this surfaced section will be extended westward, as it currently abandons its course in the middle of nowhere - a bit like the B2067 really! 


The A2070 - Original Web Page

[Transcript from original web page. Last updated August 2023]


Known to most locals as the 'A twenty seventy', the A2070 spans just over thirteen miles in Southeast Kent, from Brenzett to Kennington (a northern suburb of Ashford). 

Originally, a mere 'B' road, running from Ashford town centre to the small Romney Marsh town of New Romney, the road was re-classified in the seventies, with the route being switched to end in the tiny village of Brenzett. Then, with the onset of the Channel Tunnel and Ashford's burgeoning growth, spurred on by the international station, the whole route was rebuilt in the early nineties and it is now part of the South Coast Trunk Route. 

The '2070' is perhaps the only road in the UK to have been a B road, an A road, a primary route and a trunk road whilst maintaining the same number. In transport terms, a real 'rags to riches' story and there's even a video here.

1) Hamstreet Bypass

0m Leaving the A259 at Brenzett (approx. half way between Hastings and Folkestone), the road streaks northwards across the completely flat Romney Marsh (famed for its sheep), with only an avenue of poplar trees for company. Brenzett used to be signed as the main destination on the A2070 from Ashford in spite of its small size, but most of the signs now say 'Hastings'. However, as yet, signs on the A259 from Hastings haven't been updated to include the trunk destination of Ashford. Facilities at Brenzett include a filling station, a school and an aeronautical museum. Sadly the Fleur de Lis pub and village post office have bitten the dust.

2m Snave. After the staggered junction with roads from Brenzett Green and Ivychurch (both former incarnations of the '2070'), we pass the hamlet of Snave with our first long straight. St Augustine's church, to the right, has one service annually at harvest festival. Mischievous youths regularly alter the signs to read 'Shave.'

3m Stockbridge. It is hard to believe that at this point traffic used to grind to a halt at the Wey Street T-junction to pass single-file over a ditch. 

4m Hamstreet South (Johnson's Corner). Johnson was a heroic pilot who lost his life in the Second World War. His plane was in trouble as he returned from crossing the Channel; his crew had to bail out but he tragically lost his life at this spot.
Here the old road exits right for Hamstreet. This is a large village compared to most in this area. Hamstreet has a church which was formerly a chapel, as well as a range of shops and services, a railway station, public house (Duke's Head), Indian restaurant, fish and chip shop, cafe, garage, school, surgery and dentist. The village makes a great base for walkers wishing to explore the three long distance footpaths; the Saxon Shore Way, the Greensand Way and the Royal Military Canal Path. The village is famous for its appearance in map-form on a set of postage stamps marking the bicentenery of the Ordnance Survey.

4.5m The canal forms the boundary of the marshes and runs from Seabrook (near Folkestone) to Cliff End (beyond Rye). It owes its existance purely to the threat of invasion from Napoleon. The double bends every 600 yards would have been manned as lookouts.
The bypass was constructed on giant polystyrene blocks to bridge the canal because the ground here is unusually soft. This was the first time this technique was used in the UK, being more usually used to contruct roads over ice-fields in Alaska. Our road streaks straight ahead to climb the ridge of clay hills, with views of Warehorne church to the left and Hamstreet to the right.

5.5m Hamstreet North (Orlestone). The hamlet of Orlestone was the original centre of population here and is the location of the parish church. It wasn't until the damp Romney Marshes were drained that the populace decamped to low-lying Hamstreet, originally known as plain 'Ham'.
There is an exit here to rejoin the old road which continues via Bromley Green and Kingsnorth.
The new road climbs up through the expansive woodlands (well worth a visit), and joins the Hastings to Ashford railway line to the right, running dead-straight for several miles. The four bridges over the road between here and the Southern Orbital junction were designed to blend in with the 1850s brick structures across the railway.
As we traverse more flat, open agricultural land, it is also worth noting that this line is one of only two diesel lines in the provincial Southeast. 

9m Park Farm Estate. The A2070 used to have a clear run from Hamstreet to Ashford, but a roundabout was added in 2006 to accommodate traffic from various new housing projects. Park Farm is a large modern housing estate with a school, a supermarket and a little square not far from the roundabout with a convenience store. However, there is no pub and the long-promised rail halt has never materialised.
Nearby Kingsnorth still just about maintains a village feel, being separated from the burgeoning metropolis by a small ‘green belt'. The village includes a church, a school, a pub (Queen's Head), a motorbike shop and a reunion with the Greensand Way. 
The A2070 continues for another mile in dead straight form, squeezed between the housing estate and the railway line. As it nears the roundabout, the road enters a 50 limit and one encounters a set of traffic lights, to enable cyclists to cross the road from Park Farm to use the path towards the town centre.

2) Ashford South Orbital Road

9.5m Having reached the main Park Farm roundabout, the A2070 then passes beneath Southern Orbital Road to spiral up sharply onto this dual carriageway section, where the national speed limit resumes but by the time you reach 70 mph you’re back into a 50 zone and then a 40.
Meanwhile, the A2042 kindly provides the main route to Ashford town centre, which includes the tented 'designer outlet' and an international station where one could board a 186-mph Eurostar train bound for Paris or Brussels until services were put into limbo thanks to COVID (apparently). The town centre is largely traffic free and the area around the tall parish church of St Mary's still maintains a quaint peacefulness. Ashford has a long history as a railway town, but the works sadly closed in the nineties.
  
10.5m Finberry / Waterbrook. There was originally a roundabout to serve the truck-stop here. This was removed in 2022, being replaced by traffic lights. As we near the junction there is a turning southward to serve the new Finberry Estate. At the junction itself, which is the widest part of the entire A2070, the southern exit leads to a 'lorries only' service area, and the northern exit leads to the relocated Ashford market (bright thinking, sticking it two miles out of town!), as well as business parks consisting largely of car showrooms and a McDonald's which was reported as being the second busiest branch in the world in the early 2020s (yes, seriously).

11m Sevington. Marooned to the right of the speeding traffic, one can make out the spire of Sevington church now surrounded by a huge lorry park where there were once open fields - a consequence of Brexit that leavers rarely boast about! To the left is another business park and the Highfield housing estate. There is another roundabout with a dual carriageway link (also numbered A2070) to junction 10A of the M20, shaving off a corner for coastbound traffic. This was opened in autumn 2019.

11.5m Junction 10. We enter a 40 limit to approach the Lacton Interchange, known to many as the ‘roundabout from hell.' More mild-mannered types merely know it as 'M20 junction 10.' This is the point at which the A2070 ceases to be a trunk road or primary route.

3) Willesborough to Kennington

This final section is the re-designated B2164. Its character is much different from the rest of the road, being a mostly unimproved suburban route, complete with 30mph speed limit. A mini roundabout forms the junction for the William Harvey Hospital. We descend through Willesborough Lees, and crossing the River Stour, we pass Conningbrook Lake (worth a visit), the Bachelors soup factory and the Julie Rose Athletics Stadium.

13m Little Burton Farm. Having crossed the Ashford-Canterbury railway line, one is plunged into suburbia once again. The era of an unbroken view to the North Downs is now history.

13.5m Having bridged the Ashford-Canterbury railway line via parallel humpback bridges, we pass Little Burton estate on the left as we traverse the final half-mile straight to the end of the road. At the roundabout we meet the A28 - another noteworthy route, for it encompasses 58 miles from just north of Hastings to Margate, via Tenterden, Ashford and Canterbury.

Why the A2070?

With Lydd airport being considered for expansion, we may eventually see the B2075 upgraded. If this becomes a southern extension of the A2070 via a multiplex with the A259 through Old Romney, the road would gain another 7 miles. Being really optimistic, we may even see the Lydd branch railway line reopen too.

Many drivers enjoy the Hamstreet bypass section purely because of their desire for speed, hence regular speed-traps are now a feature. The South Orbital section originally formed the boundary of urban Ashford but this is no longer the case. All in all, the road illustrates all that is good and bad about Kent in a mere 13.5 miles. It has improved travel, but it has meant the loss of some rural businesses as well as having a worryingly high accident record.


Friday, 11 September 2015

Thoughts on Compassion and Politics


It struck me recently that when times get tough, people grow harder. Following the recession, the UK has shifted to the right and it's now considered OK to talk about foreigners as a swarm, whereas ten years ago this kind of talk would have sounded vaguely 'Third Reich.' It seems that it took the picture of a small child washed up on the beach to reawaken a bit of humanity in the world's fifth most prosperous nation. In the nineties politicians talked about 'education, education, education.' Now all we hear from them is 'immigration, immigration, immigration!'

When the proverbial brown stuff hit the fan, people were angry at bankers for being so reckless and greedy. They were also angry at politicians for wasting our public money on duck houses and moat-cleaning. In short, there was an opportunity for a return to the less selfish values of the fifties and sixties post-war dream. What happened instead was those at the top and their tabloid messengers found a handy scapegoat for all this public anger. Most were willing to have their ire channelled in the direction of, er, The Channel.

Firstly, let's face it, who sold the weapons to myriad dictators and volatile groups in the first place? Is it any surprise that when weapons are used for their intended purpose that people tend to flee to wherever they might think is safe? It's a testimony to this country that we are viewed as tolerant enough for people to want to come here.

Then there's the economic argument. People say we are bursting at the seams and that the country can't take any more. Then in the same breath we hear about a pensions crisis, where the baby boom generation are reaching old age with an insufficient workforce to support them in their time of dotage. Now what exactly is the truth?

It sometimes seems to me that the country goes in thirty year cycles. The nineties seemed like a rerun of the sixties with a more social ethos prevalent. UK workers were cushioned by a minimum wage for the first time for a start. However, wind on twenty years from the sixties and we get... the eighties – pure undiluted capitalism in all its pomp. In short, you are here.

This made me think about my place in the world. After all I was brought up with the values of the pre-eighties era, and this can make it pretty hard to succeed in the post-eighties era. Just how hard-nosed do you really have to be? It's often been said that psychopathic traits are more common in the boardroom than in an average cross-section of the population. Thus, it will be much easier for somebody who's been brought up with the notion that 'there is nothing wrong in taking somebody else's slice of the pie if they are weaker' to adapt to life in the modern world.

But politicians can't all be corrupt, self serving individuals, can they?

I would say 'no,' but I think what happens is a scaled up version of what I have observed locally for many years.

A number of villagers disgruntled by the decisions being made by their 'representatives,' decided to join 'the board' as I shall call it. I heard phrases like, “I'm a little bit stronger than you and will stand up to them without being forced off.” It appeared to me that these no doubt well-meaning folk eventually became part of the establishment, defending the kind of decisions that they had once despised when standing at the bar of the local pub.

It would seem that every organisation has an unwritten code concerning how one is supposed to act. Locally I observed that quaintness and protecting people's property prices seemed to trump providing employment and retaining public services virtually every time. I wondered if those who had joined the board at the time felt that this was expected of them and that it was simply part of what they were there to do.

The status quo at Westminster seems to be to keep the elite happy and the public content with as little as possible. This way the rich don't have to start paying taxes or anything depressing like that. There clearly won't be any scaling back of all that arms distribution any time soon either. Consequently, we will continue to see desperate people heading our way and plenty of traditional Daily Mail and Sun headlines for years to come.

Sunday, 31 May 2015

Thoughts on Disposable Income and Rock Music Sites in London



At the time of writing I am a little bemused by a BBC news report I recently heard declaring that the average household has a annual disposable income of £17,000. Annual! Disposable!!

£17,000?! I wondered if I was hearing things, but like the average salary of £27,000, this is a classic example of how statistics can be used to make things look better (or worse) than they are. Of course an average doesn't lie, but it seems important to understand how it works, because reports such as this could leave most of us feeling hard done by and undervalued, and that's not a greatly inspiring message, right?

If there are ten people working for a company and nine earn £11,000 a year while the manager earns £901,000, the average salary will be £100,000. If the average is the only figure you are given, you will automatically think, 'Wow – that's a good company to work for!' but in reality it's only good for one employee out of the ten.

So to get a more representative view, we could look at the median. This figure is the middle figure of a set of figures if they are listed in order from lowest to highest. Therefore exactly 50% would be above this figure and exactly 50% below. Thus, we can all know where we really are in the great scheme of things, should we wish to know, that is!

Moving on, on the weekend of my fortieth birthday I decided that it would be a real treat to check out The Archway Tavern in North London. My fiancée was with me and we caught a bus from Oxford Street, which promptly broke down. Upon reaching Archway I was somewhat disappointed to find a boarded up pub with a load of junk inside. The pub (pictured above) was of course a famous haunt among fans of The Kinks, for the interior features on the cover of their excellent Muswell Hillbillies album (1971). It's really the next choice for doing the album cover tour of London once you've been to Abbey Road (Beatles), Battersea Power Station (Pink Floyd) and Berwick Street (Oasis).

Back to The Kinks, I recently read a rather gritty biography of Ray Davies, and having admired his songwriting for many years, I was somewhat surprised by the volatile and thrifty character I was reading about. As they always say, don't meet your heroes, although I might say, just don't try to go to their old pubs. In the end I'd say 'let the music do the talking,' and in my opinion the band's underrated classics like 'Arthur,' 'Village Green Preservation Society,' 'Lola versus Powerman,' and even 'Schoolboys in Disgrace' are up there alongside more well-known albums from bands of their era such as Sgt. Pepper and Dark Side of the Moon.

Catching a bus to the aforementioned Muswell Hill, we then decided to walk to Alexandra Palace, which is famous for hosting the world darts championship as well as being the site of the first regular public television broadcast in the world, made by the BBC in 1936. The view from its high vantage point is also well worth visiting for, with the various shards and gherkins pointing into the sky like surreal concrete fingers on the horizon.

There was a free bus service to Wood Green, from where we caught the underground to Angel for a delicious sushi meal. Sitting next to us was a famous bearded French chef, who I seemed to recognise from TV, not that I watch those cooking shows. The owner came over to him and opened the conversation with, 'Excuse me for saying, but I recognise you...' From this, our perceptions that we were dining in a place of quality seemed to be confirmed. And thus, I began my fifth decade on Planet Earth.

Sunday, 10 May 2015

A Tale of Five English Pubs




Once upon a time, in deepest, darkest Kent, there were five 'Style and Winch' pubs all built to the same design in the first half of the twentieth century. One of these was known as The World's Wonder. It used to be one of a handful of 'locals' that I use but sadly bit the dust in September 2014.

Avoiding the inevitable invective against Government policy and taxation of the working man's place of refuge, I am just going to tell you that this former pub is located in the village of Warehorne, which is located near the larger village of Hamstreet, which is located near the town on Ashford which is located around 55 miles southeast of that big place called London.

I recently achieved something I'd planned to do for years, and this was to visit all four of the Wonder's 'twin pubs.' I remember discussing with the landlord the notion of completing this challenge by bike in a single day a few years ago. Sadly I only visited one of these by bike in the end.

The most southerly of these pubs is The Ship at Lade (pictured), tucked away in a back-street just off of the road along the Southeastern Kent coast between the seaside villages of Greatstone to Lydd-on-Sea - basically almost France, were it not for the water in between. This pub has been redundant for many years, and I took a mosey up there some years ago for the obligatory photo that I have since lost.

In November last year I set out to visit a pub of the lesser-spotted 'open' variety. I caught the train up to Swanley and set off on my bike along what must surely be the longest station access road in Kent! I followed the B-road to Dartford via Hextable. The scenery between the built-up areas reminded me of East Kent, consisting of expansive open fields.

I found my way to the centre of Dartford via a signed detour for bikes. Having been to Liverpool, the home of The Beatles, many times, I was profoundly disappointed by the former hometown of Mick Jagger. I could find no reference to either Jagger or the Rolling Stones in the town centre. I had expected a statue of Mr Jagger complete with pouting lips somewhere in the town and I thought at least one enterprising individual would have opened an alehouse called 'Jagger's Bar' and adorned it with replica gold discs and framed photographs of the group, but like Sir Mick, I got no satisfaction. I have since learned that there is a blue plaque commemorating the place where Jagger and Richards first met at Dartford railway station.

Dartford did however have a bustling market in its high street (as opposed to flinging it out as far as possible as though allergic to such trading like the similarly Kentish town of Ashford). I wheeled my bike past the impenetrable crowds and on via a pleasant park.

The town itself seemed dearly in need of some of its most famous ex-resident's money, but the park was pleasant enough. My aim now was to attempt to follow the River Darent southward. I rode some suburban roads and then found a footpath which brought me out via meadows onto the A225 near the A2 bridge. Just beyond this, in the village of Hawley, was the Papermaker's Arms. I chained up my bike and ventured inside.

The young barman was fascinated when I showed him the picture of the 'Wonder' on my village's hiking page on the Internet. This reminded me of the boy in the film 'A.I.' finding out that he was actually one of many identical models. However, where the boy in the film was devastated, this barman was overjoyed to discover that the pub was one of five!

After supping a local ale, I continued and turned off of the main road to go through the villages of South Darenth and Horton Kirby. The healthy quota of pubs in these Darent Valley villages was nothing short of impressive.

I eventually came out onto the A20 at Farningham and continued along the A225 to picturesque Eynsford where I watched a Landrover splash its way through the ford. Beyond the station, I took a lane to Lullingstone and rode a path by the river, northward again so I could look at the castle. I stood at the impressive arched gatehouse, admiring the stately home across the lawn, before continuing again. A little further, the Roman Villa seemed to be located inside a modern building, designed to preserve it. I feared a fee of some kind (although I was recently impressed by the Roman mosaic situated within the park at St Albans which can be viewed free of charge), and returned to the A225 heading south, making a detour to the village of Shoreham on the lanes, where I counted four pubs. Four!

My ride ended in another village, Otford, where I caught the train home and it wasn't until May 8th 2015 that I returned to the challenge. This time I had my fiancée in tow, having attended our legal preliminary meeting to marrying at Maidstone registry office. Yes, it's complex to marry somebody from outside the EU, although bizarrely if she was marrying somebody from outside the UK but from within the EU and living in the UK, none of the red tape would apply. Like most things in life, this simple meeting expanded to fill our day, as we had make a lightening-speed trip back home (around thirty miles away) in order to return with the photographs and additional line in our 'proof of residency' letter that they hadn't told us we needed.

We were pretty shattered after this and a little drive along to Barming to check out The Redstart Inn seemed to be the perfect tonic. Inside, the bar was lively and I kept hearing words like 'Miliband' and 'Farage.' I guess the recent election had meant a change from the usual pub 'staples' of conversations like football and smut! This particular 'Wonder' was up a quiet residential lane. There was a village feel here, in spite of being on the edge of Maidstone, one of Kent's largest towns.

Our final 'Wonder' would be just a photo, as The Bell at Coxheath is now an Indian restaurant, and dinner was waiting for us at home. This former pub stands beside the east/west B-road in the village centre which has a semi-urban feel. It's even got a set of traffic lights!

So, having completed this challenge a few years behind schedule, I'll leave you to ponder the merits of checking out more of my travel writing on Amazon Kindle or vowing never to waste time on this blog again. If your view is the former, the book 'Mud Sweat and Beers' by Adam Colton may be of interest.

Saturday, 15 November 2014

Thoughts on Russell Brand and the UK Election


Be warned, this month's missive is a bit opinionated, for as 2014 draws to a close, I recoil with horror at the thought that we will soon be entering UK election year - yes, it's 'party' time! The airwaves will soon be awash with political rhetoric designed to bend the minds of even the most stoic viewer/listener into putting that all-important cross in the desired box of whoever is doing the speaking. I am going to refrain from mentioning individual parties, so as not to alienate any of my readers; instead I am going to talk about elections in general and how many people feel about them.

Many of you may recall comedian Russell Brand's interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC TV's Newsnight. It's worth a watch on YouTube if you haven't seen it, but be warned there is one or two rude words in it (it's Russell Brand after all).

I have never been a fan of his comedy style, which I find a bit childish, but his despairing view of politics pretty much sums up how many people feel, irrespective of party divisions. The fact that the proportion who turn out to vote is steadily declining reflects the sad fact that more and more people feel that politicians simply aren't concerned about them. Only 65.1% voted in 2010, compared with 83.9% in 1950. It's a personal opinion, but I see no rush to correct this by any party – after all if it is possible to get into power with a third of the populace declining to vote, I guess it's not really going to be a major concern. But if more people are saying 'none of the above' than the proportion voting for any individual party, it's easy to see that Mr Brand's view could actually be that of the majority, in which case, what does democracy actually mean?.

Winston Churchill was once quoted as saying, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” I guess we are lucky that 'those other forms' haven't been tried here for a very long time. No 'Hitlers' or 'Stalins' thank God, but the famous Milgram experiment worryingly points out how most people will obey authority figures regardless of morality, so I guess we need to keep our wits about us.

Personally, I always vote, for the simple fact that people died for the right to vote, so for me, it is more out of respect than any belief that where I put my cross is going to make a difference to anything, particularly that, without proportional representation, in safe-seat areas we can pretty much guarantee the outcome of every election before a single vote has been cast. All the other votes are discarded in the great scheme of things, rather than counting towards a national total. So this could one reason that many people may feel apathetic.

There was an attempt to address this, but I think the proposals for electoral reform were so confusing that most people opted for leaving things the way they are, but we know that this will mean more poor turn-outs and general apathy, so to my mind it's not a solution either.

Personally, I feel far more empowered when it comes to changing things by activities such as signing petitions, donating to worthy causes or trying to bank and spend in a way akin to one's own ethics. I have even taken part in a couple of protests, one of which the newspapers falsely branded as a 'pot-smoking rabble!' I guess this paper respects everybody's right to an opinion, as long as it's the same as the editor's!

As Mr Brand rightly pointed out, nothing is being done [by any party] about off-shore tax havens, and the drive for profit is putting basic commodities out of reach of an increasing proportion of people (food banks, anyone?). Can it be right that people are willing to fight so hard to protect bankers' “rights” to a huge bonus while hard-working people are having to choose between heating and eating. Is it any wonder people feel failed?

Those familiar with Jeremy Paxman's interview style will know that he is a pretty dogged interviewer, but I found myself almost cheering when Russell Brand pointed out that he of all people should be tired of the unfulfilled rhetoric that he would have heard during his many years on Newsnight.

Well, I guess that this interview has been largely forgotten now, but I still applaud Mr Brand's anger at the bizarre contradiction of poverty in the sixth largest economy in the world. I would describe this as a badly organised society to say the least. Some things like poverty are worth getting angry about, surely?

In the meantime I'm bracing myself for the propaganda onslaught. I doubt we will witness a lot of 'joined up thinking' – it's much simpler for politicians just to demonise anybody from overseas or in need of financial help. Er... didn't somebody demonise a section of the populace for his own political gain back in the late 30s?

Meanwhile, one thing they are not telling you about is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This secret trade deal could potentially allow private companies to sue governments if their profits are harmed by a country's policies. Surely the ultimate triumph of money-power over democracy. If this sounds scary, the petitions are out there online waiting for your signature. Personally I see politicians as little more than the PR wing of big business. If anybody wants to know what to get me for Christmas, I'd like some earplugs please!