Broadstairs: A Few Dickens Places

 

While in Broadstairs, we did have a look at a few Dickens sites, of course, starting off with Fort House (or Bleak House) above.

Have just read that Dickens holidayed at Fort House during the 1850s and 1860s, and wrote David Copperfield during his time there.

He is also said to have written Bleak House there too.

We also had a quick look at the place where Dickens had written part of Nicholas Nickleby, now called the Sea View Bar:

Which had a plaque showing that Dickens had stayed there in the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s:

Was nice to get a feel of Dickens around Broadstairs, including on a B&B door:

Yeah, Old Fagin ("You've got to pick a pocket or two ...") from Oliver Twist.

Have only read Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and Hard Times by Dickens. Should really make the effort to read his bigger novels, but finding free time is difficult.

The (Broadstairs Dickens Festival) link below gives a lot more information about Dickens' association with Broadstairs:

https://www.broadstairsdickensfestival.co.uk/dickens-and-broadstairs

Dickens must've thought a lot of Broadstairs as he eulogised it as "Our English Watering Place", the text of which can be found in the link below:

https://linguabooster.com/en/en/book/our-english-watering-place#page-11

 

Broadstairs: Old Lifeboat Station

Down at the Harbour, we saw a distinct white building, the Old Lifeboat Station:

 

Have just read that this building operated as a Lifeboat Station from 1868 to 1912, and saved the lives of 275 people during that time.

In front of the Old Lifeboat Station, there stood an old 2nd World War mine which was now being used to collect money for a sea mariner-related charity:

 What a great way of raising money for charity.

Broadstairs Harbour: Wave Spray

One of my favourite places in Broadstairs, at the Sea Wall getting sprayed by the crashing waves from a distance:

 

Find this sea spray incredibly refreshing, even though the sea is incredibly rough here.

And Broadstairs Harbour is quite scenic in general:

My kind of place, to be honest.

Passing the Palace Cinema, Broadstairs

 While walking down to the beach in Broadstairs, we passed the cosy-looking Palace Cinema:

 

Have just read that this small-looking cinema is over a 100 years old, can seat 111 people, and even has a balcony and small bar. 

Would've been nice to have seen a film here, but we just didn't have time.

Near the Palace Cinema, we saw a big outdoor bar:

 It would've been nice to have had a beer here:

But we were in a bit of a rush, and in Britain, especially at the seaside, you don't know how much you're going to pay for a beer.

Arrival in Broadstairs

With our (five-pound-seventy) all-day bus ticket, we made our way back from Chartham to Canterbury. 

We then took a two-hour bus ride to the seaside resort of Broadstairs, and got off the bus outside a Baptist church:

Very soon after, we were looking down on Broadstairs Beach:

Which lay beyond the rooftops:

With a temperature above 30 Celsius, people were enjoying themselves on the beach, it was a wonderful weekday afternoon in rich sunshine:

We were mainly in Broadstairs to have a quick look at its Charles Dickens connections, I'd visited the place a few times before when I'd lived in Canterbury for a few years.

Admiring St. Mary's Church, Chartham

While at the Village Green in Chartham, we had a quick look at St. Mary's church, which had a fine war memorial and a line of trees standing in front of it:

The church dates back to the late 13th century and has an impressive-looking tower (added in the 15th century):

The church also looked impressive inside:

With sun shining in through the arched window above the altar:

Back outside the church,

A semi-circular formation of gravestones caught our attention:

My friend guessed that these graves may've been relocated in this formation for some reason.

The Amazing Chartham Library

With our (five-pound-seventy) all-day bus ticket, we made our way out to the village of Chartham, 2-3 miles outside Canterbury.

At the Village Green, we saw the amazing Village Library:

 Have just read that this incredible library, located in an old red telephone box, is run by a couple of women, and was set up in 2018.

Really liked the Chartham Village Green in general, especially the building below, which looks as if it may've been the village pub once upon a time:

 And the old church (dating back to the late 13th century), with its war memorial and leafy fringes, which stood alongside the Village Green:

The walk down to the Village Green was also very pleasant, the reclining roof of the building below is amazing:

And the river running through the village adds a nice touch:

It was a quick trip to Chartham as we wanted to get to Broadstairs too, with our cheap, all-day bus ticket.

Bury (Lancashire): Lynmouth Stone Gatepost

The garden, on Bolton Road (Bury), was scruffy and overgrown, but the old, unused stone gatepost still had some majesty. 

It had a big cross in the middle of it, and the word Lynmouth engraved near the top of it:

 

 It looked as if it might've been made of limestone. 

Have just discovered that Lynmouth is a beautiful village on the north Devon coast, which alongside another picturesque village, Lynton, is surrounded by stunning scenery, with some of the rock formations being made of very old limestone.

Have also just read that this area around Lynmouth and Lynton is affectionately known as Little Switzerland, with this resemblance having been popularised by Romantic poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge.

Moreover, Coleridge Way, which, all being well, I may walk next summer, ends at Lynmouth and Lynton (The Walking Capital of Exmoor).

While walking on Bolton Road, near the Wellington pub: 

I never expected to come across the Lynmouth stone gatepost, which lead to me finding out about Little Switzerland (Lynmouth and Lynton). Moreover, in 1797, Wordsworth and Coleridge visited the Valley of the Rocks, about half a mile from the village of Lynton.

Bury: Bradley Fold to Ainsworth Walk

From Bradley Fold, I made my way up to Bolton Road, from where I started climbing a country road towards Ainsworth. During the early stages of the walk, I passed loads of electricity pylons in the surrounding fields:

 Finally, the old country road lead to the Old White Horse pub from where I turned upwards towards a not too distant Ainsworth:

 Some kind of rounders match was taking place on the village green in Ainsworth:

Good to see such nice sunshine in north-west England, of course.

And Christ Church, Ainsworth is a stunning building:

It was also nice to see a Lancashire Red Rose flag flying in Ainsworth:

Not sure where I saw the horses below, as at some point, I kind of wandered  into the outskirts of Turton:

It was a dreamy, mid-summer, early evening stroll.

Waving Goodbye to Rye

 

Too quickly, our afternoon trip to Rye came to an end, and we found ourselves at Rye train station above.

While waiting on the platform for the train to Ashford, we waved goodbye to Rye, still focusing on its majestic-looking train station building:

Rye: Tall Squat Buildings

 

Heading back towards the train station and near the waterside, we passed the Old Borough Arms above.

With a name like the Old Borough Arms, we thought that the place had to be a pub, but I've just discovered that it's actually a guest house.

Near the harbour, a lot of the buildings looked like old shipbuilding places, including the fish restaurant place below:

 Many of the buildings did seem to be tall but squat in design:

The bar below, a much smaller building, used to be an old water works:

And the one below a church:

We were nearing the end of our afternoon out in Rye.

Rye: A Very Old Pub (and Other Things)

On our way down from St. Mary's Parish Church,  we passed a very old pub while still in the top, upmarket part of Rye:

Have just read that Ye Olde Bell dates back to 1390, and was once famous for people smuggling  things through a secret tunnel.

Before passing the Ye Olde Bell, we'd seen an old-looking Methodist church building near St. Mary's Parish Church:

Have just read that the Methodists have recently moved out of the building above due to not being able to meet expensive  refurbishing costs. And that the beautiful building above is not a listed building, although it stands inside a conservation area.

We also saw some artists drawing pictures of the Anglican Parish Church in the distance:

It was a really nice, English afternoon out, with cafes beaming with tourists.

Think that the structure below is the Ypres Tower of the Rye Castle Museum:

Have just read that the Tower dates back to the mid-13th century, with Rye having been prone to raids by the French in its history.

Bury: Walking Past Elton Raz

 

After climbing up the embankment near the River Irwell and the Canal, Elton Raz came into view.

As I turned round, I got a great view back down the embankment and into the distance of the Wharf area of Bury:

 Elton Raz looked stunning, it even reminded me a bit of the Lake District which I'd visited recently.

Have just read that Elton Reservoir was built in 1842 during the height of the canal era, with it now functioning as a big leisure facility (for sailing, fishing etc.) for many people from Bury, Bolton etc.

The Boathouse looked fantastic, have always wondered if there's a members' bar in there:

Upon leaving Elton Raz, I saw again (like on Bury Canal) that local people were frightened of having their greenbelt land destroyed and taken away from them by Bury Council (or other similar forces):

Really hope all the Greenbelt Land is saved, of course.