On Herne Bay Pier

The short stub of Herne Bay Pier has been transformed in recent years with the demolition of the sports centre that squatted at the end of the pier. now there are lots of stalls, unfortunately mostly closed today along with amusements of the sort which you associate with piers.

The original pier was over 1300 yards long, built to service Thames steamers but was destroyed by various storms in the 1970s leaving only the isolated pier head out in the estuary. There have been ambitious plans to rebuild the missing 1000 or so yards which have, as yet, come to nothing.

We were in Herne Bay with Al and Liz trying to walk of a lunch of cold meats and cheeses with lots of accompanying bits. It was rather warm again with some relief being obtained from the end of the pier and on the walk back to the car. We had to make do with scones and water as I'd not bought the burner with me to make a cup of tea - I had the kettle!

After dinner, in the gloaming, we spent some time looking at the moon and planets through the telescope. We glimpsed Venus as it disappeared behind some trees. The moon was brilliant, with craters and a ragged edge and just the faintest rim of the full moon visible. Jupiter was clear as were the 4 visible moons.