Estuary View

I crawled out of bed at 7:30 to find a bomb had hit the kitchen: Mum decided to try out her latest acquisition - a new food processor. Every cupboard and drawer seemed to be open, the work tops were covered with jars and utensils and the instructions were being being scrutinised. Eventually calm reigned, and a batch of rock cakes were cooking in the oven - and believe me, were worth the effort when we later sampled them while having a picnic in Shorne Wood Country Park, near Rochester, Kent later.

Another frantic half hour ensued as I loaded up the car with rubbish for the dump, before coffee at one of our favourite garden centres and lunch at the aforementioned country park.

Travelling further along the north Kent trail we eventually ended up on the River Medway Estuary at Upnor. Leaving Mum with the paper and her Kindle sitting on the riverside in the sun, I wandered along the Saxon Shore Way, a path along the riverside named after the line of historic fortifications that defended the Kent coast at the end of the Roman era. In common with many locations of this nature, the Medway Yacht Club has a prominent position. This ship's crane is a less common view, sitting on it tracks heading down into to estuary mud.