A Little Kentish Magic

Seeking out little moments of magic amidst the humdrum of every day life.

hiking

  • A to Z of Kent: C is for Cliffe (with a bonus stop in Cooling)

    Cliffe probably wouldn’t have made it onto the random generator if it hadn’t been for a conversation with my younger son recently, in which we both talked about wanting to visit Cooling (for reasons which will become apparent). It is quite difficult to reach by public transport (as is Cooling!) but he has a car,… Read more

  • A to Z of Kent: B is for Bekesbourne

    There were a LOT of towns and villages beginning with the letter B, many of which we had never heard of. We eliminated the majority however because they were either too small, too difficult to reach by public transport, were residential conurbations of bigger towns, or, in the case of Bromley and Bexleyheath, decreed by… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 12: Margate to Birchington-on-Sea

    After almost missing my train because there was a queue at the one counter that was open and the ticket machine didn’t recognise Birchington as a destination (the chap on the barrier told me that this was a common problem as I speedily tried to purchase a ticket online), I arrived in Margate where the… Read more

  • A – Z of Kent: A is for Aylesham

    “Hey,” my daughter messaged me one day. “How about doing a blog series called the A – Z of Kent? We can work our way through the alphabet, visiting towns and villages beginning with each letter.” Of course I loved the idea and couldn’t wait to begin. We decided that our destinations would be picked… Read more

  • The Darent Valley Path From Shoreham to Eynsford (The Walk That Keeps On Giving!)

    We have a lot of books of walks, and are constantly discovering new ones online, but it is very easy to fall into a routine of the same familiar favourites – especially when we are reliant on public transport, so travelling a bit further afield can sometimes seem a bit of an effort. Whenever we… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 10: Ramsgate to Broadstairs

    I have always been very attached to Ramsgate, maybe because it is somehow rooted in my DNA. My maternal great grandparents used to holiday in the town every summer, travelling from their Lambeth home with their six sons (one of whom was my grandfather), on the steamer from London Bridge. The steamer would stop at… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 9: Pegwell Bay to Ramsgate

    I caught the train back to Thanet Parkway to finish off what, in ideal circumstances I should have managed to achieve in one go. I was the only person alighting, and in about 15 minutes, I was back on the coast. The first thing that I saw was the sand banks at the mouth of… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 8: Sandwich to Pegwell Bay

    This is the part of the Kent Coast Walk that I have been dreading, knowing as I do that it involves not just a significant amount of rood walking that’s well away from the coast (because of a river and a nature reserve), but also a section along a very busy road. I was keen… Read more

  • Kent Coast Walk Part 7: Deal To Sandwich

    (A long overdue post for a walk completed last summer!) I’d been putting off this walk as, according to my Kent Ramblers Guide, it came in at 11 miles, and since my last big CFS relapse in early 2025, I had only managed to build back up to about 5. After looking at the map… Read more

  • Cosy Crime (And a Bit of Walking) On The Sunshine Coast

    My daughter and I love Midsomer Murders, especially the older episodes with John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby, so back in the summer when I saw that there was going to be a touring production of The Killings at Badgers Drift (the very first episode), with Daniel Casey who was the original sidekick (Sergeant Troy)… Read more