Westbere and Canterbury

The campsite at Bragg Lane south of Herne Bay is 4star -  flat, easy hook-up, trees all around and excellent washing etc facilities. A kind man from Whitby helped me put 15L in my tank with his jerry can. He and his wife spend weeks at a time at this site, and their caravan never moves from it, as their daughter lives two nearby. Lots of caravans have no cars attached so I presume the owners are out visiting or perhaps, like my friend, leave them permanently and return for holidays. I had a good hot shower before supper. This was to be my first night alone in Baa.

It wasn't a bad night.. but not great. I have been troubled with my hip (old injury, I have a large metal plate and a screw) on Baa's firm cushions. At 3am I decided to take Mum's advice – when she had 'a hip' she slept with an extra pillow between her knees. This definitely improved things, but I only had my Michael Caine cushion to hand, which felt a little strange when I woke and pulled him out from under the duvet … Next time I will have my stripey cushion to hand.

I met Dave Thorpe from The Kent Wildfowling and Conservation Association at Westbere, just 10 minutes from Braggs Lane. This 100 acre site is a real haven for wildlife after a big clearing and regeneration programme over 30 years by the KWCA. It had become very overgrown, simply by wildfowlers coming for a bit of sport and breaking off a few branches of willow to make a hide, and the willow growing into woodland. The KWA team of volunteers have dug out the ditches (see below) which had virtually disappeared, cleared areas of trees and vegetation in order to give the marshes a chance and are hoping to attract birds such as the Bittern and Marsh Buntings back in greater numbers. This is a quiet time of year when the birds are all nesting so conservation work won't start again until the summer.

It was torrenting when Dave and I walked round, so I went back later when the sun had come out to take a photograph and the noise of the birds was wonderful – I think I heard the Cetti's Warbler, but I can't be sure, and I definitely saw a Coot, Mallard and lots of geese.

Then the rain started again so I drove to Canterbury to see the Cathedral. I saw the place where poor Thomas Becket met his dreadful end and the extraordinary fan vaulted Bell Harry tower... how on earth did they achieve that 500+ years ago? or the symmetry in those amazing pillars and arches in the nave.. well, all of it. It truly is a humbling, beautiful place. I left Canterbury full of wonder, and then started to feel very unwell.

Lovely Sandwich

Sandwich is a classy place! I took a rural route from Sittingbourne (which isn't quite so classy) on a beautiful spring day. I saw my first Oast House – just one, most are further south – acres of blossoming apple orchards and pretty villages. Littlebourne in particular with its streets lined with Jane Austen soft pink brick houses, cow parsley waving across the churchyard.

Sandwich is enchanting - it felt largely Georgian, but it's roots are Medieval -  nothing raggedy or down at heel here. I parked in a residential street of old terraced, now gentrified, cottages in the centre of town.The battery had charged so I could wash up, etc. My problem now is that I had almost no water in the tank. I thought I had filled the tank (it holds 60L) before I left home, but obviously I hadn't.. I will have to find water tonight.

River Stour at Sandwich

After wandering round the town I headed for Sandwich Bay, past The Royal Sandwich Golf Club and the Tennis Club and all the wisteria clad houses. Sandwich Bay Estate doesn't welcome riff raff, there's a toll of £7 to go in which seemed a bit steep, but I wanted to see the beach and there is a coast road to Deal.

The bay is a wonderful 180 degree stretch of pebble beach, with Ramsgate five miles to the left and Deal pier visible to the south. The wind blew hard across the sea and the sky was a cloudless blue. I talked to a father and son from Dartford, who were fishing for bass. Had he caught anything? I asked the older man. No. His son had caught three. With a spinner? The son looked a bit blank. 'We call it an egg whisk.' Much better name.

On to Deal on the coastal lane, narrow with passing places, the sea on my left and flat open grassland on the right. Small farms and a hotch potch herd of grazing cattle made me think of a Dutch painting – with one eye half shut to blot out the view of another static caravan park. Past the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club (they play a lot of golf in Kent) and I was in Deal.

Quaint and charming, Deal is more Dickensian than Jane Austen, with narrow workmanlike streets and overhanging buildings and a sense of a faded past. I parked on the seafront with the usual number of amusement arcades, bait shops and chippies but a posh looking bookshop too.

There was a mining community here until 40 years ago and Deal has a great maritime history, but now it doesn't feel so prosperous. Still the main street was busy for a Wednesday, healthfood shops, vintage clothes and teashops, with plenty of people milling about.

I drove on to Walmer, south of the town, where the Royal Marines Barracks once was. I know Dad used to go to Deal when we lived at Chatham Barracks, but there is nothing of the Barracks left now, just smart new housing. Back via Sandwich  – I left the cosiness of the town, over the River Stour, and past the stark edifice that was once a large part of Pfizer.

I 'm staying near Herne Bay and hope I can get some water.