Medway River Cruise 16th & 17th July 2011

Few of our members have been upstream beyond Rochester Bridge yet the river is interesting and offers some of the best views in Kent. The Medway is tidal for ten miles from Rochester to Allington Lock, near Maidstone, then remains navigable for a further 16 miles to Tonbridge.

Many members showed interest but in the end only Heron (Ken and Maureen Aldous) and Bracken (Martin Richards, Bob Wells and me) did the trip. Some were no doubt put off by the forecast of strong winds and heavy rain.

The best view of Rochester Castle and the Cathedral is from the river though the rain did spoil it somewhat. We passed the mysterious Hawkwood Stone (on a very hawkwood bend in the river), picturesque churches, oxbow lakes (remember O-level geography?), whiffy paper mills, the medieval friary and the stone bridge at Aylesford. As we got close to the old stone bridge Martin and Bob pointed out that Bracken has a tall scaffold pole but we passed under with at least a foot to spare.

We had a sunny warm afternoon once we arrived at Allington Lock just before high water. After a trip through Maidstone and past the wooded section to East Farleigh (the original head of navigation) we returned for a beer on the terrace of the Malta Inn followed by a convivial and reasonably priced dinner.

Allington Lock is a delightful spot and the lock-keeper was welcoming. Gordon Pickett spoiled us by bringing a “tent as big a Kent” and camp beds for the three of us. The rain held off until the tent was safely erected. Wil Pretty came down to see us later in the evening.

On the Sunday Ken and Maureen cruised up the river again while the Bracken bunch went to Wetherspoons in Maidstone for a very leisurely breakfast. The return trip was over quickly and we arrived back at the club in time for a beer with fellow members.

Tony Lavelle

More photos from the weekend can be seen here

Date Published 18th Jul 2011