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Graves of Thrones
May. 18th, 2016 08:35 pmLast Saturday, we went to Gravesend. The latter was a lot nicer than I expected. I wanted industry, bleak riverscapes, urban blight, and I got all that in Tilbury, where our train landed.
We went to the Elizabethan fort, near where ER I made her "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman etc." speech. There are no Elizabethan or even Tudorbethan bits left: it was mostly Georgian. I was mostly fascinated by the officers' quarters in little terraced houses, the large room with fireplace and night stand, like a posh B&B. We read that the private soldiers were sleeping 18 to a dorm, some sharing beds. Most of the terraced houses are cordoned off, people are living here now.
The other cool thing was the long dark spooky tunnel, which was the magazine (i.e. the storage unit for the artillery). I could feel all the dead soldiers down there.
We took the ferry over to Gravesend, which is actually a nice little Georgian town despite its a) name and b) reputation. We had lunch in a tearoom, saw the statue of Pocahontas, visited a Sikh temple, wandered the windy lanes and um, went to the shopping centre. As in Hartlepool, it feel that with a bit of investment, Gravesend could be great. A tall ships festival, a Pocahontas parade, a Kentish food market, a nature reserve. Something.
All pics by moi, except the dodgy guesthouse.
We went to the Elizabethan fort, near where ER I made her "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman etc." speech. There are no Elizabethan or even Tudorbethan bits left: it was mostly Georgian. I was mostly fascinated by the officers' quarters in little terraced houses, the large room with fireplace and night stand, like a posh B&B. We read that the private soldiers were sleeping 18 to a dorm, some sharing beds. Most of the terraced houses are cordoned off, people are living here now.
The other cool thing was the long dark spooky tunnel, which was the magazine (i.e. the storage unit for the artillery). I could feel all the dead soldiers down there.
We took the ferry over to Gravesend, which is actually a nice little Georgian town despite its a) name and b) reputation. We had lunch in a tearoom, saw the statue of Pocahontas, visited a Sikh temple, wandered the windy lanes and um, went to the shopping centre. As in Hartlepool, it feel that with a bit of investment, Gravesend could be great. A tall ships festival, a Pocahontas parade, a Kentish food market, a nature reserve. Something.
All pics by moi, except the dodgy guesthouse.
