Sunday 10 May 2009

Conyer Creek




For a change we head off to Conyer Creek, just west of here, now a chi-chi creekside sailing resort with a good pub (The Ship and Smuggler) but formerly an important barge-port and barge building place (among other things). Walk eastwards out of the village and along the creek side and you're soon in terrier heaven - rabbits running everywhere. There's also the creeks and inlets to wade (or swim) in to cool down.
At one stage we meet the biggest pair of Rottie's we've ever seen, Sadie and Bosley. They are hot from chasing rabbits, panting with lolling tongues. "They look warm" says Dad to the family in general, and the small boy pipes up "Yeah, they chase rabbits and Bozz catches up with them and puts his paw on them, then lets them go.".
From the size and heatedness of these big dogs, I doubt he catches many unless they are myxie, plus we have visions of cartoon rabbits flattened by steam rollers, but we don't argue. With us they are gentleness and politeness personified. Haggis needs a few nice dog-greeting experiences to settle him after Polly's snap yesterday.
My final pic is of the rotting skeletal outline of a couple of barges. 15 years back when Dad first moved here there was more barge visible, and we've seen in a barge book somewhere an older pic of them almost complete moored there when they were first decommissioned - Dad says it even gave the name of these barges if he remembers right - but now the weather and storms have done their work, and pretty much all that's left are a few ribs, some transom and a bit of the rudder post, a red bouy to mark the "wreck".
Nice walk though
Deefer






1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi DD, Megan & Hamish,
The name one of the barges is 'Landrail' hulked at Butterfly Wharf in 1953, built at Lower Halstow in 1894, for Eastwoods.
Regards,
Lionheart (the guy at the allotment, whose dad had a westie(Ben).