{"id":10594,"date":"2022-02-03T13:39:10","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T12:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/?p=18705"},"modified":"2022-02-03T14:39:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:39:13","slug":"walk-upnor-and-medway-river-kent","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/rss_feed\/walk-upnor-and-medway-river-kent\/","title":{"rendered":"Walk: Upnor and Medway River, Kent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Stephanie Cross\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 03 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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If you\u2019re after the pristine and pretty, then this isn\u2019t the walk for you. Boat yards and warehouses flank the waterside, and near Hoo St Werburgh the cube of the decommissioned Kingsnorth power station looms on the horizon. Nevertheless, with its shipwrecks, forts and secret beach, this part of the Kent coast feels fantastically off the beaten track. London may be a stone\u2019s throw away, yet sometimes the only sound here is the river on the shore.<\/p>\n

With the pleasant, weather-boarded houses of cobbled Upper Upnor High Street behind you, follow the signs for the Saxon Shore Way as it skirts the brick wall of Upnor Castle (closed in winter). Built on the orders of Elizabeth I to defend Chatham Dockyard, this impressive fortress was also painted by JMW Turner.<\/p>\n

\""River\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Rochester and Upper Upton on the River Medway, Kent\/Credit: Getty<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Upnor and Medway River walk<\/h3>\n

5.1 miles\/8.3km | 3 hours | moderate<\/em><\/p>\n

1. Forts and dockyards<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beyond The Ship and The Pier inns stand the London Stones, erected to mark the boundary of the City of London\u2019s jurisdiction over the Medway. Then it\u2019s onto the beach, a narrow shingle strip exposed only at low tide. Towards the end of this section you\u2019ll find the red brick ruins of Cockham Wood Fort, its feet barely above the water. Built in 1669 following a raid on Chatham Dockyard, it originally held 48 guns, but fell into disuse within a century.<\/p>\n

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