Another warm & sunny late spring day. I heard another cuckoo near Forge Lane but once again the skies were devoid of swallows & swifts. These birds used to fill the summer skies only a few years ago & the steep decline in their numbers is both sad & worrying. The massive fall in insect numbers must be a major factor. Derelict Hoppers huts as shown in this photo along Lower Farm Road, Boughton, were usually constructed of brick & corrugated iron. They provided accommodation for the hop pickers who visited Kent in large numbers during September each year to help with the hop harvest. Many of these people were working class families from the East End of London who regarded this annual trip to the Kentish countryside as their annual summer holiday. Hops were in great demand by the brewing industry during the late nineteenth & early twentieth centuries & Kent was one of the areas with the greatest acreage.
Pheasant Farm, Sutton Valence. A beautiful old farm house.
Cobnut plantation near Sutton Valence. Cobnuts are a type of large hazelnut & were widely grown on farms to the south of Maidstone. As with hops many of these plantations have disappeared in recent years.
Oast houses near Morry Hill, Sutton Valence. These buildings are a common sight in the Kentish countryside & were built as places to dry the hops. Hardly any hops are grown in Kent these days because of a steep decline in demand from the brewing industry & most oast houses have been converted into upmarket residential properties.
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