Mote Park's Royal Dutch Shell connection.

Mote Park, the large popular park in Maidstone has an interesting yet little known connection with the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company. It involves a previous owner of the park, Sir Marcus Samuel, whose family had originally emigrated to the UK from Iraq & ran an import/export business based on a shop in London's East End. A large part of the business involved exotic sea shells & Marcus & his brother, Samuel, made frequent trips to the Far East to acquire stock. It was during these journeys in the latter half of the 19th C. that Marcus noticed increasing numbers of oil tankers plying the major sea routes & realised that the oil export business could prove a lucrative venture. By the 1890's he had acquired a fleet of tankers & in 1897 incorporated the Shell Transport & Trading Company. (The name was inspired by his family's original business as 'shell merchants'.) In 1907 a merger with the Royal Dutch Oil Company led to the creation of Royal Dutch Shell with its famous pecten scallop trademark. Marcus Samuel acquired Mote Park in 1895. He was knighted in 1898 & became 1st Viscount Bearsted in 1921.

After his death in 1927 his son, Walter, inherited the park & sold it to Maidstone Borough Council in 1929 for £50,000.

Mote Park during these snowy weeks!

Children and green places

Forest bathing, 'shinrin-yoku', was developed in Japan during the 1980's & has become a popular method of relaxation in a country where people live in an increasingly urban society. It simply involves being in the forest to connect with nature and has become a proven method of improving people's mental & physical health. Interestingly,  chemicals called phytoncides released by trees, have been found to boost the human body's immune system.

In Europe the value of a forest environment in the education & development of children was first recognised in a major way in Denmark during the 1950's when the concept of 'forest schools' was first developed. The idea quickly spread to Sweden where the concept was further developed as 'skogsmulle' ('school of the forest troll'). Thereafter, forest schools sprang up all over the world with the common ethos of nurturing & promoting feelings of empathy for others & nature; sustaining & improving both mental & physical health ; & building confidence & independence. 

A recent study in Finland pointed to major health benefits for children exposed to a natural forest environment. A small number of gravel yard type playgrounds in 2 Finnish towns were converted into mini forests by replacing the gravel with natural forest turf & planting native shrubs & mosses. The children in the study were allowed into the play areas for a given time each day & encouraged to play with the turf & plants. The children's immune systems were checked before the study & 28 days after exposure to the newly converted playgrounds. It was found that the diversity of microbes on the children's skins was 1/3rd higher than those still playing on the gravel yards & significantly increased in their guts.

Analysis of blood samples showed beneficial changes related to the functioning of the immune system.

These results could have major implications regarding the rising rate of so-called autoimmune diseases such as asthma, eczema & multiple sclerosis among children in the western world. Many authorities believe that children are being exposed to far fewer microbes than in the past & that this leads to the immune system being less challenged & therefore more prone to making mistakes. Previous studies have shown a statistical association between exposure to microbial diversity & the development of a well-functioning immune system.

Figure 1: In the snow with my grand-daughter, Frida 11 months old, in the garden

Figure 2: Three generations in our local park

Winter heliotrope

 

Winter heliotrope growing alongside a lane at Boughton Monchelsea today.  It is actually native to N.Africa & proceeded to colonise our countryside after it escaped from a private garden in the early 19thC. Although it's classed as an invasive species it does provide a valuable nectar source for early emerging insects.

R.Medway between Tovil & E.Farleigh this morning.

This stretch of the R. Medway between Tovil & E. Farleigh is surprisingly rural & picturesque considering that it is ~2 miles from the centre of Maidstone. Water levels are currently very high after recent heavy rainfall. The towpath is flooded & impassable in places.

Autumn colours around the lower Medway Valley nr. Rochester (11/11)

I began this walk from the B2097, Maidstone Road, Rochester & crossed the M2 motorway & HS1 railway via bridges on Stoney Lane to descend into the Nashenden Valley. It was not difficult to imagine what a beautiful idyllic place this must have been before it became the major transport artery that it is today. Both the M2 motorway & HS1 railway run alongside each other through the valley.

A Eurostar train en route for Europe about to enter the 2mile long Boxley tunnel beneath the North Downs.

After crossing the motorway & railway bridges my route went south past a small settlement of industrial units & houses near Upper Nashenden Farm & then followed a footpath along the western edge of Bridge Wood. This is an ancient woodland where beech, yew, hazel & field maple are the predominant species.

The path through Bridge Wood emerged onto the North Downs Way by the Robin Hood public house. I turned right here & followed the NDW past Wouldam Common where there are panoramic views over the Medway valley towards the North Downs, the Greensand Ridge, and the Weald.

From Wouldham Common the North Downs Way continues north past the Kent Wildlife Trust Nashenden Down nature reserve. This was established in 2009 & covers 55 hectares. It was previously arable farmland & the Wildlife Trust is managing it to promote diversity by planting hedgerows, creating ponds & using sheep for conservation grazing to encourage the growth of beneficial native wild flowers such as cowslip, wild marjoram & oxeye daisy. These in turn should attract butterflies & other beneficial insects.

Shoulder of Mutton Wood is owned by the Woodland Trust & forms part of the Nashenden Down nature reserve. It covers 2.2 hectares & has been here since at least AD1600. The predominant species is beech.

A Bronze Age burial mound dating from between 1500 & 1100 BC is located in Shoulder of Mutton Wood.

Good views of the viaducts carrying the M2 motorway & HS1 railway over the R.Medway near Rochester.

Notice near Nashenden Farm.

Just after Nashenden Farm I left the North Downs Way & took this bridleway back to Stoney Lane.

Wild clematis & wild privet growing alongside the bridleway.

The Saxon Shore Way, Dover to Deal (04/11)

 This section of the Saxon Shore Way is 10.2 miles long. It is very picturesque with magnificent coastal scenery & has much of interest along the way. The first half of the walk is over the cliffs between Dover & Kingsdown & is fairly hilly & rugged but after that the terrain is flat & offers easy walking along a very pleasant segregated foot/cycle path all of the way to Deal. The route is easy to navigate as it simply follows the coastline northwards & waymarking is very good virtually the whole way. The only area that may present difficulties is where the path threads its way through the settlement at St. Margaret-at-Cliffe.

Dover Castle

Dover Castle, ‘the Lock and Key of England’, dates from the twelfth century & is situated on a hill dominating the town & surrounding countryside. Owing to its strategic location at the narrowest crossing point to continental Europe, Dover has a long & interesting history. As ‘Portus Dubris’ it was an important Roman settlement & one of the Saxon Shore forts was built here to help protect the Kentish coast from Saxon & Frankish raiders. Traces of neither this nor the Roman harbour exist today. The only surviving structure from this period is the shell of a Roman pharos lighthouse. During the Middle Ages Dover was regarded as head of the Cinque Ports and the town & surrounding area are dotted with the remains of defensive fortifications built during previous eras.

Dover Harbour.

Dover is one of the busiest passenger ferry terminals in the world, the busiest cruise liner terminal in the UK & a major port for freight, especially fruit.

Impressive cliff scenery near Fan Bay.

These are the famous ‘White cliffs of Dover’.

Cross Channel ferries

The French coast is only 21 miles from Dover & is clearly visible. The narrowest point is a little further north at St. Margaret-at-Cliffe where it is only 18 miles to France.

South Foreland Lighthouse.

A Victorian lighthouse built in 1843 to warn shipping of the Goodwin Sands which lie just offshore. It was the first lighthouse to use an electric light & the location of the first international wireless transmission by Marconi in 1895. It ceased operations as a lighthouse in 1988 & is now owned by the National Trust.

St. Margaret-at-Cliffe

A large picturesque village set among the cliffs at South Foreland. At 18miles it is the closest point to France.

St. Margaret-at-Cliffe

Monument to the Dover Patrol, Leathercoat Point, St. Margaret-at-Cliffe.

Designed by Sir Aston Webb & erected in 1921 to commemorate the vital role played by the elite fleet of the Royal Navy known as the ‘Dover Patrol’ in protecting allied shipping in the English Channel during World War I.

Bockhill. A beautiful area of farmland on the cliff-top just north of St Margaret-at-Cliffe & now owned by the National Trust. It is a renowned location for observing the coastal migration of birds with over 240 different species having been recorded in the immediate vicinity. Many interesting & unusual species of moths, butterflies, dragonflies & other insects have also been found here.

The view looking north from Bockhill towards Kingsdown, Walmer & Deal.

Walmer Castle at dusk.

The official seat of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports. It is one of the 3 castles erected by Henry VIII in 1539 to protect the strategic naval anchorage known as the ‘Downs’ which lies just offshore here.

Deal Castle: another of the castles built by Henry VIII to protect the 'Downs'.

Autumn colour : gingko tree at Tovil today.