Thursday 7 July 2011

Medway - day 2 - Darnet Island and Hoo Salt Marsh

Kingsnorth power station from Darnet
Darnet Fort viewed from the east end of the island
Pinhole lessons
Wrecks on Hoo Salt Marsh
Hoo Fort viewed from the channels at high tide
Crossing the temporary gangplank to Darnet Fort
Inside Darnet Fort
Waiting for the baked apples to cook

Thankfully, no 4:30 wake-up call to paddle to Deadman's island — with the tide now out, exploring Darnet is the order of the day — after breakfast, a red sailed barge tacks patiently into the wind — the east side of Darnet extends an unexpectedly long way at low tide — we discover lots of bricks, pottery shards, Victorian bottles, and clay pipe stems — photos are taken by all — re-group at the fort for pinhole lessons — post-lunch, with the tide in, we cross the choppy shipping lane to Hoo Salt Marsh — examine the picturesque rusting and rotting boat hulls — an identical fort to Darnet, but without the flooding — float between a portal of two rusty barges to a sheltered inlet and shallow channels — peaceful, calm paddling in the sun — in contrast to the exertion of paddling back across the whitewater shipping lane — cross the perilous gangplank to Darnet Fort — impeccable Victorian construction of thick iron and brick archways — vodka and tonic time — veggie sausages, tomato and chilli sauce, couscous, fire-warmed flatbread and hummus for supper — impatiently, we develop our pinhole experiments with mixed results — the strong wind buffets the tent all night

2 comments:

mike said...

Fascinating blog.
Am planning a kayaking trip to Hoo and Darnet Fort.
Please can you tell me who I need to contact for permission to explore the islands?
Kind Regards

Mike From Kent

TC + DC said...

Hi Mike, I'm not sure if you need to contact anyone to visit Darnet Fort. Dave might have mentioned his visits to the Country Park visitor centre, but I'm not certain about that. Hoo is owned by the MOD so you set foot on there at your own peril! Good luck with your trip, there's plenty to look at out there.