Royal Military Canal walk 6 | - Click on the image above to view gallery
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 Nigel striding out We are really enjoying our walks along the Royal Military Canal and so as another weekend approached we didn’t even think twice about doing another walk to include it. It was a shame the weather wasn’t as bright as was forecast, but it was certainly very warm as we set off on our walk from the village of Warehorne. The village has the Church of St Matthew on one side of the road and the 16th century pub the Woolpack on the other. It is said that the two are linked by an underground tunnel, which was built by smugglers to secretly ferry their goods to the safely of the church. In fact this tunnel has never been excavated so no one knows just what still might be there.
We set off out of the village and headed towards the Church of St Mary we could see in the distance, standing on a grassy outcrop known as Battle Hill. It certainly has a long history as the church tower was built in 1170, but was burnt to the ground by the marauding French during the 14th century. The church was struck by lightning in 1559 destroying the nave and chancel in 1559. We certainly found the building very interesting and were struck most by the graveyard. Some graves were marked by elaborate headstones while for others just a simple wooden cross marked the spot.
 St Mary's Church Our walk continued crossing fields containing lots of the hardy breed of Romney Marsh sheep which we have come to expect to see on our walks. The ewes have now had a summer haircut so must feel much more comfortable in the high temperatures. Not so the growing lambs, however, so they strive to find shade wherever they can. A lot of the walks we are doing around the canal actually follow the path of the Saxon Shore Way as well and they often pass through various crops. We have never before though walked through a field of peas and it has to be said as crops go it’s been one of the more pleasant ones we’ve walked through; the foliage was lovely and cool on our legs. At times we did think we might lose the path but eventually found what should have been a stile but was in fact two large logs used to step over the fence.
We finally reached the canal and enjoyed walking along the banks although due to the amount of trees that grow alongside we couldn’t always see the water. Where we could see the canal we were struck by the amount of plants now growing on the water surface. The water lilies were looking good and the curious insectivorous plant Bladderwort was also in flower. On this hot summer’s day we saw numerous damselflies and dragonflies very busy both along the canal itself and the numerous drainage ditches we passed during the day.
On our various walks along the canal we have often heard the sound of Marsh Frogs which sound really alarming; if you didn’t know what it was you could be forgiven for thinking it was some animal in distress. I have found they are impossible to get a picture of. They are so well camouflaged that it’s hard to see them either in the water or on the banks. All I saw of them on this walk was fleeting glances as they leapt into the water as I was walking along the banks of the canal.
I also quietly approached each ditch just in case I could see any Water Voles but sadly had no luck, although they are known to live in this area.
 In Ham Steet Wood It was only a three mile walk which didn’t seem too long at all even on this humid day so after enjoying a drink in the Dukes Head pub in Hamstreet we thought a quick walk in Ham Street woods to familiarise ourselves with it a bit more would be nice. It was certainly nice and cool in the shade of the trees although every puddle or ditch in the woods was covered with mosquitoes, so was passed at speed. It had been another enjoyable walk along the canal and the flowering plants certainly added plenty of colour on an overcast day. As we were driving home we passed Bilsington Bridge a place well known for seeing Bladderwort in flower and thankfully the sun came out bringing all the bright yellow colours of the plants to life; it really was a great sight.
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