Bayham Abbey Ruins and another walk.

About a week and a half ago now I finished September with another walk. This one I had to do before September was over, because my destination, Bayham Abbey, is owned by English Heritage and is only open until the end of September.

This was the most colorful part of the walk, I'm still surprised that the colors haven't completely changed yet - looks like England won't get a true autumn for another couple of weeks.

Unfortunately other than the Abbey itself, the walk wasn't particularly interesting. The paths are beginning to get muddy and damp, larger bugs are coming out and the sun isn't shining as long.
This field, full of sheep, was probably the most amusing thing I've encountered. They are obviously used to being fed by a person, and as such, the moment I entered the field they all perked up and began following me around, making the loudest noises! I've never heard so much "baa-ing" before in my life. And in the calm, quietness of the surrounding meadows it was a startling noise.

Some of you may have played Diablo 2, and if you did, you are most certainly aware of the "Secret Cow Level" where angry, axe-wielding bovine chase you around going "Moo, MOO". It was a bit like that. Only these sheep didn't have axes.
And these birds! I've finally figured out what they are. They are pheasants! This, of course, might not surprise you, but I had never come across one before, and I saw them everywhere on this particular walk. One field in particular, where it seems that they were hiding out and I managed to startle at least a dozen birds (and myself!).
Ridiculously large manor house anyone? No idea if it had historical significance, but it appears that people still live here. Yikes.
Here's the first glimpse of the Abbey. You can see another church in the background, which I could not access. I wanted to visit it, but in order to do so, I had to trek back down the highway towards the village, then head down another highway to get there, and by the time I was done with the Abbey, I still needed to trek about 6km back to my train station, so I decided against it.
This was a little manor house on the grounds of the Abbey. It had posters containing some interesting historical facts about the Abbey and some pictures. And a lot of spiders. Lovely windows, though.


These pictures make up the old gatehouse. The Abbey was located on the border between Kent and Sussex, and is presumed to have two gatehouses (one on either side), but this is the only one that has been found.
I'm now standing in the ruins of the main Abbey, looking back towards the gatehouse.

The Bayham Abbey was founded by premonstratensian (took that word from Wikipedia!) canons in the year 1207. It was one of the first structures to be demolished during the dissolution of the monasteries in the early 16th Century.

That's really all the information I have, so for now, enjoy the pictures and I'll meet you on the other side.












Phew. Told you there were a lot of pictures. It's hard to make up the layout of these old buildings sometimes, but a glance on Google Maps does help.

Obviously the cross-shaped bit was the Abbey, while the other building were other stuff, like dormatories and whatnot.
Sometimes the directions in the book I have and use for the walks can be misleading, but in this case, when they said "Coming up on the left is a hedge shaped like a teapot", they were dead correct.
This poor fellow has been stomped a bit, but it still lovely and red.
These were some of the funniest chickens I have ever stumbled across. They aren't your ordinary chickens.
This one seemed to have feathers growing out of everywhere - so much so that I doubt if he could even see!
The one on the left had huge claws on his feet - reminds me a bit of what people used to attach to chickens for old-school cock fighting, only these ones appear natural. And the one on the right had feathers all over his feet! How strange...

That's it for the hike, and indeed all hikes for this year, I fear. It's starting to get too chilly and damp and overgrown for hiking in the boggy landscape of England. Perhaps in the spring, or if we have another lovely stretch of sunlight (not that we have any sunlight now, since it's pouring down rain).

Not sure how many notable events I'm going to participate in before I return to work (which still hasn't been planned, so it might be a while), but I'm going to see Michael Palin talk on Tuesday, which is very exciting, as well as Stephen Fry on the 16th, so while I can't promise pictures, I'll do my best.