A short walk along the Military Canal

After lunch we decided to take Reggie for his walk along the Royal Military Canal. 

We are lucky where we live to the west of Hythe that the bridge over the canal is only a few hundred yards from home. The canal isn't one of the old working canals used for transporting goods over long distances but a defence against invasion "ditch".

It was built from Seabrook in the east across the bottom of Kent and cutting across Romney Marsh to the western end near Hastings in Sussex.  This part of country is low and flat and would have given the possible invaders a beach head before they encountered the downs.  You can read more on the Wiki page.

The reason it was built was to hold up any invasion by the French under Napoleon. During the early Napoleonic period the Crown and Government were obsessed with possible invasion.

The southern or seaward side is much lower that the northern bank. The earthwork on the north bank would give a better firing position to the defenders as well as protecting the Military Road (closed to motor traffic) behind it. The canal also has several kinks to increase firing angles into the enemy troops.  Like the Martello Towers along the coast it wasn't needed as Napoleon didn't come.  

Now no one would ever suspect that was why it was built.  It's now the home of water birds and the occasional enthusiast on their paddle boards and kayaks. Of course, the south bank sees many anglers out.

"Our" swans as we call them locally have started to build their nest. It has been fenced off from the footpath on the south bank a little way from the footbridge.  This is to stop people and their dogs getting too close.

Today we see them away from the nest involved in a little naughtiness in the water. We didn't want to intrude on their privacy and it was over pretty quickly.

As the sun was out it was a nice stroll along the canal. It had rained overnight and so natural path along the north bank was muddy and slippery in places.

The trees are starting to bud after what doesn't seem that long a winter. In the South-east of England we have a fairly good climate with a few frosty days but generally no snow.  This year we had a bit of snow lasting only three or four days.

The picnic spots all empty awaiting the spring

Our aim was the next bridge along at West Hythe. Despite lockdown there were lots of people about.  In pairs but often in larger groups.

We cut our walk short at the bench we have stopped at many times. This was to let a group past.

On the way back I took some pictures of a small thicket of trees.  The sun on the trunks looked ripe for a picture.

And then, a moment of inattention and I slipped!  Well, my foot slipped forward and over extended my leg!  I felt a sharp pain in my left knee. I managed not to fall over. But the pain was horrendous.  

Some six hours later it is no better. At least it happened at the end of the walk!