June 15 - London to Gillingham

Getting out of London was easier than coming in.  We had a short convoy and then were on our own.  Most of the route was near the Thames.


We crossed London bridge, which gave me the opportunity to go off the track and get a nice shot of Tower Bridge in the sun.









Just a bit further along, in Greenwich is the replica of the Cutty Sark, the famous tea clipper originally built in 1869.  Rather beautiful and appears to have most of the original rigging configuration.









At the same location is this entrance to a Greenwich Foot Tunnel under the Thames.  
Built at the turn of the 20th Century, its been in service since.  It is 1200 feet long about 9 feet in diameter and lined with 200,000 white tiles.

It's hard to tell, but off to the left side of the tunnel entrance on the far side of the Thames is Canary Wharf.

 The Greenwich area is also home to a number of museums, including the Royal Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House art gallery.  A photo of the Maritime Museum.  No time to visit.










In the street is this small shop with all the interesting statues.  The old British Bulldog got  my attention when I pedaled  by.












Off course again to have a look at the Thames Barrier.  The tidal range in the Thames is over 20 feet, so a high tide with climate change and a storm could wreak havoc.  So, between the structures are barriers that are raised hydraulically when necessary.  I was fascinated by all the info. but I won't bore you with it.

At a square a bit further is this display of cannons, I assume installed in earlier times to protect London.  The big gun is 38 feet long.

Between the guns and the river is this interesting set of statues.  They are  apparently metal and hollow with 1/4 of the body cut out.  I didn't see any information about them.

A reminder that the Thames is a working river with  boats ranging in size from a few tens of feet to ocean going freighters.  This guy caught my eye because of how low in the water he was.



We rode a cycle trail more or less along the river for about 15 km.  I noticed this sign while I was with one of the guest riders.  He pointed out that this was a bicycle trail marker, with trail distances from this point to Inverness (1191 miles) and to Dover (106 miles).

I forgot to mention - every now and then a TDA Cycling alumni will join us for  day or so, to renew friendships with TDA cyclists and staff and, in this case, help guide us down the Thames.









We left the Thames and headed more south.  About 40 km onward, near our destination we passed "Historic Rochester."  It did turn out to be rather interesting.  Here are 3 ridges over the River Medway.  I took this photo from the grounds of the Rochester Castle.



This stone castle dates from the time of the Norman conquest.  

To me, being in a less than pristine state seems to give a castle more "romance" (for want of a better word.









And just up the street is today's 'feature pub, the Cooper's Arms.  We stopped for a libation.  You may ask why I can stop for a beer but not stop at a museum?  Well, it's hot out, we only have 5 km to go and I didn't have a beer, I had a Tonic Water.  So there.

Last photo of the day is of one of the main streets of Rochester, gussied up for summer festivities.

We are just a few km away on the outskirts of Gillingham.  It seems like another typical town, although not as hilly as Rochester was.  Perhaps a photo or two as we go through it on our way to Dover tomorrow.