Royal Military Canal

For our 18th wedding anniversary we decided to make a day of it walking the Royal Military Canal from West Hythe. A 9 mile round trip mostly along the canal side in lovely sunny weather. The Canal follows the old Saxon coastline between Hythe and Rye being built to defend the coast from the threat of a Napoleonic invasion.

We parked in Hythe town for a customary coffee and scone sat outside in the sunshine then drove the short distance to West Hythe. This is where we always start our cycle rides on Romney Marsh so this was a first for a walk along the Canal.

We were hoping to see lots of wildlife and indeed we did but we did not expect to see animals from the African savannah as the route along the Canal passed by the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park so we saw lots of antelopes, giraffes and rhinos which added to the excitement.

A great lunch spot overlooking the Canal, watching dragonflies patrol the opposite bank and listening to the call of a turtle dove somewhere nearby which we could not spot. In the last few yards of the walk we spotted the electric blue shape of a Kingfisher along the bank.

A visit to the Hopfuzz Brewery sitting in the warm sunshine (where we had an end of ride pint last week) at the end of the walk brought the whole day to a fitting conclusion. We were going to have a Chinese takeaway this evening; in the end I made a spicy tomato pasta using our own tomatoes which I'm sure will take great.

Today's blip is of a section of the Canal, with the banks skirted by masses of yellow Water Lilies which made a gorgeous sight.