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Welcome to the “Georgia Wasp…”
This blog is modeled on the Carolina Israelite. That was an old-time newspaper – more like a personal newsletter – written and published by Harry Golden. Back in the 1950s, people called Harry a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.” (For his work on the Israelite.)
That’s now my goal as well. To be a “voice of sanity amid the braying of jackals.”
For more on the blog-name connection, see the notes below.
In the meantime:
Saturday, August 2, 2025 – Make that a third and final preview of my upcoming 16-day hike on the Canterbury Trail. (Also called the Pilgrims’ Way, starting in Winchester, 133.8* miles to the west.) See the Notes for links to past posts on this year’s UK visits, including a two-week recon in May. But the next trip will start with a red-eye to London next Tuesday. The second preview post got us as far as Saturday, August 23, “the 12th day our hike, leaving only four to go.”
That second post ended at the town of Maidstone, through which* runs the River Medway. (With a view of All Saints Church, Maidstone, next to the river.) Meaning this post will cover our last four days of hiking, through places like Lenham, Kennington and Chartham, some three-and-a-half miles short of the Cathedral. But the night before that last day’s hike we stop at Chilham, “a mostly agricultural parish, with settlement clustered around Chilham village centre, which is next to the Grade I-listed Chilham Castle.” But I’m getting ahead of myself…
On that last day of our hike we leave Chilham and hike some three miles to Chartham, then hike the remaining three-and-a-half miles to get to Canterbury Cathedral. And yes, some of these place-names do seem repetitive and confusing. Meanwhile, back at the hike:
To repeat, on Sunday, August 24, we hike an estimated 12 miles from Maidstone to Lenham. It has a “picturesque” village square, with two pubs, a couple of restaurants and a tea-room. Also, Lenham is near the main source of the Great Stour River and “also the source of the River Len, which flows in a westerly direction to join the River Medway at Maidstone.” (Back whence we came that day.) On the way to Lenham we’ll pass through Wye, five miles from Ashford (see below) and 12 miles from Canterbury. (BTW: In 2013, Sunday Times readers voted Wye the “third best place to live in the UK.”) On the way we’ll pass over the River Stour – of which more below, and as shown in the the picture at the top of the page.
On Monday August 25 we hike 11 miles southeast to Ashford: “The name comes from the Old English æscet, indicating a ford near a clump of ash trees. It has been a market town since the Middle Ages.” It’s also on the Great Stour River (and said to be just 15 minutes from the Eurotunnel). Then on Tuesday August 26 we hike back up northeast some 8.5 miles to Chilham, a village in the Borough of Ashford. It too sits near the Great Stour River, and is mostly agricultural, “with settlement clustered around Chilham village centre,” near Chilham Castle.
And finally, on Wednesday August 27 – the last day – we hike seven miles to Canterbury itself, and stay there two nights. (At a nice place not far from the Cathedral, near the River Stour.)
As for the terrain, the link East Malling to Maidstone Walk – Saturday Walkers has this hint:
The middle section of the walk mixes stretches alongside the River Medway with short excursions into the low hills on either side, with the first of these taking you to a highly-rated pub in West Farleigh for lunch. There are four bridges on this rural stretch of the Medway and those at Teston (pronounced Teestun) and East Farleigh are splendid examples of medieval design and craftmanship, with the latter claiming to be “the Finest Bridge in Southern England.”
That’s a look at the terrain coming into the town of Maidstone, on Saturday, August 23. (After the second of our two days off on Thursday, August 21, in Dunton Green.)
Then there’s the link, Pilgrims’ Way, Kent: “Follow in the footsteps of medieval pilgrims,” along the path that “inspired Geoffrey Chaucer’s classic Canterbury Tales.” The Kent Downs section of the hike was deemed an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), along with the section to the west. (The Surrey Hills AONB “adjoins the Kent Downs AONB, and includes a continuation of the North Downs chalk ridge which runs through the Kent Downs, stretching from Farnham to the English Channel.” All of which I should have put in one of the earlier preview posts.)
And finally, some clues on the last part of the hike, Wye to Canterbury. (Courtesy of a fellow blogger-and-hiker.) “It could be a scene from the Middle Ages – a pair of pilgrims on a steady bucolic march to journey’s end – were it not for their baseball caps and cargo shorts.” Also, “you wander out of Wye Station on a cloudless morning and realise you’ve got 13 miles of beechwood paths and downland trails to look forward to.” Other nuggets: Barley fields and strawberry farms, with one woodland stretch lasting near an hour, “a corridor of dappled light and birdsong.” Nearing the end, despite “no consistent signage,” comes Chartham, where “pink snapdragons grow high on the church steeple” (St Mary’s), itself a five minute walk to the Artichoke, a 15th-century pub. (A few things to look forward to, including the Artichoke.)
“From there, the waters of the River Stour – shallow, clear, and full of bright green streamer weeds – lead the way into Canterbury.” And to this view, of the river at Westgate Gardens, in Canterbury. To sum up, here’s hoping for a happy and productive Pilgrims’ Way!
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The upper image is courtesy of Wye, Kent – Wikipedia.
Links to past posts on the trip, including a preview visit last May. Starting last March, Next up – Hiking the Canterbury Trail, then A mid-May “Recon,” “London, Liverpool and Stratford,” A return, to “London, Liverpool and Stratford,” From Stratford-on-Avon to Byng Street in London, From “Fat Henry” to Gipsy Moth pub, and From (a) Bath to “The Gun.” After that came the first two-of-three preview posts for the hike: A Canterbury hike preview, and A second (of three) Canterbury previews.
Re: 133.8 miles, from Winchester to Canterbury. That’s our estimate, based on some lodgings which may not be on the trail. And the “our” includes, me, my brother and his wife, with whom I have hiked since September 2019 on the Portuguese Camino. See “Greetings from the Portuguese Camino!” (October 2019, including this: “Part of the trip’s charm was that before, during and after the 18-day hike I greatly enjoyed the Iberian beers. Including Cruzcampo, Sagres, Mahou and Super Bock.”)
I tried different ways of saying the Medway runs through Maidstone; “through which” sounded a bit pretentious. But through which | English examples in context | Ludwig said it was okay. “In summary, the phrase ‘through which‘ serves as a versatile and grammatically sound means of connecting elements by illustrating a pathway or method. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness and broad applicability. Predominantly found in academic writing, news media, and scientific publications, ‘through which‘ maintains a neutral to formal tone..” (But it still sounds a bit too formal for me…)
The full link title: The Pilgrims’ Way, Kent • Hiking Trail » outdooractive.com. For some reason I couldn’t cut-and-paste text from it, but the reader is free to read it for details. (As I will do on the Trail.) Another note from Kent Downs – Wikipedia: “The North Downs Way runs through the full length of the AONB, the Stour Valley Walk passes through the east of the AONB, and the Greensand Way to the south of Sevenoaks.”
The full link title: In the footsteps of pilgrims: Wye to Canterbury | Travel blog.
The lower image is courtesy of River Stour Near Canterbury – Image Results. With a page-and-caption: “Great Stour river in Westgate Gardens, Canterbury, England,” photograph by Luigi Petro uploaded on July 26th, 2022. See also Westgate Gardens – Visit Canterbury, on the park along the banks of the River Stour and the ancient Westgate Towers. Also, “If you want to stretch your legs, you can follow the footpath along the Stour out into the countryside all the way to the picturesque village of Chartham.” (Back whence we came.)
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Re: The Israelite. Harry Golden grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Thus the “Carolina Israelite.” I on the other hand am a “classic 73-year-old “WASP” – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant – and live in north Georgia. Thus the “Georgia Wasp.”
Anyway, in North Carolina Harry wrote and published the “israelite” from the 1940s through the 1960s. He was a “cigar-smoking, bourbon-loving raconteur.” (He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the “Israelite would be done as a blog.” But what made Harry special was his positive outlook on life. As he got older but didn’t turn sour, like many do today. He still got a kick out of life. For more on the blog-name connection, see “Wasp” and/or The blog.
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