The route I took when leaving the car park was dictated by the fact that turning left to return the way we had come was not possible. I turned right. A couple of left turns took us back onto the road through Trottiscliffe. I then followed the road over the M20-M26 interchange to Wrotham Heath. I then joined the A25 westbound. A little way pass the village of Oldbury, there is a layby that has a pub in it. I pulled in.
Across the road is Oldbury Hill. The hill is in fact a huge Iron Age hillfort. It’s ramparts are around 2.5 miles long and encloses 124 acres, all wooded with mostly Beech, Birch, Rowan, Oak and plenty of Holly.
It rained in the evening and there was no signal of any sort. I caught up with writing blog posts. Now that I’m on the move, I will likely be writing most evenings.
Overnight, I must have slept awkward. I had incredible muscle pain in my neck in the morning. It was probably due to the slight incline of the road, and therefore my sleeping position.
At the entrance to the layby is a garden centre called Reuthe’s. Within the grounds is a little café. I went there in the hope of finding a wi-fi signal. Good news, there was. I asked for a cup of tea and said that I may have a breakfast if I could afford it. I explained that I would need to check my bank balance to see if a breakfast was possible. I got onto the internet, only to find that there was maintenance work ongoing on the bank’s website. I apologised for not being able to commit to a breakfast. A few minutes later, the proprietor, Simon, appeared with a bacon sandwich for me. I thanked him. We chatted. I told him about myself, the blog, etc. He got straight onto my website and started reading. I got on with catching up with publishing a blog post and uploading photographs.
Only half an hour or so later, Simon presented me with a bacon salad sandwich, a bottle of water and a cup of tea. As he did so, he said that he was prompted to do so after reading my blog. He then offered me the use of the shower that is on site. Showers are never turned down! I went home, grabbed towels, etc., returned, had the shower, then was presented with a couple of snacks to take with me. I thanked him for the wonderful hospitality and generosity. What a top bloke. If you’re ever passing by, pop in and say hello from me.
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