Before I left I googled the Knights Templar as I knew they were big in Strood and Temple Manor is actually on the trail. They were knights who guarded pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem during the time of the crusades.
They had a Great Logo
I liked the idea of having a guard as you travel along the route. The next place that seemed significant was Rede Common, a green oasis in a built up urban town, I think you could say Strood was part of a Medway conurbation, so an important haven for wildlife and leisure activities such as dog walking and falling off your bike.
Strood was home to a well respected Victorian botanical illustrator called Anne Pratt. She had a bad knee as a child and was encouraged to draw. Her drawings of wild flowers will inspire parts of this trail, particularly the wilder natural parts of the route.
I was really surprised at the panoramic views from the top of the hill, looking down onto the river.
Then down the hill and through some amazing rusty lock gates and past the missing Russian submarine captured while spying around Chatham Dockyard at the height of the cold war (in my imagination anyway) I have also heard it is for sale for one pound?
So now as I am riding back into town I am thinking how to present all this material to primary schools and youth groups, as I will be working them to design the mosaics for this trail. I think I wil focus on the wild flowers and the knights templars.
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