What Lies Ahead
River Stour, Grove Ferry, June 2006
It’s a hot summer Sunday in mid-June, and we’ve booked a boat trip along the river Stour for our older boys Raffy & Monty. Milo’s not quite one yet, so he’s still too little for this particular adventure. The river tours start off from Grove Ferry, and the mooring spot is right on the bank alongside the beer garden of the Grove Ferry Inn. Our transport was the lovely old paddle steamer, The Monarch - now sadly retired I believe. As of 2022, you can still go on river tours from this location - but the modern boats are quieter, greener, and electric-powered. Rafferty was very excited by the trip, running around like a mad thing for most of the afternoon. I took this photograph of him in an unusually quiet moment, watching the scenery slide slowly by along the riverbank.
The mooring for Grove Ferry River Trips is thoughtfully located in the pub garden of the Grove Ferry Inn, which is perfect for refreshments when you return after the excursion along the Stour. Reaching the Grove Ferry Inn is straightforward via the A28 from Canterbury, or from the A299 which joins the A28 at St Nicholas roundabout. Head to Upstreet, then turn off onto Sandpit Hill which is only a few hundred metres from the bridge across the Stour in Grove Ferry. There is ample parking in the pub car park and also at the adjacent Grove Ferry Picnic Site. You can walk to the river bank from the bridge, as well as other great trails in the Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve and the Stour Valley Walk.
Canon EOS-1Ds MkII with EF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400, Lightroom, Photoshop, Silver Efex Pro 2
