Boughton Monchelsea, Kent

Looking south from the Kentish Weald

The week leading up to the International I spent with BFBA president Gary Burton.  Gary and his partner Corin were gracious hosts.  Most of the week we spent working, but I took Monday off to go and do some sight-seeing and we also spent some time in the forge making a shoe for the hand-in shoe class.  I also went to a meeting of the new Kent branch of the BFBA while I was there.  They listened to a website presentation, but mainly it was a good laugh over a meal. 

I saw several horses this week that couldn't put their heels down, but this was the "best."  No one is quite sure what caused the tendon contraction on this 31 year old mare, but she was awfully good about trimming, despite her injuries.

An Oast House that has been converted into a residence.  These are dotted all over the Kentish landscape and were used for drying Hops, once the main product of the region.  Some of the barns have only one silo and some have more, I think I saw as many as ten on one barn.  The "hats" at the top are open in the back and have a weather vane on them so that they swivel with the wind, taking the smoke away during the drying process.  There would have been a fire below and the hops would have been on a screen above that.  Also of note is the clapboarded building.  I hadn't seen a wood clad house since leaving home, but there are a handful in Kent that look very similar to our New England ones.

Apples are still a major crop.

I am always amazed that they public foot paths go straight through farmers' fields.  Apparently they are required by law to keep them clear so long as they are used at least once a year.

Canterbury Cathedral, the choir and apse.  I have always wanted to visit this historic place, so I jumped at the chance to make my own "pilgrimage" and was not disappointed- although I did feel slightly guilty about leaving Gary and Kyle to work in the torrential downpour that day.  It is an absolutely massive cathedral, as well as being a grand one that is an excellent example of early and late Romanesque as well as Gothic styles of architecture.