A Walk On An Island 24/3/19

At the point where the Thames Estuary, now several miles wide, really becomes the open sea, sits the Isle of Sheppey, connected to the Kent mainland by road and rail bridges across a backwater of the Thames known as the Swale but with a reputation for isolation despite its proximity to London. Sheppey is an island of industry, dockyard and agriculture on which also hide some pretty tacky seaside resorts and sweeping wetlands which draw birdwatchers from around the country

We head there today for a walk on a beautiful Spring day. The mild winter this year has triggered an early Spring and the seasons seem to be two or three weeks ahead of the norm. Cherry blossoms adorn the towns, rape blooms are starting to turn the fields yellow; these are embellishments we expect in April, normally in the last few weeks of the football season; it’s March 24th. Summer visitors like buntings and finches are here, skylarks soar into the blue sky, our own garden is alive with activity with at least three nests in process. It reaches 15 degrees today, but with completely clear skies and the lightest of breezes, it feels for all the world like early summer’s day, a feeling enhanced further by the buzzing of insects and sightings of peacock butterflies on our walk. 

Our walk today takes us around the South East corner of the island, across huge expanses of wetlands and reed beds, tidal sweeps and brackish water. There certainly are a lot of birds here; seabirds and waders; buntings, tits and finches; ducks and geese; oyster catchers, egrets and lapwings; and above, ever on the hunt, the birds of prey, kestrels, buzzards and marsh harriers circling for the kill. We even spy bearded tits, a species we don’t recall ever seeing before.

Turning inland from long sweep around the shoreline and the marshes, we visit the church at the hamlet of Harty; basically a church on a farmstead, isolated from any other community. This is St Thomas The Apostle, 900 years old and quaint as can be, and still holding services despite its remote location. Inside its tiny chapel there is a collection of four beautiful stained glass windows depicting the four seasons through wildlife and agriculture, painted so long ago yet still so relevant today, especially sited here, on this farm. Almost, but not quite, as charming as St Enodoc which we visited just a couple of weeks ago. 

It’s been an interesting and stimulating walk made even better by the beautiful Spring day. Estuary skies dominate and for much of the day we’ve had only birdsong as our soundtrack. It’s still March, yet it feels like summer is coming…