We drove down to Kent on Friday morning to do a few days house-sit in Greenhithe, not far from the Dartford Crossing, and to do the inevitable coastal walking that comes with it. We’re looking after a gorgeous big, fluffy, black and white cat called Sooty. And we’re staying in a stunning new build house, full of glitz and glamour … and gadgets.

Saturday 17th January 2026

We had a selection of Parkruns to choose from but we chose Greenwich Peninsula which was a 30 minute drive from the house. Well worth it – scenic route, flat and easy terrain and the marshals were so upbeat, motivating and super friendly. Can recommend it.

It was such a beautiful blue sky day, we couldn’t resist the bright idea to get started on that Thames Path walk – all part of our beloved King Charles III England Coast Path – get a few miles under our belt as it were.

We had an easy and relatively scenic stroll for a mile or two, first along Greenhithe Wharf and then onto embankment wall. But that’s where the day’s rot set in as it were – at this stage we fell into a wall of noise that accompanied us for the next three hours!

First it was the shooting range where the bangs were constantly making me jump. This merged into the whizzing sounds from a model aeroplane club which in turn merged into the noisiest and longest section which was quad bikes and motocross riders. We tried so hard to keep our spirits up but it wasn’t just the noise – not only were the bikes churning up the path into a muddy mess but, every so often we had to dive to the side as they came hurtling towards us!

And with all this came a disgusting aroma – between gunpowder and petrol it wasn’t at all what we associate with our coastal walking. The surprising thing is that I’ve had no sense of smell for most of the last year, through long Covid … would seem I’ve made a miraculous recovery.

Talking of smells and as the title suggests, this section of coastline seems to be ‘full of rubbish.’ We passed a Sewerage Works, a Waste Disposal site, a Recycling plant … all smelly and attracting vast flocks of bird life … and them vast areas of scrap yards. For us though the worst part was the fly-tipping – it was everywhere …so sad to see.

Our destination was Erith and it turned out to be somewhat longer than estimated – almost 12 miles in total. So a memorable walk but not necessarily in the happy sense.

But it was warm and sunny so a huge bonus for January. Keep smiling 😊

Sunday 18th January 2026

Forgetting our woes from yesterday, we set off in a positive frame of mind, catching a bus to Gravesend (via Bluewater) for a much shorter walk back to Greenhithe. And another blue sky and warm January day – so blessed.

The first half of today’s jaunt was not much to write home about – commencing with some treacherous slippery boardwalk and a whole load of industrial sites. Then the path turned into miles of grassland and SO unbelievably peaceful. We could actually hear the birds singing – no gunshots, no revving engines … it was sublime. And the walk all the way back to Greenhithe from here was pretty pleasant and actually enjoyable. Just 7 miles – just the ticket!

Reading back I have moaned a bit haven’t I? But please don’t feel sorry for us. If you do have sympathy save it for poor Steve – he’s struggling with his height in this kitchen … the hob extractor fan is incredibly inconveniently positioned for his stature and has pointy corners. The top of his head is taking a right old battering!