Grange Walkabout 2012

Reckoning that yesterday's problems couldn't really recur so soon as the day after, I decided to revisit Grange in Gillingham – this time with a camera, as I had promised myself. Thus, as with Hillyfields yesterday, this is primarily a photo-essay with a little explanation here and there.

I decided to model the walkabout on last year's first visit, but not copy the route. Indeed, although I went over much of the same ground, I made a point of taking alternative paths and exploring places I had spotted last time. There was also a place outside of Grange, across the main road, which I shall cover separately.

Here's my start point, just around the corner from the route 176 'bus stop where I arrived...

Not just the church, but the extensive grounds as well, comprising a park-like greenspace  with a children's play area, and some of the monuments are spaced around this area...

In one corner to the north is an exit to Layfield Road...

This leads to The Barge public house, which is looking much better these days than when the Google camera car went down there, as these 'then and now' images (the former from Google Street View) show...

Just around the corner in Court Lodge Road, partly sunken into the ground and overlooking the main road from its elevated location is The Ship Inn...

 It is so much more peaceful up there than down on the often (but not always!) busy main road...

Heading back into Grange itself, Court Lodge Road takes one along the eastern side of the churchyard-cum-park,  arriving at this corner shop at the junction with Grange Road. It's one of those shops of this kind that just seem to be appropriate in their location, somehow...

Turning left past the shop entrance and continuing on a short way, one comes across this unusual scene of the road passing above a cul-de-sac below, which can be accessed by one of two ramps. This is Dial Road...

Note that the solar panels in the roof of that house (and there are more in the roof's front) weren't there when the Google car snapped the scene, so they are a fairly recent addition.

One of my favourite features of Grange is the 'village stores' shop a little further along the top road. Again, it just works there and that place would definitely be missing something without it...

At this point I decided that I had done enough for today and headed back on the next (frequent!) 176 'bus from a stop back toward the Premier corner shop pictured above. I had gone down a number of other roads and checked out a close or two, but there was nothing really photo-worthy from any of that.

I still very much like this whole area, and was so pleased to be back there, especially on a brilliantly sunny day. I was beaming almost non-stop!