Inside the Iconic Millennium Mills

I remember the first time I stepped into a derelict building. It was a house I had lived in during my final year in school and both the roof and floor had rotted away. Stephen’s instinct was to get out of there immediately, mine was to explore. And so began my love of all things derelict. I can’t explain it and many people won’t share it but I love the idea of exploring crumbling down buildings.

I’m less sure when my love affair with Millennium Mills began. I recall seeing the sun glinting off it one day as the DLR trundled past. I promised myself that I’d take a walk down there one day to get a closer look. I featured it in a blog post last year called Millennium Mills: Past, Present and Future and focused on how it had been used in music videos, TV shows and films and how it would soon be redeveloped.

Then something truly exciting happened – the developers contacted me and invited me to take a look inside! How thrilling!

And so it was that one cloudy morning, we took a boat from Royal Victoria Dock to the iconic Millennium Mills and got to take a look inside.

Amplify Your Voice (taken from the water).

Looking up at the side elevation of Millennium Mills.

Reflections in Water

From the inside looking out

Laying the Foundations of Floors

The Green Door

Greenery and reflections

Shadows of the Mills

Escape or entry

Concrete Perspective

Roof to roof

The view of the river

Arches and rooftops

Green Perspectives

Stairs down

Broken windows

Warning: Floor level obstacles

Looking up at Millennium Mills

Spillers

Definitely visit my post Millennium Mills: Past, Present and Future to learn more about the history of the mills which were built in 1905 during the heyday of the East London docks. There are also graphics of how the proposed development will look.

The Millennium Mills redevelopment is a massive £3.5bn project that is due to be finished in 2017. The aim is to deliver 21,000 jobs and 3,000 homes and a public space where local businesses and start ups can afford to move in. In every part of the process, the developers say that they are keen to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Mike Luddy from the Royal Docks Management Authority has stressed that they won’t ignore history like they did at Canary Wharf and that the development will respect the history of the former flour mill and the working class people who made the area great. If you meet Mike he will tell you that the docks became disused not because they weren’t looked after but because modern ships were too big for the shallow waters.

Likewise, Simon Webster from The Silvertown Partnership promises to take on board the history of the area and reflect it in the development. He has said that the renaissance of the area has been a long time coming. In June this year, the development was shortlisted for the ‘Planned Economic Growth’ category of the Planning and Placemaking Awards.

I was quite wary of the proposed development initially but even I have to admit that something has to be done with the building to prevent it falling into dereliction. From the sound of it, they seem to be doing something right with the development if they are winning awards.

What do you think? Would you like to explore a place like Millennium Mills? Perhaps if you wore a hard hat and steel-toed boots like I did on the day?

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A Medieval Weekend at Lullingstone Castle

I love Lullingstone and Eynsford. It was one of the very first areas of Kent that I ever explored and I’ve been back many times since. The minute I discovered that they were holding a Medieval Weekend at Lullingstone Castle over the May bank holiday, I firmly marked it out in my calendar. The last time I visited Lullingstone Castle, it was the dead of winter and we’d walked there from the High Street only to find the gates firmly shut. Needless to say, I was quite eager to get inside those gates!

Like many English castles, Lullingstone Castle is not actually a castle; it is a historic mansion that was built in 1497. Quite incredibly, it is still owned by the same family, the Hart Dykes, and King Henry VIII and Queen Anne were known to be regular visitors. The grounds are also home to the World Garden of Plants which contains plants from around the world – definitely click the link to read about how Tom Hart Dyke came up with the idea for the garden when he was kidnapped by Colombian rebels! On this occasion though, we were not there to visit the gardens but will certainly return soon.

The Lullingstone Castle medieval weekend is an annual living history event that allows visitors to step into the world of medieval England. It is clearly an educational event meant for children which meant that I was in my element.

There were many examples of suits of armour, including the gauntlets featured above. If you’ve ever explored European castles, then you’ll be familiar with suits of armour but what was nice about the fair was that it had a definite focus on the normal, everyday life of peasants.

I had a nice, long chat with a fletcher called Jim who you’ll meet below. A fletcher is a person who attaches the fletching to arrows and he was very sad to admit that his surname is not Fletcher but he has been a seven time longbow champion so at least there is that. Jim explained that there were four main types of arrowheads used but in the very top photo of this post, you can see that there are scores of different types of arrowheads.

In case you were wondering what ‘fletching’ is, it is the aerodynamic stabilisation in arrows, usually feathers. Jim handmade these arrows which I found really impressive.

Moving on, we got to inspect these rather evil looking axes and wandered around the stalls chatting to more storeowners. I really rather wish I’d spent more time doing so because they were each fascinating in their own right.

There were a number of stalls focusing closely on food consumed during the medieval period, especially by peasants. We noticed the distinct absence of meat, of course and the presence of some rather unusual types of grains and nuts.  In the foreground of the photo above, you can see Kentish cobnuts which are apparently quite delicious and behind that to the right, acorns, which really aren’t.

We also spent a long time talking to a lovely young man at his stall of exotic medieval spices which peasants would certainly not have been able to afford. He had frankincense and pine resin and several types of peppers. Above you can see actual cochineal beetles to the left, and dragon’s blood to the right, both rich red dyes. Why did I take a photo of these and not the frankincense? Well, I was fascinated - I am allergic to cochineal, which is used as pink food colouring in ice creams and milkshakes – but had never actually seen them up close.

We noticed that people were rapidly disappearing behind the church and after a quick peek inside, I followed them to the reenactment area. The church is properly known as St Botolph's Parish Church and it is of Norman origin.

The archery and gunnery displays were presented by the Woodvilles medieval re-enactment group. I loved how they were all firmly in character and the small details in their costumes.

This is Jim, the fletcher that I had met earlier, firing his longbow. Doesn’t he look impressive?

We spent some time watching the archery and gunnery display. Those guns were really loud! I overheard a really interesting conversation regarding the licensing for these guns and how they are allowed for reasons of historic preservation.

As lovely as the original 1497 gatehouse is, it was lovely to finally get inside the grounds of Lullingstone Castle and not be stuck outside. We had a fantastic day out at Lullingstone Castle and I will definitely return soon to see the World Garden.

Lullingstone Castle
Eynsford,
Kent,
DA4 0JA
Tel: 01322 862114 

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Where to Stay in Norwich: The Old Rectory, Thorpe St Andrew

I held my breath when our car turned off Yarmouth Road into the long driveway of the Old Rectory. It had been a long day and I was eager to settle into our accommodation for the evening. My heart began to soar when the grand façade of the Georgian house peeked through the long avenue of trees; the Grade II listed building is beautiful.

We met our host Chris in the reception and he showed us to the Deluxe Double room on the second floor. Ours were the two top-left windows in the photo below.

When we stepped into our room, we were immediately transported to a different era, a time of elegance, style and understatement. Almost as if they knew that this was to be a weekend of writing, the room was perfectly set up with desk and wingback chairs to accommodate my writing needs.

The Old Rectory is nestled in an acre of mature gardens and our room had a view of the impressive greenery below. The bathroom featured vintage porcelain fittings and I was thrilled to discover the corner bath. There was also a separate shower for those of us who need to shower in the morning.

After settling in, we decided that it was time to explore our surroundings.

Thorpe St Andrew is an old town. It featured in the Domesday book as ‘Torp’ (meaning village in Scandinavian) and there is evidence of Roman occupation in the area. Today it is a riverside village with plenty of river- and roadside establishments lining Yarmouth Road where you can eat and drink the night away. On a pleasant summer evening, you’re best advised to leave your car at your hotel and take a leisurely twilight stroll down the strip.

The Old Rectory itself was built in 1754 by the vicar for the Thorpe St Andrew church. It remained with the church for many years before being converted to a hotel.

After a long day of driving, exploring Felbrigg Hall and Retro Dining at Grosvenor Fish Bar, we finally fell into bed for a very deep and very comfortable night’s sleep.

We were up early the following morning for we had a full day of exploring and dancing ahead of us. I decided to take a tour of the grounds while Stephen relaxed with a newspaper in the drawing room.

 

Once I was certain that I’d built up enough of an appetite, we enjoyed a full English breakfast in the dining room.

Our stay the the Old Rectory was far too short and I would love to return soon. There is no shortage of things to do and places to visit in Norfolk the whole year round as you can see on the Old Rectory What's On page. I’d be especially interested in going back for their dinner, bed and breakfast offer for £210 for Valentine’s Day 2017.

The Old Rectory
103 Yarmouth Road
Thorpe St. Andrew
Norwich
NR7 0HF

We stayed at the Old Rectory during our visit to the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, one of the UK’s longest-running and largest international arts festivals featuring film, dance, contemporary music and a host of other events.

I’d like to thank Visit Norwich, Look Sideways–East and The Old Rectory for inviting me to stay at the Old Rectory. Our visit was complimentary and as always, all views, enthusiasm and nostalgia are entirely my own

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A Pudding Night at the Secret Garden, Kent

What is the most fun you’ve had recently? Late last year, we discovered that one of our favourite venues in Kent, The Secret Garden, runs a monthly pudding night. You might remember that we attended Afternoon Tea at the Secret Garden last autumn and we loved it. We knew this was something we just had to do and so Andrea, Liz, Sarah and I consulted our diaries and booked the next available date that we were all free. Four months later, that day finally arrived!

The Secret Garden is a wedding venue and restaurant located in Ashford, Kent and it is just down the road from Ashford International station and the designer outlet. It is a gorgeous venue with lovely gardens and absolutely superb food. Each time I go, I know that it is just a matter of time before I return because in 6 short months, The Secret Garden has become my favourite location in Kent.

Our evening began with a glass of prosecco and a round of cocktails. I opted for the Mr Wanstall mocktail, named after the Wanstall family who are proprietors of the establishment. It was delicious and every bit as appetising as the grown-up, non-designated-driver cocktails.

Soon it was time for our main course. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t quite appreciated that we’d be receiving a main course at a pudding evening and this was a very pleasant surprise. An even bigger surprise was that I had remembered to warn the restaurant of my garlic allergy when we booked and they prepared a special garlic-free meal for me. The meal was absolutely delicious; chicken with Enoki mushrooms and a creamy white sauce with new potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

I think it is only proper to admit that the photo above wasn’t a carefully composed shot but instead the result of eating half my meal before realising that I might need to capture it. I’m such a good blogger.

It wasn’t long before the restaurant staff began to fill the central table with the most mouthwatering array of puddings and desserts. It began to capture everybody’s eye and soon had a dedicated crowd of admiring observers. Behold, this work of art:

One of the highlights of any visit to The Secret Garden is the absolutely wonderful staff. They are ever welcoming and hospitable and nothing is too much trouble for them. They even went so far as to demonstrate the correct arms-over-the-head technique for allowing food to settle further down the body so that you can eat more. Let me tell you, that technique came in handy!

I went straight for a massive serving of trifle and it was so good. I then had a much smaller portion of the delicious lemon and ginger cake, with cream, followed by an even smaller portion of bread and butter pudding. When we go again, and we will definitely be going again, I will try to eat less main course to leave space for more pudding. I’m also not going to eat for a week before going. I suggest you follow the same strategy should you go.

To round up the evening, we took part in a hilarious quiz and a lovely cup of tea.

Happy and full, we then hit the road for the long journey back home.

Needless to say, I would absolutely recommend The Secret Garden, Kent and can’t wait to return.

Pudding Night at The Secret Garden, Kent
Mersham-le-Hatch Business Village
Hythe Road
Ashford
Kent
TN25 6NH

Cost: £30 per person, including welcome drink, main course and all you can eat desert

Notes on visiting: The Secret Garden Kent is located really close to Ashford International train station. You can catch a train from London, spend the morning shopping at the Ashford Designer Outlet and then catch a taxi or bus to The Secret Garden.

Do you know of any other secret or quirky places to visit in Kent? How about Essex, Surrey or Sussex?

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