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Long Barrow
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Here we have a fine Kentish long barrow - or is it 'long barrow of Kent?' - set high above the Great Stour and small village of Chilham, the latter also possessing a rather interesting polygonal Norman keep, located beside a great house of some repute. Apparently.
Near the junction of the A28/A252 a 'dead-end' road leads across a railway line to a wooded car park. Contrary to the fine forecast, a hint of August drizzle hangs in the air... the path leading across the aforementioned river, past a striking white timbered building, to an attractive weir, the fast flowing water enhanced by a veritable submerged forest of weed and such-like. The path swings to the left, after negotiating a second bridge near a house of attractive red brick, to ascend to the downs above... (ha! How excellent is the English language?) where the long barrow lies, unseen by the casual observer. Not to mention the interested one, too.
The monument is cloaked in summer vegetation and foliage, natural camouflage of the highest order which takes me for a 'monumental' sucker. Yeah, I walk straight past, to finally cotton on courtesy of a retrospective glance by the edge of a freshly harvested field.,,, so there you are, you beauty. This long barrow is no ploughed-out vestige of its former self either, measuring a substantial 2m high by 44m long beneath the greenery. I reckon it would have been clearly visible from the river down below in days gone by; however it now backs up against an area of woodland which has possibly served to protect the remaining fabric. Out of sight is out of mind, so to speak.
Upon finally locating a bramble-free spot to sit and contemplate the surroundings, the paradoxical nature of the site is all too evident. Common place sounds of urban life - traffic noise, the very-close-to-annoying peel of church bells etc - may be clearly audible, yet all I can see are rolling agricultural fields sweeping into the distance. The two do not converge in any meaningful way, leading to a somewhat surreal experience, if the truth be told. Occasionally it is apparent that - sometimes, anyway - places don't change that much, do they? Julliberrie's Grave keeps on keeping on. Regardless.
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Posted by GLADMAN
14th January 2011ce
Edited 15th January 2011ce
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