The Harty Ferry, Sheppey

 

Being blessed with what can only be expressed as a wonderfully warm day, we took off towards the wetlands of Sheppey and the site of the old Harty Ferry with the express aim; to photograph the area and to learn some more about this wonderful camera I bought myself many years ago.

The tide on the Swale had almost peeked so I was blessed with the water lapping right up to the shoreline rather than out into its mud-lined trenches. The water bed is very chalky here and as a result, clear. I had to be careful though not to kick up the softness of that chalk and turn the water white. 

 

Where we were, there was the remnants of a jetty so there was a great deal of concrete sections, flints and other items, including a tyre. I suspect this section of jetty we were perched on is a much more recent evolution of the original as, by the look of the quality of the cement, it was poured somewhere around the 2WW. 

I had a look on Google maps and at low tide I could see what looked like a long 'road' of possibly more concrete going out into the mudflats on both sides thus reducing the distance by boat at low tide. I don't know, but I wouldn't imagine this was a fording point and if it was, the time window of opportunity would be a very short one and potentially precarious one too.

So, the Harty Ferry? It's no longer a ferry but there is a bit of a sloping concrete section one could call a 'jetty' if anyone would like to come to this part of the island by boat. I would suggest it would be fine for those who come by small boats and canoes and only need to beach their craft but larger ones would find it more of a challenge as there really isn't any depth of water there.

I must admit the pub which sits on the higher ground by the ferry point is a very nice one, and although they said their main income is from wedding parties, they do have a lovely area inside [when we are able to frequent it once more] and a lovely garden overlooking the Swale with Faversham on the other side of the estuary.

When we were there for a much needed cold drink, others had driven along the single track road to come for a meal, and it did look rather nice; most reviews on Trip Advisor came up positive with 4 or 5 stars.

Anyway, back to our day which, I must admit, stretched to a large Coke with ice and that was it, but we had a salad picnic to enjoy so I wasn't worried.

The Swale is a lovely stretch of water and watching YouTube videos about people sailing or canoeing this stretch, they tend to agree how lovely it is although canoeing against the tide race was not advised as it tended to be remarkably strong. 

The water was gin-clear so photography was a delight.

Depending upon which article you read, this crossing point used a rowing boat to get the vicar from the mainland to the island to carry out the church service each week [of which he never missed it appears] or it was one of the three main routes/crossings for farmers to move their sheep and grain from the island to the mainland for sale and operated using a rope pulley system. If I am to accept the latter then this tall piece of apparatus might indicate the concept of pulleys.

I was also intrigued to read even the Romans valued the island for its capacity to grow grain, so this island and this part of the island has been farmed for hundreds of years, the soil being replenished by the frequent flooding no doubt.

Clumps of sea purslane inhabit the shallows and become thicker mats as the marshes form and more mud is trapped.

I'm unsure if this is the type of grasswort, pictured here, that has the culinary name of samphire, but its growing well and I would suggest, has been spotted by others and picked in the recent past as there was evidence larger clusters of this vegetable were present and some has been removed. On the other hand it could be wading birds enjoying a graze as they pass by.

Where we were, there was an uninterrupted view over to Faversham and beyond.

It was lovely to see the red sails of a large sailing barge. I've seen few red sails like this since leaving London, where the sight of a full red rigging London barge sailing up the Thames was a weekly event.

 So, after a couple of hours enjoying the sights and sounds of the Swale we wandered back up the slope to the Ferry House Pub where we both enjoyed a cooling glass of Coke and reviewed our images.

Next, I was intrigued by the church which the vicar had used the ferry to get to each week, so we drove the short way, through the farmyard and out to the church.

 

https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/12139/

There's little information about it although there is info in the church itself which you can buy. 

All I have found is on Trip Advisor and they say, "St Thomas the Apostle Church is located in the small hamlet of Harty, in the east of the Isle of Sheppey. The quaint church is without electricity, giving the church its period feel! Harty church is a grade II listed building dating back to around the 11th or 12th Century."

So, from there we, sadly, headed back, we'd run out of time. Just enough time in fact to pick up some cheese from the B+M store and then enjoy our picnic on Minster beach.