Rochester to Richmond

Nick Ardley, an eccentric anachronism from a simpler age, sails his clinker sloop between Rochester and Richmond to look at a century of change. The acrid-belching chimneys have evaporated, refineries closed, but the banks remain alive. He dips and dabbles along the way, exploring salt marshes, graves, industrial ruins, and renewal.

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'Many people say that Nick Ardley is a bit of an eccentric, or an anachronism from a simpler age, for the way he sails his clinker sloop around the Thames estuary, wending among the tide-riddled marshes to drop anchor where the fancy takes him, his trusty mate at his side. In this volume, he has a clear unabashed plan: a reflective journey between the Pools of Rochester and London, a path once of commerce, but now pleasure. Rochester was once of immense importance to Britain's past trading richness, but, even if the belching chimneys pouring acrid fumes and cement dust have evaporated, and oil refineries have slipped away; the wharves lining the banks remain alive. As a distraction, he wanders a little above Rochester and then again, a little above the Pool of London towards Richmond. Between, he lands amongst the marsh and mud, finding graves, the ribs of old sailors and farmsteads enveloped in purslane and lavender. Many towns sailed past were part of this heritage, supplying building materials, food and fodder carried by the tan sailed barge to London. Nick Ardley dips and dabbles into these communities and explores how they have metamorphosed.