At a loose end this Sunday?

[hamster]

http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/end_of_an_era_for_thanet_skyline_as_richborough_cooling_towers_to_be_demolished_1_1230708

 

This Sunday at around 9 AM the 3 cooling towers and chimney will come down in less than 60 seconds.

 

These Kentish Maids have stood proud since they were built in 1963 to burn Kent coal.

 

They hold a special place in the hearts of ex-miners and their families as the coal from the Kent coalfield was of the highest quality available, as were those colliers.

 

Many a weary traveller's heart has been warmed (no pun intended) as they come into view from as far away as Canterbury and Dover looking Eastward.

 

I'm gonna miss the old girls but time moves on and the site is to be developed into an 'energy park' with the creation of new employment opportunities for the area, can't really argue with that I suppose.

 

Anyway, thier are many vantage points from where to view the historic moments but AVOID the A256 Thanet Way in it's entirity.

 

If you want to make a day of it then get to Fowlmead Park, between Deal and Sandwich. Fowlmead used to be the slagheap for Betteshanger Colliery; where my Grandad worked after walking for weeks all the way from Yorkshire. If you have an interest in the history of the Kent Coalfield then take the opportunity to drive through Aylesham and Snowdown en-route, come off the A2 just south of Canterbury. You'll drive through some pit villages where the tight community bond associated with these hard working men built new lives after heading south for work, many walked hundreds of miles from all over the country; Wales, Yorkshire etc. You'll drive past what is left of Snowdown Colliery's pit-head. In Aylesham you can stop outside the building that used to house the Coal Mine Emergency Centre, this building is where they bred and kept canaries in days gone by!

 

You could of course just stay in bed.

 

hamster

Edited 8 March, 2012 by hamster

[hamster]

[latter day saint]

thanks for the link. i was born in Folkestone & lived in Aylesham durring the Miners Strike when i was 7/8. my dad was the manager of the Miners club in the village & we lived in a bungalow next door, so got to see all the meetings & rallies in the carpark outside. loved living there eventhough it was tough times.

[sandwichsaint]

http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/end_of_an_era_for_thanet_skyline_as_richborough_cooling_towers_to_be_demolished_1_1230708

 

This Sunday at around 9 AM the 3 cooling towers and chimney will come down in less than 60 seconds.

 

These Kentish Maids have stood proud since they were built in 1963 to burn Kent coal.

 

They hold a special place in the hearts of ex-miners and their families as the coal from the Kent coalfield was of the highest quality available, as were those colliers.

 

Many a weary traveller's heart has been warmed (no pun intended) as they come into view from as far away as Canterbury and Dover looking Eastward.

 

I'm gonna miss the old girls but time moves on and the site is to be developed into an 'energy park' with the creation of new employment opportunities for the area, can't really argue with that I suppose.

 

Anyway, thier are many vantage points from where to view the historic moments but AVOID the A256 Thanet Way in it's entirity.

 

If you want to make a day of it then get to Fowlmead Park, between Deal and Sandwich. Fowlmead used to be the slagheap for Betteshanger Colliery; where my Grandad worked after walking for weeks all the way from Yorkshire. If you have an interest in the history of the Kent Coalfield then take the opportunity to drive through Aylesham and Snowdown en-route, come off the A2 just south of Canterbury. You'll drive through some pit villages where the tight community bond associated with these hard working men built new lives after heading south for work, many walked hundreds of miles from all over the country; Wales, Yorkshire etc. You'll drive past what is left of Snowdown Colliery's pit-head. In Aylesham you can stop outside the building that used to house the Coal Mine Emergency Centre, this building is where they bred and kept canaries in days gone by!

 

You could of course just stay in bed.

 

hamster

 

I can do both - I can see them from my bedroom window.

 

Will prob cycle round by Richborough Castle to get a decent view if it's a nice day.

[RonManager]

Is there a live stream?

 

Saw a fair few tenement demolitions in Glasgow in the 90s. Always happened on a Sunday.

 

 

I like a nice bang.

[sandwichsaint]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/11/richborough-power-station-destroyed_n_1337371.html

 

 

down in 20 seconds,

 

much bigger crowds than anyone was anticipating,

 

cultural vandalism in my view,

 

will just have to get used to not seeing them when out and about on the bike.

[scotty]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/11/richborough-power-station-destroyed_n_1337371.html

 

 

down in 20 seconds,

 

much bigger crowds than anyone was anticipating,

 

cultural vandalism in my view,

 

will just have to get used to not seeing them when out and about on the bike.

 

I dont know the place at all, think the closest I would have been was 35 years ago when I did some training in Rye, but it does seem rather saddening. I notice that Battersea power station's up for grabs as well, but I think thats listed. Just think, if Pink Floyd had tethered a flying pig to Richborough instead this may not have happened....

 

Also a shame to see our feathered friends flapping around, they must have been cacking it.