A Centuries old, Entrance to Britain

26/07/2020
A centuries old,
Entrance to Britain

I often sit here,
 and wonder and marvel,
over the area we live in.
A Naval seaport,
Over looking 
A centuries old,
Entrance to Britain.
In the present day,
At night,
Across the water,
Are lights,
Of a partially,
And perfectly still,
beautiful array,
A spectacle.
Like a firework has paused,
in mid display.
Day and night,
There are great ships,
In at harbour,
After a long and slow ride,
The monstrous freight liners,
From the chinese side,
Not just from Chinas,
But also worldwide.
Opposite the dinosaur cranes,
As my boys love to call them,
Sitting on the beach,
On our Shotley gate side.
Whether swimming or fishing from our stoney,
Shellfish shelled beach,
Or out on a boat ride.
For Kobe,
Has a new found niche.
We've to be careful of the Sharpe oysters though,
If landing on the oyster strewn beach,
Not to mention the large rocks that are hidden underneath.
We love it here,
Somewhere we can fish,
And what a choice,
As we’re at The peninsulas’ final reach.
As I hop on my crutches,
 through the evergreen forest,
Down and through to the beach,
But this time is different,
As opposite,
Is now the port of Harwich.
With it’s big P &O cruise lines,
And transport ferries,
Mainly for lorry drivers
Or people doing a one day run,
For cheap cigs and bevvies...

I was walking along reading a book one day,
(Before my body,
Stopped having a say.)
About our naval history,
And the many battles,
In the past shotley has seen and had.
Here I was,
At the point of the book,
Reading their description,
Of the route they took.
It made my hairs stand on end,
As they were describing,
Exactly where I was stood!
See we have the opening to the sea,
But we’re the start of 2 rivers estuaries.
The river orwell forms right to the west,
And the Stour,
South westerly..
Each with easy landing points,
Depending on how bigger ship you lead.
We’ve an old crows nest and a gunners pit,
Stories of glory,
Down at the museum,
About our great Navy ships.

Now,
The tip of the peninsula,
Has some stunning views,
Relaxing in the shipwreck,
Drinking a drink or 2. 
Then a coastal path walk,
Up or down the promenade,
Could even stop in,
At the picturesque pub on the corner,
The Bristol arms.
Then if walking,
Arm in arm,
Up to the top of the hill.
Don’t be alarmed,
at the quaint and lovely charm,
that the village holds still.
We’re a peaceful and loving community,
Full of spirit,
Care and when it’s cold outside,
Everyone is warm.
We’ve a fantastic sense of community,
In the opinion that I hold.
My kids and I,
Love living in shotley,
How could we not.
We’re surrounded by nature and adventures,
And although some is boggy,
There is a sort of beach here.
You’ve just got to cross the trolls bridge,
Down at the marina.
We’ve fields a plenty,
Trees to climb in abundance and even more.
For our juvenile delinquency,
They have the old police and navy training facility and port.
Completely and utterly historical, 
With only one or 2 guards to protect it all.
Old water towers,
Standing tall,
All Easily accessible.
The biggest attraction, 
An empty Olympic sized swimming pool.
For our kids to ‘unknowingly’ to us,
Be Exploring it all.
Navy escape tunnels everywhere.
What would you be doing,
As a teenager,
If you lived here?
All this,
 and just 100 metres down to the water,
But if you carry on, 
you’ll see all the beautiful,
Sights and views that Shotley gate does offer.
Then there’s the church.
I can hear the bells ringing now,
Telling of raids from the south,
As they sit the highest,
On top of church hill!
This was definitely the best place to find,
For me and my family,
To sit back and chill,
To relax and unwind.
Just a short mile away, 
before erwarton church,
Lays the mansion of Henry the eighth,
And within the churches graves,
Hidden amongst the long grass,
Is where Anne Boleyns heart lays.
Now,
Standing in great splendour,
You can see into its historical beauty,
The perfect trimmed gardens,
Imagining royalty,
 still walking round them today,
dancing to Tudor music,
And partying the night away....
We’ve woodpeckers a plenty,
And fruits in abundance,
We’ve mount Jack and deer,
Always with their stag standing near. 
Owls swooping at night,
And birds a plenty,
Once it’s daylight.
So come and see shotley.
Come and see the astounding beauty I’m talking about.
My kids will tell you,
Like others no doubt,
How much they love it here,
And never want to move out.
You’d feel the same if you just looked about.
Fishing and crabbing,
Watersports too.
Well,
Only if you bring your own gear with you.
A ferry that goes to harwich,
Then felixstowe,
Then vice-versa on the same waterway,
With its' tranquility.
So if you ever fancy a lovely chilled day,
Then come and walk,
 our waterside promenade,
Fields,
Beaches and tracks.
As I’m sure if you’ve been once,
Then at some point,
 you’ll be wanting to come back!