The other day at Queenborough, upon our arrival from the Blackwater, I found that the much vaunted new pontoon was still not in place … however the first section has arrived with the other two pieces awaiting a tow from Dover.
Once these are positioned, the harbour office will be placed upon the deck. With this, I was told by Max, one of the harbour team, there is to be an ablution block… It will contain all the reqirements for keeping ones body clean! I was led to believe that the cost of an alongside berth will be in the region of £24 … boat sizes wasn’t stated, but the mooring charges depend upon length. Whether or not boaters on the mooring trots will be able to use these facilities, was not made clear…
What is clearly apparent is that the harbour trust do seem to be putting in a lot of effort to upgrade the facilities available…
The Queenborough YC now has a finger attached to their old hammer head, which is for members’ use only…
Gate token are still needed…
On the above note … we had a meal at the Flying Dutchman … our first for a few seasons … it’ll be our last for a few more now: the quality was poor and we were too tired and **** off to complain – typically English of us! I’ve been told that the carvery is ‘good’ but we didn’t go for that, instad had ‘fresh’ fish – well it was fresh once… Although the place has recently changed hands, the decor and general feel leaves a lot to be desired – it was noisy and there were small fry (I know we’ve all had them) running amok amongst the tables screaming and shouting… The beer was okay though!
We should have gone to Nic’s nice eatery just past the QP, where we have always enjoyed good food … “A pity!” my mate said.
Further, upon walking up into the town for stores for a couple of nights around Stangate, we found that the Queen Phillipa has been having a lot of work done to it. The place has been transformed into a very tasty B&B. I was shown round the rooms … Mmmmmmmmmm!
Downstairs, apart from a modern kitchen, was a gorgeous breakfast room for patrons. Outside, one of the buildings is to be converted into easy access rooms for the less able (…like Me!). Talking to the two owners, both local to the area, they are thinking of opening the facility to evening meals at a later stage… I have suggested that they contact people like the Medway & Swale Boating Association, Elite Sailing etc… The harbour trust too: they’ve not done that yet…
Next door a Cafe is being fitted out. This will be run by the owner of another joint a short distance away. I’m told food has a good reputation. It will be open in the evenings too… This facility will not be ready until December.
Developments like these need to move down the old high street … as Max agreed with me, “…down the south coast, this place would be a honey pot…”