Faversham fried eggs!

Up early, Happy Husband prepares a travel mug of steamy coffee and off we roll in the dark, out of London, toward the Kent countryside.  The ancient market town of Faversham beckons, with its medieval buildings, "flying" church spire and numerous charity shops.
After an hour drive, we park near the train station and head toward the market square. With no set destination for breakfast, we ask at an open news agent's where we can find some food.  "I tell the cafes they should open earlier!" the proprietor laments.  We mosey on.
The clock on the Guildhall tower glows 7:00 am.  All is still in the morning darkness.  The town's oldness stretches back to pre-Roman times with claims of a 12,000 seat Roman theatre -- which we've never found on any of our 4 visits.

With a free hour at hand, walk to Standard Quay on Faversham Creek, once a major river port.  Today the low tide sands stretch from shore to shore.  Boats tilt at their moorings.
 The flat barge, New Brittanic, (pictured on left) ferried 3000 soldiers from Dunkirk to a British war ship -- the crew merely the owner, Walter Read, and his 15-year-old son, Joe.  The Cambria, a wooden sailing barge, the last to carry commercial goods in Britain under full sail, rests nearby.
 A narrow houseboat shows signs of current usage, bicycles chained to its approach.  Fabulous brickwork adorns the harbour structures.

We  stroll down Abbey Street, back toward the town centre. The skies lighten as we near the twelfth century Abbey wall, now integrated into a private home,

 And across the street -- Arden House, holding stories of murder and intrigue.

 The corona or "flying" spire of  the Parish Church of St Mary of Charity towers at the end of a narrow street. The Abbey was dissolved, but the Parish Church remained.

Back through town, now active with people and vehicles -- we find the Moonlight Cafe.  Turns out it opens at 7:00 am, so we must have passed just before they turned on the lights.  The building is plain, so it would have been easy to overlook as we admired the numerous half-timbers all around.

It's a family business -- warm and welcoming.  The parents hail from Turkey.  The elder son takes our order, writing it out carefully.  That's him in the photo.  At about 8:30 Mum bundles both boys into winter coats and heads off to school.

The food is worth waiting for.  Perfectly runny eggs on brown toast.  And large cups of hot tea with hot milk.  At 8:45 the place fills, every table!  Turns out a "Friendship Group" for pensioners meets here daily.  In the warmer weather outside in the cafe's garden, today in an atrium area now toasty with a space heater.  The "Friends" are happy to chat and pose.


After completing a couple crossword puzzles, we head out into a sunny street.  The rain comes and goes throughout the day.

And that's our day in Faversham, Swale, Kent.

Just love those medieval buildings ...