IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Albion Road, BIRCHINGTON, CT7 9DN

Off Albion Road is a small pay-and-display car park serving Garnett's garden centre where I pictured the old tungsten lamp post and Brills DIY centre next door. An alleyway forks just to the right of the photograph from Yew Tree Gardens off Canterbury Road, one prong of the fork leading into this car park and the other leading into the nearby park, also off Albion Road. The real reason I took this photo, however, was the floodlights that light the car park (about the only interesting things in this car park), which are rather shrouded in the tree. They are mounted on an old Stewart and Lloyd column from the 1950s, meaning an older lantern was probably installed here before the car park authority butchered the column and installed these horrible modern floodlights on it. That tree could really do with some pruning too, as the floodlights don't do a very good job at lighting the car park being so buried in it! View taken looking east-northeast.

An otherwise plain, typical Birchington back street, here is a snowy view of the one-way Crescent Road, off Albion Road, the next turning south-west of Woodford Court. The view is taken from the Albion Road junction looking north-west towards Station Road, which is visible from the bend in the road.

View looking south-west down Albion Road towards All Saints Church, where English poet, illustrator, painter and scholar Dante Gabriel Rossetti is buried.

This small garden centre on Albion Road is owned by a lady called Garnett, who also provides flowers for coffins, as well as other coffin decorations such as placards, garlands and bouquets. Sadly, the business closed down at the beginning of this year (2009) - it is currently unoccupied, but I'm sure some other business will take it over soon. Garnett now works in a trinket shop on nearby Station Road. I took this image, however, for the delightful lamp post in the garden centre (probably dating to the 1950s), which I believe is a tungsten "open" lantern (the lantern has no bowl, which allows tungsten lamps to shine freely down onto the road below). The lamp post is still standing today, despite the business' closure. View taken from the nearby car park for Brills (a DIY centre next door), looking west-southwest.

On Albion Road.

On Alpha Road, close to town centre.

On Crescent Road. Behind the Church, a stairs lead up to the Church Hall.

On the afternoon of 23rd March 2008, light snow flurries fell in Birchington. It settled on grassy areas, but the roads and pavements were too wet beforehand, so it did not settle on them. I was extremely lucky to be in Birchington that day, because it is the first time I have ever seen it snow in the village! This view is looking north (seaward) down the right hand arm of the fork in Woodford Court, near the square's 30 line.

Video Scene is the business which has had scaffolding erected on its frontage. To its right is the premises of Miles & Barr, estate agents.

The Smugglers Restaurant at number 212 Canterbury Road was built in the late 17th century. Constructed of brown brick with red brick dressings under a tile roof with shaped Dutch gables. Listed, grade II, with details at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1203373 Birchington-on-Sea is a seaside village some 7 miles east of Herne Bay and some 3½ miles west of Margate. There is evidence of occupation from the Iron Age. As a resort, the village has a tourism based economy, with hotels, caravan parks and leisure attractions. Many retirees make the village their home.