Near Chevening, Kent – 1/10

Now, I know I frequently bemoan about stiles having a single step, but a stile having no step and just replacing that with a couple of stumps truly is beyond the pale!

The whole process of navigation is a real test of balance and skill; the two main posts are a considerable distance apart, so the average human being will only be able to hold onto to one of them – choose wisely! If that was not enough, a further challenge ready to catch out the unaware (or anyone who is not double jointed or a ballet dancer!) is that loose netting underneath the bar.

For those cynics that may accuse me of just taking a picture of something and pretending that it is intended to be a stile just so I can have a bit of a rant; here is a picture of a footpath sign just to prove it. The inclusion of this sign does actually feel like some kind of sick and twisted joke by the individual that placed it there!

This ‘stile’ is very near Chevening House, which is often used by the current serving Foreign Secretary, so I am not sure if this falls within the grounds, but if it does then it is quite concerning that the Government deem this to be acceptable – but the extreme challenging nature of this stile does perhaps add extra security, as no one is getting over this thing successfully in a quick speed!