Isle of Grain Tower Battery in the River Medway Kent

Today i head out to photograph the Isle of Grain Tower Battery in the River Medway Kent, about an hour and fifteen min drive from my home. Its only accessible at low tide when the crumbling causeway is revealed , you will still need wellington boots or something similar as there are still tidal pools, mud and soft sand to contend with. You need to get there as the tide is going out to maximise the amount of time you have at the site, this i learned the hard way.
Music in this Vlog
Music by Ryan Farish - Solitude - thmatc.co/?l=DE5514BD
Music by Juan Sánchez - Where Are They Now? - thmatc.co/?l=73BE76AD
Music by Juan Sánchez - Touch & Sound - thmatc.co/?l=870DB4FF

[@bangWarkop]

Amazing

[@LeePelling]

Thank you

[@tonymckeage1028]

Fantastic Video Lee, Love the Grain tower, what a brilliant subject,

[@LeePelling]

Thanks Tony , it's n interesting building with a fascinating history , will have to return one day

[@mikeosbourne]

I wish we had places like this in London... those shots at 4.50 👌👌👌👌

[@LeePelling]

Thanks Mike took me over an hour to drive to so not exactly close to me but its doable , i love shooting Cityscape in London so may well get up town soon.

[@LetsClickPhotography]

That was great Lee. I'm a huge fan of learning a bit of history about a subject. What a fascinating structure. I have seen a couple of abandoned MOD sites like this guarding the thames, but they are further off shore. How brilliant to be able to walk up to this. I must admit, when you pointed the tide out, I was here almost telling you to head back.! I got caught in similar fashion on the north west coast at Crosby where it just seemed to come from the sides - I got very wet feet! Stealth Sea! Cracking images, I really liked the monochrome but those two long exposures @11:00 and @12:19 are superb. I wish I'd been able to capture anything even half as interesting this week

[@LeePelling]

Thankyou mate really appreciate that , they are definitely my favourite two from that morning , going to have to return to get on the fort at some point !

[@paulcomptonpdphotography]

What a great tower. I will put in my list to do one day. Nice one

[@LeePelling]

Want to get there an hour before low tide i think I left it a little later!

[@luckysmiler]

i like the photo at 4.51 ,they are all nice really

[@LeePelling]

Thanks Alan, appreciate it, hope your well

[@luckysmiler]

Nice photos

[@JeremyPayne]

Great video Lee, looks lake a fascinating structure mate and you got some great image's. That's a huge tide you got there a long way out. The black and white image was my favorite.

[@LeePelling]

Thanks mate, the tide was pretty big one and it was wrapping around from the sides , can see someone getting caught out pretty easily so i was taking no chances

[@paulcookphotography]

Great video Lee! Got up early for this one (2:30 am). What an interesting building with a great history! Those tides are no joke over there. I almost got cut off in a similar fashion at Crosby Beach, the tide came in from the sides. I use two tide apps, Magic Seaweed and My Tide Times. They always seem to come in handy but probably even moreso over there. Some lovely shots in this film, especially the last two images. I love the moody, minimalist feel in all of these photos. Really enjoyed this one mate. Ok, back to bed for a little while. Hope you are well. Have a great weekend over there! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@LeePelling]

Hi Paul thanks for watching , at such an ungodly hour ! I have those apps and they generally work well but when you dont know an area and how far the tide goes out its hard to know the best time to get to a location, i wish i got there a few hours earlier as i really wanted to get on and explore the tower but i just did not have time. The tide was wrapping around really quick and the video doesnt really show to much but it really was windy. I tried the drone hovered at around three or four feet and the thing was being blown sideways and took some effort to get it back on the causeway , gave up with that idea ! Thanks for watching and hope you managed to get back to sleep lol ! Take care all the best !

[@stylebyaqsa6034]

Good

[@LeePelling]

Thanks

[@PhotosByFinch]

Sorry couldn't help but laugh about the sand almost losing your footwear lol! The exact same thing happened to me at Botany Bay except I DID lose my footwear... Fantastic images mate and my favourite is definitley 08:23. Great vide mate, take care

[@LeePelling]

Thanks Ben , surprising how that sand just sucks on to the boot, nearly fell arse over tit on more than one occasion !

[@thevalleywalker]

An interesting shoot Lee... as the b-roll was running in the beginning I was thinking B&W images but when you showed the 1st image in coilour I thought it looks to work in colour too. It looked a fair way out and I would have been cacking myself with the tides, and I guess anywheer off that causeway would be lethal to step in. I am glad you did a mono for comparsion... I think both colour n B&W work. Unusual building for sure. I nthink the image at 10:57 works well and would be the sort of thing I would be lookingn to shoot. The following image alsao worked well. atb Al

[@LeePelling]

I agree that black and white normally works really well with this sort of subject and conditions however after trying a few i actually preferred the colour versions , except the one i actually left as mono as i felt that did work better. Thanks for the comment mate !

[@AdrenalinePitStop]

Nice one Lew, that’s a new location for new, never seen that image before so well done 👏🏼

[@LeePelling]

Thanks mate

[@AdrenalinePitStop]

@@LeePelling “Lee” 🤦🏻

[@OTWD_yt]

Great shots mate 👍

[@LeePelling]

Thanks mate appreciate it!

[@peterviragphoto]

Great video Lee. Thanks for transporting us to a unique, very interesting location! Glad you got back to the shore just in the nick of time:) I really loved that last frame you took, simplicity at its best! Subbed:) looking forward to checking out more content from you soon! Cheers.

[@LeePelling]

Thanks mate appreciate the comment and thanks for watching it's an unusual location and one with some interesting history , if you enjoy that kind of thing.

[@DanielWretham]

Just watching this give me anxiety about the tide Lee ! I have a real phobia about being cut off ! You got some great images out of it though, Nice one ! hope you're well fella

[@LeePelling]

It well worth being over cautious with something like that, its what keeps you alive ! Thanks for watching mate , hope your well and not to over run with tourists down the west country !

[@DanielWretham]

@@LeePelling too true mate ! I’m good thanks but it’s already silly season down here !

[@AndrewHamiltonPhotography]

What a great find and spot Lee - reminds me of Perch Rock lighthouse up here on the Wirral where the tides come in really quickly and it’s easy to get caught out unawares ! Interesting history and like you I don’t fancy a wild camp there ! Bagged some good images despite the restrictive positions for comps and the last one with the long lens was my favourite - simple straightforward and minimal. Have a great weekend Lee 👍🏻

[@LeePelling]

Hi Andrew i got to admit i really like the last image , a little frustrating as this required the least amount of effort but i like the minimalism and the colour tone so glad you also like that one. The tide was something to really keep an eye on i can see it would be so easy to get into trouble , mind you worst case scenario is you would have to keep shelter on it and wild camp until the tide came in and back out again !!

[@jaynepainter9743]

Great video and stunning shots, if you have a spare 2 million pounds its up for sale with the prestigious address of 1 The Thames. I managed to get some shots of the tower from the sea last year when going out to the Red Sands Towers.

[@LeePelling]

2 Mill !! It would probably cost you at least that to get it to any kind of acceptable condition and to have it as what ? Its a fantastic structure with so much history , would of liked to get on and stay a little longer but lessoned learned to get there on a receding tide !

[@RobOutenPhotography]

Great location to shoot Mate, one to add on my list!!🤣 The final image at 12.12 was stunning, 👌. Thanks for sharing Mate and take care, 👍📸 PS, I sent you a message on Instagram, not sure if you got it? 👍📸

[@LeePelling]

Hi Rob, probably my favourite image as well , hope you are keeping well and work is going well. Just checked Instagram and no message I can see

[@LeePelling]

Forget that just found the message so mate just replied !