Day 162 – Folkestone to Dungeness: 17.5m: 5.8h

Helen is a very welcome addition to today’s starting grid. She and John drove to Kent yesterday and stayed with friends overnight. This morning, they make their way to Folkestone, leaving their car en route at The Captain Howey in New Romney which will be our resting place this evening. In the meantime, Ben, Mike and Gary return to Folkestone Central from St Pancras – and incredibly find that the distance between the station and the esplanade seems to be considerably shorter than when we trudged the other way five weeks ago.

We rendezvous at a café near the bandstand and wend our way down through Lower Leas Gardens to the sea front with John sporting a very smart new jacket. He spent part of yesterday near Dover attempting, without success, to trace the one which was attacked by the brier on our last walk. It looks as though the waterproof qualities of the new model will be put to the test tomorrow which is due to be a day of heavy rain and strong winds. The weather today, whilst cloudy, is dry with just a gentle breeze.

We set off along the sea front around 11:10. As we approach Hythe, we meet Wendy, a friend of John and Helen who also knows Ben and Gary. She lives near Canterbury and has travelled to Hythe to join us for at least part of today’s walk. Shortly after passing Hythe Golf Club, and just over an hour after leaving Folkestone, we have to divert away from the sea front in order to get round the Hythe Rifle Ranges which stretch for a couple of miles or so along the coast. For around 30 minutes, the diversion follows a very attractive tree-lined route by a canal. We then have to walk along a couple of residential streets before reaching a point where paths diverge. One leads south to a road which borders the western end of the rifle ranges and is signposted as being the England Coast Path. The other continues west along the north side of a small lake and, according to John’s map, should rejoin the official coast path at the end of the ranges where the road gets back to the sea front. John, Helen and Mike decide to trust the map and take the lakeside path so as to avoid the road, whereas Ben, Gary and Wendy take the official route which is, in fact, slightly purer. It also transpires to be about 5 minutes quicker when we are reunited on the sea front with neither trio having encountered any navigational (or any other) difficulty. Indeed, the lakeside group has witnessed a maintenance train on the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Light Railway and the road group – or at least the one member of the group tall enough to see over the fence – has witnessed squaddies firing very proficiently at distant targets.      

The shoreline now turns gradually southward, and we’re able to follow it through Dymchurch and St Mary’s Bay to New Romney where we arrive shortly before 4 o’clock. This marks the end of the walk for Helen and Wendy. Helen walks half a mile or so inland to the Captain Howey, and Wendy catches a bus back to Hythe. It’s less than half and hour until sunset, but the rest of us want to get a bit further along the coast so as to reduce the mileage in the anticipated bad weather tomorrow. Our aim is the Pilot pub in Dungeness which is just over an hour away, but the final section should have the benefit of street lights so we hope the gathering darkness won’t be a problem. And our hopes are realised. After a bit of beach action through and beyond Greatstone-on-Sea, we walk over the shingle to the road where the illumination is such that the head lamp which John has brought with him is hardly needed. As we approach Dungeness, John phones Helen to let her know our ETA at the Pilot so that she can collect us there, and also to take her drinks order. Our arrival time is just before 5 o’clock and, despite the relatively early hour and the remote location, the Pilot seems to be doing a reasonable trade in both drink and food. We restrict ourselves to just the one drink before driving to the Captain Howey and having another. The bar there is nowhere near as popular as the Pilot but, when we reconvene for supper later, the food is good, wine (and stickies) are available at reasonable prices, and the service is efficient and friendly. We learn from one particularly chatty waitress about her adoption of stray or injured animals, to include cats, tortoises and birds. An entertaining evening.

Day 161 – St Margaret’s at Cliffe to Folkestone: 13.7m: 5.4h

Almost all of today’s coastal walk will be along cliffs, so once again Ben will be taking an inland route with Gary for (alleged) company. The Parkdean has certainly exceeded expectations, but it doesn’t serve breakfast until 9 o’clock. The four of us are therefore making an early start, and aiming for a breakfast rendezvous around 8:30 in Dover which is about 4 miles away. For John and Mike, early means 6:30. However, they first need to return to St Margaret’s Bay so Ben and Gary (whose route starts immediately outside the holiday park) feel that they can delay their departure time until 7 o’clock. Both sub-teams leave on schedule and so are able to witness a beautiful sunrise at exactly 7:11. (We spent several minutes at the Smugglers last night establishing that this was probably one of the joint earliest sunrise times in the country today.) The French coastline is also clearly visible. Indeed, as was the case yesterday afternoon, John and Mike are sufficiently close to France that the clocks on their phones move forward an hour and Mike receives a message from his service provider informing him of conditions of continental data use.

The first couple of miles of the inland route take Ben and Gary directly westward along a minor road/cycle path which fortunately isn’t very busy. It goes past Swingate Down (which was used by the Royal Flying Corps at the start of WW1 as its final landing ground prior to crossing over to France) before reaching a point which gives views of Dover Castle to the right and Dover Ferry Terminal to the left. Also to the left, the cycle path leaves the road initially in the direction of a Coastguard Station but then, it would appear, down into Dover itself. Given that this is towards the Dover side of the National Trust entrance to the White Cliffs, it’s a reasonably safe bet that following the cycle path will involve no cliff tops, and so it proves. The path zigzags gently down the hillside and eventually goes under the elevated main road into the ferry terminal to reach a narrow lane which leads into the town and, at a junction with the Marine Parade, a Premier Inn. It is quickly determined that this provides an “unlimited cooked breakfast” for £9.50 and this news is immediately communicated to John and Mike. From messages exchanged earlier in the morning, it is assumed by Ben and Gary that the cliff duo’s arrival will not be long delayed, but it transpires that they have encountered a few problems finding a route from the cliffs into Dover. These have included narrow paths at the edge of steep drops, signs warning of danger and closures ahead, attempts to navigate areas covered in briar, and reaching a point very close to the elevated ferry terminal road where the path has come to an end with no route under, over or across the road. They eventually join Ben and Gary at the Premier Inn around 8:40 and we settle down for a relaxed breakfast.

But although the breakfast is relaxed, it’s clear that the navigational problems which John and Mike have just faced were anything but. For example, their attempts to get through or around the briar have resulted in one or two scratches and also in the briar effectively pulling open John’s rucksack. Indeed, as we prepare to leave, John discovers that his jacket is no longer in the rucksack. After a few minutes thought, he decides against retracing his steps in an attempt to find it, and we set off for our next and final rendezvous point today, the bandstand in Folkestone. John and Mike haven’t been deterred from continuing along the cliff top, whereas Ben and Gary walk along a couple of streets, past Dover Priory station and then, via a narrow residential lane, to a long and steep path which takes them into some fields and woods above the north west edge of the town. There are hardly any direction signposts but, on a track through the very aptly named Long Wood, reassurance is given by a couple walking in the other direction that “civilisation” will soon emerge in the form of a field with the village of West Hougham on the other side. From there, it’s just under 5 miles to Folkestone via Capel-le-Ferne and a brief stop shortly after Capel-le-Ferne at the Battle of Britain Memorial.

The road down into Folkestone leads to the harbour, and thankfully it transpires that John and Mike have encountered no further problems and are only 5 or 10 minutes away. Ben and Gary resist the temptation to wait for them in the Harbour Inn and instead continue along the sea front, past a non-operational funicular to a small amphitheatre in Lower Leas Gardens where a zigzag path leads up to the bandstand on the road above the gardens. John and Mike duly emerge from the zigzag path a few minutes later. It’s almost 1:15 and our intended train back to London doesn’t leave until 3 o’clock. However, we decide to get the 20 minute walk to Folkestone Central out of the way before finding a pub, and fortunately not much searching is required. Almost opposite the station is the Park Inn where John initially spends almost as much time considering whether to take an earlier train as he spent in Dover considering the jacket retrieval question. Once again the decision is no, and we have a couple of refreshing pints and packets of crisps before purchasing sandwiches from the nearby Co-op (or in John’s case from the station) and then catching the train to St Pancras.             

Day 160 – Sandwich to St Margaret’s at Cliffe: 16.4m: 5.7h

The team has reverted to its standard complement of 4, with John and Mike making their customary rail journeys to London and joining Ben and Gary at St Pancras. The train to Sandwich is slightly delayed en route but, by the time we arrive, the early morning rain has disappeared and the clouds seem to be lifting. We find our way to the point where the last walk ended, and set off just after 11:30.

For the first hour, we walk north east alongside the River Stour and reach the coast back at Pegwell Bay. It’s now developing into a bright and comfortably warm day and, as we turn south, the breeze is at our backs. The next couple of hours take us alongside Prince’s, Royal St George’s and Royal Cinque Ports golf courses, and it’s only at some point between the latter two that we reckon that we’re further south than our starting point. The sun is out, affording great views back over the bay towards Ramsgate and Broadstairs, and prompting the occasional glance towards the seemingly large number of attractive pubs as we pass through Deal. However, recognising that we are still 6 or 7 miles away from our overnight destination at St Margaret’s at Cliffe, we are not tempted to tarry, and press onwards past Deal Castle and then Walmer Castle which apparently houses a pair of original Wellington Boots – the eponymous Duke having been a resident of the castle as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

Shortly before 4 o’clock, we reach Kingsdown where we anticipate that the only way of continuing along the coast will be via the cliff top. There is a path beneath the cliffs but this comes to an end after less than 10 minutes and we have to return to some steps going up the cliffs and a road leading out of Kingsdown. Because of his discomfort with heights, Ben has already identified an inland route which will avoid the cliffs, and Gary decides to join him. The two of them accordingly set off along the road whilst John and Mike go up the steps. We tentatively plan to meet at the Smugglers, the local pub in St Margaret’s at Cliffe, where we hope to arrive soon after 5 and where we’re due to eat later in the evening. Ben and Gary make good progress. After a few hundred yards walking along the road, they’re able to take a very pleasant cycle path which leads all the way to St Margaret’s and results in them arriving there on schedule. Unfortunately, the Smugglers doesn’t open until 5:30. In the meantime, John and Mike are taking slightly longer to navigate the perhaps more taxing cliff route. Ben and Gary therefore continue to our overnight stop, the Parkdean Resort, a holiday park which includes a hotel. They check in, send a message to John and Mike with the happy news that the hotel has a bar and to take their orders, and settle down with ciders to await their arrival. This isn’t long delayed, but the ups and downs of the cliff route, culminating in a climb of more than 200 steps from St Margaret’s Bay, have clearly been a bit more tiring than ambling along a cycle path. Drinks, and a follow-up round, are quickly dispatched.

We weren’t sure what to expect from a holiday park hotel, and the cost of our overnight stay is somewhat less than we have paid on many previous trips. However, the Parkdean rooms are spacious, clean and comfortable and, after showers/baths, we reconvene and make our way to the Smugglers for supper. And an excellent supper it proves to be. Not the standard pub fare. Ben and John opt for the fresh fish of the day which is bouillabaisse, and Mike and Gary go for cider belly pork and garlic parmesan chicken respectively. The usual bottles of white and red serve as accompaniments. Ben, Mike and Gary then indulge in a large cheeseboard which includes a glass of port each, whilst John chooses a chocolate torte which doesn’t include, but which he supplements with, a glass of port. We return to Parkdean where Ben goes straight to his room. John, Mike and Gary are not too far behind him despite first returning to the bar for a double Jamesons and the occasional glimpse at Forest v Villa on the TV (a 1-1 draw).