Weekend away in Kent 26th-27th October 2024

SATURDAY 26TH OCTOBER 2024

DEAL KENT

Mel and I made our way down to Deal in Kent to spend the weekend in Kent to escape life for a bit. We parked up on the seafront just out of town for free and walked back into Deal. First along the seafront and then along Middle Street. We reached the Saturday market here and had a look around, nothing spectacular I my add!

The Middle Street area of Deal, Kent was once known for its smuggling activities. Smuggling was a notorious part of Deal's history from the 17th to the early 19th century:

Smuggling gangs adapted to the changing tax laws, bringing in goods like tea, spirits, and tobacco.

We pass The Rose PH on the High Street.

A significant landmark on Deal’s High Street for over 200 years.In the Victorian and Edwardian era The Rose was one of the town’s most popular venues for ‘smokers, evening entertainments and posh dinners’. At the time it boasted seven bedrooms, with a commercial room and a billiard room on the first floor and a bar, a smoking room, a parlour and large kitchen on the second floor. In an advertisement from 1897 it describes itself as a ‘Family and Commercial House’ with ‘spacious hall for public and trades dinners and every comfort for golfers, cyclists, anglers etc’.

There was a WWII jeep here supporting the many Poppy sellers along the High Street.

We walk back out onto the Seafront and pass the Deal Timeball Tower.

The Deal Timeball is a Victorian maritime Greenwich Mean Time signal located on the roof of a waterfront four-storey tower in the coastal town of Deal, in Kent. It was established in 1855 by the Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy.

The Timeball Tower stands on the site of an earlier Shutter Telegraph. This early form of optical telegraphy was one of a chain of stations between the Admiralty in London and the Naval Yard at Deal. The telegraph line opened in 1796 and closed in 1814. Its purpose was to allow rapid communication between London and Deal, the latter being an important Naval anchorage during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1805 news of the naval victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson was brought to Deal by the schooner HMS Pickle (after calling at Falmouth), and transmitted by the telegraph to the Admiralty in London.

From 1821 to 1831, the Tower carried a semaphore mast, another form of visual telegraphy which was used signal to ships at anchor in the Downs or passing in the English Channel. it was employed by the Coast Blockade for the Suppression of Smuggling to pass information along the coast. The Blockade was under the auspices of the Navy, and was staffed by their personnel.

The Deal Timeball Tower Museum features exhibits about the history of the tower and its use for navigation aid, fight against smuggling, signalling, and the mechanics of the time ball.

We walk along the beach passing the fishing fleet up on the beach and the closed huts from which the fresh fish is sold.

Deal became a 'limb port' of the Cinque Ports in 1278 and grew into the busiest port in England; today it is a seaside resort, its quaint streets and houses a reminder of its history along with many ancient buildings and monuments.

We reach Deal Castle on the seafront.

Deal Castle is an artillery fort constructed by Henry VIII in Deal, Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended the strategically important Downs anchorage off the English coast. Comprising a keep with six inner and outer bastions, the moated stone castle covered 0.85 acres (0.34 ha) and had sixty-six firing positions for artillery. It cost the Crown a total of £27,092 to build the three castles of Deal, Sandown and Walmer, which lay adjacent to one another along the coast and were connected by earthwork defences. The original invasion threat passed but, during the Second English Civil War of 1648–49, Deal was seized by pro-Royalist insurgents and was only retaken by Parliamentary forces after several months' fighting.

Although it remained armed, Deal was adapted by Sir John Norris and Lord Carrington during the 18th and 19th centuries to form a more suitable private house for the castle's captain, which was by now an honorary position. In 1904, the War Office concluded that the castle no longer had any value either as a defensive site or as a barracks and it was opened to the public when the captain was not in residence. Early in the Second World War, the captain's quarters were destroyed by German bombing, forcing Deal's then-captain, William Birdwood, to move to Hampton Court Palace and the castle became an observation post for an artillery battery placed along the shore line. The castle was not brought back into use as a residence and was restored by the government during the 1950s to form a tourist attraction. 

We back along the beach passing the way we came and back pass the fishing fleet.

Deal is first mentioned as a village in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Addelam. It is referred to as Dela in 1158, and Dale in 1275. The name is the Old English dael meaning 'valley', cognate with the modern English 'dale'. Deal developed into a port by the end of the 13th century. In 1495, the town was the site of an attempted landing by the pretender to the English throne Perkin Warbeck. His supporters were driven off by locals loyal to Henry VII at the Battle of Deal, fought on the beach. Sandown, Deal and Walmer castles were constructed around the town by Henry VIII to protect against foreign naval attack.

In 1699 the inhabitants petitioned for incorporation, since previously the town had been under the jurisdiction of Sandwich and governed by a deputy appointed by the mayor of that town; William III by his charter incorporated the town under the title of mayor, jurats and commonalty of Deal. Deal Town Hall, the former meeting place of Deal Borough Council, was completed in 1803.

In 1861, the Royal Marine Depot was established in the town. In 1989, it was bombed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, killing 11 bandsmen.

We are now approaching Deal Pier.

Deal Pier is the last remaining fully intact leisure pier in Kent. It is the third pier to exist in Deal and was opened in November 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh. Its structure was extensively refurbished and repaired in 1997, with work including the replacement of much of the concrete cladding on the pier's main piles. Work began in April 2008 to construct a new pier-head with a modern restaurant which opened the same year.

The present pier, designed by Sir W. Halcrow & Partners, was opened on 19 November 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh. Constructed predominantly from concrete-clad steel, it is 1,026 feet (313 m) in length and ends in a three-tiered pier-head, featuring a cafe, bar, lounge, and fishing decks. The lowest of the three tiers is almost permanently underwater except for the lowest tide and has become disused. A notice announces that it is the same length as the RMS Titanic, but that ship was over 100 feet (30 m) shorter. The pier is a popular sport fishing venue.

In 2018, the pier underwent restoration at a cost of £500,000, in addition to installing more than 300 metres (980 ft) of gas mains supply, as the pier's own gas supply had developed problems. Refurbishment works included resurfacing, replacement and repainting of railings and an upgrade to the drainage system. The works coincided with the 60 year anniversary of the pier's official opening.

We stop for lunch at Deal Beach Parlour before we walked on popping into an amusement arcade.

Back at the car we drive onto St Margaret's Bay where we are staying for the night.

St Margaret's Bay,Kent.

We arrive at St Margaret's Bay and park in the car park after driving down the steep narrow run down. We sit there trying to get a phone signal to pay for the parking using Ringo, our phones had registered  onto a French network and signal too weak to get a data connection. We move the car to the Coastguard Pub car park instead.

This beautiful hidden gem of White Cliffs Country has at its heart the picturesque seaside village of St. Margaret's-at-Cliffe and secluded cove at St. Margaret's Bay.

First appearing in the Domesday Book as "Sancta Margharita", St Margaret’s is an historical treasure trove. Experience “First Light” at the South Foreland Lighthouse – the first lighthouse to use electric light and the site of Marconi’s first ship-to-shore radio transmission. 

St Margaret’s has been home to some famous faces including Noel Coward and Ian Fleming. Fleming’s book, Moonraker, is largely based in St Margaret’s and nearby Kingsdown.

The surrounding countryside is spectacular at all times of the year, offering an inspiring backdrop to a range of activities. Discover The Frontline Britain Trail, a 4 mile circular route on which you can learn about the role of St Margaret's during the Second World War.

Britain’s nearest pub to France, the Coastguard has kept watch on the sea-front for more than 300 years – and after its refurbishment means you can take in those spectacular bay views in style.

The pub’s look is inspired by maritime heritage, with a red and white lighthouse-style fascia and boat-shaped planters and lifebuoys dotted around the beautiful front veranda – where an outside bar and barbecue set the scene for summer. In winter, the pub offers a haven for those enjoying a bracing walk along Dover’s famed White Cliffs. Inside, the nautical theme continues, with a warm welcome offered to all who come aboard.

We visit The Coastguard pub, Mel has a hot chocolate whilst I get myself a Shepherd Neame Spitfire  Lager and we sit in the garden overlooking the beach. Its too hazy today to be able to see France.

We walk along the stony beach and this is hard going as the stones move beneath your feet.

We visit this unusual cliff bunker used for WW2 located in St Margaret’s Bay, Dover. Tunnel was used as an anti invasion site to counter German forces.

We walk over to what looks like a cave, but on closer inspection it doesn't go back far at all!

Walking away from this cave, the rocks move away from my feet and I end up on my arse!

We walk back to the car and drive the short way to our hotel room at Parkdean St Margaret's Bay, we get ourselves booked in and have a short rest. We then decide we'd take a drive down to the National Trust White Cliffs at Dover.

Dover,Kent

We arrive at the NT White Cliffs of Dover and make use of my NT membership using the free car parking otherwise £6!

We walk down and can see down into the Port of Dover.

The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just 34 kilometres (21 mi) away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime passenger ports, with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries, 2.2 million cars and motorcycles and 80,000 coaches passing through it in 2017, and with an annual turnover of £58.5 million a year. This contrasts with the nearby Channel Tunnel, the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland, which now handles an estimated 20 million passengers and 1.6 million trucks per year.

The modern port facility features a large artificial harbour constructed behind stone piers and a defensive concrete breakwater. The port is divided into two main sections: the Eastern Docks serve as the main cross-channel ferry terminal, while the Western Docks contain a cruise ship terminal and a yacht marina along with cargo facilities.

The Port of Dover has a long history and possesses several listed buildings and structures. The port is owned and operated by the Dover Harbour Board, a statutory corporation formed by royal charter in 1606 by King James I. Most of the board members of the Dover Harbour Board are appointees of the Department for Transport. The port has its own private police force, the Port of Dover Police. The current port traffic volumes and urban population categorize Dover as a Large-Port Town.

The White Cliffs of Dover are the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of 350 feet (110 m), owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposited during the Late Cretaceous. The cliffs, on both sides of the town of Dover in Kent, stretch for eight miles (13 km). The White Cliffs of Dover form part of the North Downs. A section of coastline encompassing the cliffs was purchased by the National Trust in 2016.

The cliffs are part of the Dover to Kingsdown Cliffs Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation. The point where Great Britain is closest to continental Europe, on a clear day the cliffs are visible from France, approximately 20 miles (32 km) away.

The chalk grassland environment above the cliffs is excellent for many species of wild flowers, butterflies and birds, and has been designated a Special Area of Conservation and a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Rangers and volunteers work to clear invasive plants that threaten the native flora. A grazing programme involving Exmoor ponies has been established to help to clear faster-growing invasive plants, allowing smaller, less robust native plants to survive.[18] The ponies are managed by the National Trust, Natural England, and County Wildlife Trusts to maintain vegetation on nature reserves.

The cliffs are the first landing point for many migratory birds flying inland from across the English Channel. After a 120-year absence, in 2009 it was reported that ravens had returned to the cliffs. Similar in appearance but smaller, the jackdaw is abundant. The rarest of the birds that live along the cliffs is the peregrine falcon. In recent decline, the skylark also makes its home on the cliffs. The cliffs are home to fulmars and to colonies of black-legged kittiwake, a species of gull. Since bluebirds are not indigenous to the UK, some believe that bluebirds, as mentioned in the classic World War II song "(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover", composed by American artists, may actually refer to swallows and/or to house martins, which make an annual migration to continental Europe, many of them crossing the English Channel at least twice a year.

Its started raining so we make our way back to the Visitor Centre, have a quick look around.

We leave the White Cliffs and drive down into Dover, passing Dover Castle to visit a supermarket. We then drove back to the hotel, where we rested before going to the clubhouse for dinner and drinks and of course bingo for Mel.

Sunday 27th October 2024

Canterbury, Kent

The next day we checked out and drove half hour up the road to Canterbury. I've visited many times before but still love this city.

Canterbury is a popular tourist destination, with the city's economy heavily reliant upon tourism, alongside higher education and retail. As of 2011, the city's population was over 55,000, including a substantial number of students and one of the highest student-to-permanent-resident ratios in Britain.

We park up at Toddlers Cove Car Park (CT2 8BG) and walk along the beautiful River Stour into the city.

The site of the city has been occupied since Paleolithic times and served as the capital of the Celtic Cantiaci and Jute Kingdom of Kent. Many historical structures fill the area, including a city wall founded in Roman times and rebuilt in the 14th century, the Westgate Towers museum, the ruins of St Augustine's Abbey, the Norman Canterbury Castle, and the oldest extant school in the world, the King's School. Modern additions include the Marlowe Theatre and Kent County Cricket Club's St Lawrence Ground. Canterbury Cathedral is known for its architecture, its music, and for being the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury; it receives a million visitors per year.

We walk through Westgate Gardens beside the River Stour, with a 200 year-old plane tree and a Victorian Tower House.

The Westgate beside the River Stour

The Westgate is a medieval gatehouse in Canterbury, Kent, England. This 60-foot (18 m) high western gate of the city wall is the largest surviving city gate in England. Built of Kentish ragstone around 1379, it is the last survivor of Canterbury's seven medieval gates, still well-preserved and one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. The road still passes between its drum towers. This scheduled monument and Grade I listed building houses the West Gate Towers Museum as well as a series of historically themed escape rooms.

The Westgate

Canterbury was walled by the Romans around 300 AD. This has been consistently the most important of the city's gates as it is the London Road entrance and the main entrance from most of Kent. The present towers are a medieval replacement of the Roman west gate, rebuilt around 1380. There was a gate here at the time of the Norman conquest, which is thought to have been Roman. From late Anglo-Saxon times it had the Church of the Holy Cross on top, but both church and gate were dismantled in 1379, and the gate was rebuilt by Archbishop Simon Sudbury before he died in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. It has been suggested that it was built primarily as an entrance for pilgrims visiting the shrine of St Thomas Becket at the cathedral. However the rebuild as a defensive status symbol was paid for partly by Sudbury and partly by taxation for military protection against expected raids by the French.

In 1453 Henry VI permitted the Mayor and Commonality to keep a jail at the Westgate, so the building was Canterbury's prison from the 15th to the 19th century, while Canterbury Castle was the county jail. In January 1648, after the Christmas Day riot, Parliamentarians burnt down all the wooden doors of the city's gates. They were all replaced in 1660, but these replacements were removed at the end of the eighteenth century. They were similar to the surviving wooden Christ Church gates at the cathedral. After repairs to the Westgate and jail in 1667, a pound was built on the north side for the hail; this is now gone, but Pound Lane remains. The guard rooms, heavily wood-lined in the eighteenth century, became cells for both debtors and criminals, and the room over the arch became the condemned cell with the portcullis now laid on top. Until 1775 there was a grated cage in the prison gateway, where certain prisoners were allowed to beg for alms and speak with passers by. Capital punishment was normally the gallows, plus the stake at Wincheap for religious martyrs in the time of Queen Mary.

We stroll along the High Street, popping in and out of a few shops.

The siege of Canterbury saw a large Viking army besiege Canterbury in 1011, culminating in the city being pillaged. Remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resist William the Conqueror's invasion in 1066. William immediately ordered a wooden motte-and-bailey castle to be built by the Roman city wall. In the early 12th century, the castle was rebuilt with stone. Canterbury Castle was captured by the French Prince Louis during his 1215 invasion of England, before the death of John caused his English supporters to desert his cause and support the young Henry III.

Black Death reached Canterbury in 1348. At 10,000, Canterbury had the 10th largest population in England; by the early 16th century, the population had fallen to 3,000. In 1363, during the Hundred Years' War, a Commission of Inquiry found disrepair, stone-robbing and ditch-filling had led to the Roman wall becoming eroded. Between 1378 and 1402, the wall was virtually rebuilt, and new wall towers were added. In 1381, during Wat Tyler's Peasants' Revolt, the castle and Archbishop's Palace were sacked, and Archbishop Sudbury was beheaded in London. In 1413, Henry IV became the only sovereign to be buried at the cathedral. In 1448 Canterbury was granted a City Charter, which gave it a mayor and a high sheriff; the city still has a Lord Mayor and Sheriff.

We stop by Old Weavers House on the High Street and beside the River Stour.

The Old Weavers House is a gorgeous half-timbered building on the River Stour. The river quite literally laps at the side of the building, which currently houses a popular restaurant.

The Old Weavers House takes its name from the influx of Flemish and Huguenot weavers who settled in the area after fleeing from religious persecution during the 16th and 17th centuries. Elizabeth I granted the Flemish weavers the right to establish their businesses in Canterbury, and they are known to have used this and other similar buildings nearby.

Despite the date 1500 which can be seen prominently displayed above the door, this house probably dates back to at least the 14th century. The current building largely dates to a reconstruction in the second half of the 16th century, not the first, as you might assume by the sign!

At the rear of the Old Weavers House is a medieval ducking stool, jutting out over the river. This ducking stool was historically used as a method of punishing 'scolds' - women accused by their husbands of talking back too much! The stool may also have been used as a more severe punishment for suspected witches. The suspected witch was dunked under the water and held there for several minutes. If she (it was usually a female) did not drown, she was proved a witch. If she drowned, at least her name was cleared!

We pass the Canterbury Museum, Visitor Info and Beaney House of art and knowledge.

We walk down Mercery Lane with great views to Canterbury Catherdral.

Canterbury Cathedral is the cathedral of the archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Located in Canterbury, Kent, it is one of the oldest Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ, Canterbury.

Founded in 597, the cathedral was completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077. The east end was greatly enlarged at the beginning of the 12th century, and largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174, with significant eastward extensions to accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170. The Norman nave and transepts survived until the late 14th century, when they were demolished to make way for the present structures.

Before the English Reformation, the cathedral was part of a Benedictine monastic community known as Christ Church, Canterbury, as well as being the seat of the archbishop.

The Cathedral was open for service only as its a Sunday.

We are now standing in Buttermarket.

In 1519 a public cage for talkative women and other wrongdoers was set up next to the town's pillory at the Bullstake, now the Buttermarket. In 1522 a stone cross with gilt lead stars was erected at the same place, and painted with bice and gilded by Florence the painter.

The Canterbury War Memorial.

This memorial commemorates the residents of Canterbury who were killed or missing in the WWI (531 names) and the WWII (261 names).

Tower of St. Mary Magdelene

The tower is all that remains of the medieval church of St Mary Magdalene, which stands near the eastern end of Burgate, in the heart of historic Canterbury, a short stroll from the cathedral. The church was pulled down in 1871 after it had become ruinous. The tower is a 1503 rebuilding of an earlier medieval structure.

In a specially built display area at the base of the tower is a fanciful Baroque memorial to the Whitfield family, dated 1680. This monument is in the Flemish style often associated with Grinling Gibbons and Arnold Quellin. It has been restored with the help of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Beside the tower, in the area formerly occupied by part of the old church, is a pleasant garden area, behind which is the 19th-century Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury.

We walk on through the city.

Visiting a market and more shops

View down Butchery Lane back to The Cathedral.

We stop for a Cornish pastry and coffee on the High Street.

We now walk back along the Stour back to the car for the drive home.

Dover to Hythe, Kent Walk 18th December 2017

On Monday the 18th December 2017 Dan and I set off for Hythe, for another Kent Coastal walk. We arrived in Hythe and parked up in West Parade where there is free parking. We walked down into the town to find a bus stop to take us to the beginning of the walk in Dover.

Hythe

We found a bus stop and after a 9 minute wait we boarded a 102 Stagecoach bus to Dover (Not cheap at £5.10 for a single!). It was a long 53 minute drive before we eventually arrived in Dover We alighted at the end of the route in Pencester Road and made our way through Pencester Park.

Up above us sat Dover Castle. Dover Castle’s position, commanding the shortest sea crossing between England and the Continent, has given it immense strategic importance. The chalk of Castle Hill has been shaped and reshaped over the centuries into massive earthworks, ditches and mounds. Imposing walls and towers have been raised and networks of tunnels built beneath them. King Henry II began the building of the present castle in the 1180s, and over the next 800 years its buildings and defences were adapted to meet the changing demands of weapons and warfare.

Many centuries before King Henry II began the great stone castle here in the 1180s, its spectacular location above the famous white cliffs may well have been the site of an Iron Age hillfort.

The Romans built a lighthouse – one of the best-preserved in Europe – on the heights here after they invaded in AD 43, to guide ships into the harbour. The Anglo-Saxon church beside the lighthouse was once probably part of a Saxon fortified settlement. Restored in the late 19th century by Sir George Gilbert Scott and William Butterfield, it is the largest and finest Saxon building in Kent.

Immediately after his victory at Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror strengthened the defences with an earthwork and timber-stockaded castle. From then on Dover Castle was garrisoned uninterruptedly until 1958.

In the 1180s Henry II remodelled the castle, planning its great tower as a palace in which to entertain great visitors as well as a last redoubt for a strategically important castle. At 83 feet (25.3 metres) high, just under 100 feet (30 metres) square and with walls up to 21 feet (6.5 metres) thick, it has three floors of rooms, the topmost being state apartments for the king himself.

Within this magnificent showpiece, Henry could welcome and impress distinguished visitors to England – particularly noble pilgrims travelling to the new shrine in Canterbury Cathedral of Thomas Becket. The archbishop was slaughtered in front of the altar there by Henry’s household knights on 29 December 1170, ten years before the great tower was begun. On the second floor of the great tower is a chapel dedicated to Becket, with richly decorated stonework. 

Building work continued in the first half of the 13th century under King John and Henry III, who completed the successive rings of defensive walls surrounding the great tower.

 

In 1216–17 these defences were twice put to the test when Dover withstood a long siege by an invasion force led by Prince Louis of France in support of English barons rebelling against King John. The fortress resisted ten months of bombardment by siege engines, undermining by tunnels and eventually hand-to-hand fighting.

Following the siege, John’s son Henry III added three powerful new gatehouses and a fortified spur extension to the castle. By the 1250s the medieval defences had assumed the extent and shape they retain today, a highly visible symbol of English royal power.

In October 1265 the castle was again besieged, this time by Prince Edward, Henry III’s son. Holding the castle was Eleanor de Montfort, the king’s sister and widow of rebel baron Simon de Montfort, who had been killed at the Battle of Evesham that summer. Attacked not only from outside but by royalist prisoners inside the castle, Eleanor negotiated an honourable settlement and was exiled to France.

After the Middle Ages Dover was continuously garrisoned into the 20th century. Although it declined in importance from the 16th century, it still hosted royal visits by Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Charles I’s queen, Henrietta Maria.

From the 1740s onwards the medieval banks and ditches were reshaped as the castle was adapted for artillery warfare. Later in the 18th century, when England faced the threat of invasion from Napoleonic France, even more spectacular additions were made to the castle’s defences. To house the huge numbers of troops needed to man them, a network of tunnels was dug in from the cliff face for use as barracks.

 

By 1905 advances in technology made it possible for coastal artillery around the harbour to be controlled from a central Fire Command Post built on the cliff edge. Its commanding position led the Admiralty to site a signal station on top of it in 1914, from which the Navy controlled the movement of all ships in and out of the harbour.

The Napoleonic tunnels were brought back into service in the Second World War, when they made their most notable contribution to British history. From 1939 they housed the command centre that controlled naval operations in the Channel. It was from here that in May 1940 Vice-Admiral Bertram Ramsay organised the extraordinary evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk, codenamed Operation Dynamo.

Over the next few years the tunnels were greatly extended to serve as both a hospital and a large combined headquarters, responsible for guarding the Straits of Dover and involved in preparing for the 1944 invasion of Europe.

Later, during the Cold War, this network of tunnels was transformed into the secret location of one of Britain’s Regional Seats of Government, with the role of organising life in the event of a nuclear attack.

We walked on and passed St James Church. St James' Church is a ruined church in Dover, England. It was built in the 11th century and restored in the 19th century. Badly damaged in the Second World War, it is now preserved as a Grade II listed ancient monument.

It was originally a Norman building: the Norman arch, with typical chevron patterns, can still be seen.

The church was mentioned in the Domesday Monachorum, compiled in the time of Lanfranc who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1070 to 1089. This book, a text related to the Domesday Book, mentions it as one of the churches in Dover.

It was a meeting place of the official courts of the Barons of the Cinque Ports; they met in an addition to the south side of the nave, built in the 14th century. The last such meeting held here took place in 1851, presided over by the Duke of Wellington who was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

A new church was built from 1860–1862 to replace this church, which had become too small for the congregation. The new building was a short distance to the north, where more space was available, on Maison Dieu Road. The old church was closed in 1862; however, it was restored in 1869, and an organ was installed.

The old building was damaged during the First World War: on 19 March 1916 a seaplane dropped bombs which fell nearby, and pieces of the bomb caused damage to the roof. It was restored in 1931.

Both buildings were severely damaged during the Second World War. The church on Maison Dieu Road was demolished in 1953. The tower of the old church, already badly damaged, collapsed on 2 May 1951; the building was then made safe and preserved as a "tidy ruin".

We made our way to the seafront where we could see the bust port of Dover. The Port of Dover is Europe’s busiest ferry port, a vital international gateway for the movement of passengers and trade. It is also an award-winning cruise port, the second busiest in the UK and hosts some of the world’s most prestigious cruise lines. Other successful businesses include a cargo terminal, a top award-winning marina and several niche activities. The business mix is diverse.

We walked along the seafront making our way towards Folkestone, hoping to just follow the seafront. This was not the case as it turns out!

Twin ‘Crest of a Wave’ sculptures by Ray Smith on Dover seafront looking towards the western entrance and on the right the Prince of Wales Pier. Memorial for the cross Channel swimmers.

We pass a few historic places of interest.  

The Dover Strait coastal guns were British and German long-range coastal artillery pieces, on the English Channel coasts of Kent, England and the Pas-de-Calais, occupied France. The Strait of Dover is the narrowest channel between England and continental Europe. During the Second World War, both sides used their guns to bombard shipping in the Channel as well as coastal towns and military installations.

We reach the marina where construction work was taking place and we are diverted here and there only for the path to end with a closed sign abruptly. We double back and make the decision its probably best too make our way along the road to get out of Dover, which couldn't come quick enough yet another horrible grim port town!

So along the A20 we walk with lorries hurtling past and the smell of diesel fumes. Not what you expect from a coastal walk. We reach Elizabeth Street and pass Dover Harbour Station.

After walking along another road we reach another dead end! So walk back and stay on the A20 out!!

We pass Archcliffe Fort. Archcliffe Fort stands on a headland overlooking Dover harbour, known as Archcliffe Point. In 1370 a watchtower, surrounded by a chalk bank and ditch was built on the site of the present Archcliffe Fort. This fortification remained substantially unchanged until 1539 when Henry Vlll ordered that a substantial bulwark be constructed. Later when the Spanish Armada threatened the south coast, this fort had to be strengthened.

During the 17th and 18th centuries repairs and improvements were made, including the building of two new guard houses, raising the parapet and the construction of new barracks. During the Napoleonic Wars additional money was spent on the fort, but it became less important after the Western Heights defences were fully in place. In the 1920s the southern half of the fort was demolished to make way for a railway line. It was decommissioned in 1956 and part of it was removed to widen the A20. Today it is used by the Emmaus Community, a group working to help homeless people by providing accommodation and work for them.

We reach a footpath (North Downs Way) that leads up a very muddy wet and slippery path up the cliff.

Dover Immigration Centre.

Railway tracks through the cliffs.

Looking back to Dover.

Very muddy indeed

We reach the top and walk on. Still very noisy from the nearby A20.

I am regretting not taking my walking boots, my walking shoes are getting wet and my feet damp. I thought being chalk cliffs it'd all be well drained soil.

Samphire hoe coming  into view

Ventilation shaft for the railway beneath

Down below is Samphire Hoe.

Samphire Hoe is named after the wild plant rock samphire that was once collected from the Dover cliffs; its fleshy green leaves were picked in May and pickled in barrels of brine and sent to London, where it was served as a dish to accompany meat. A 'hoe' is a piece of land which sticks out into the sea.

The name was coined by Mrs Gillian Janaway, a retired English teacher from Dover, by way of a public competition.

The cliffs above the current park were blown up with gunpowder in 1843 to aid the creation of the Dover to Folkestone railway. In 1880 an attempt was made from the site to create a tunnel that would pass under the English Channel but it failed shortly afterwards. In 1895 a coal mine was sunk there but this closed in 1921 after being very unsuccessful. These activities were served by Shakespeare Cliff Halt railway station at the western end of the Shakespeare Cliff tunnel; the remains of the platforms can be seen from the road to the car park. A community of fisherfolk and others once lived at the foot of Shakespeare Cliff.

In the 1980s the site was deemed the most suitable of sixty proposed to dump chalk from Channel Tunnel excavations, and work began on it in 1988. As the 30 hectares that make up the park were totally reclaimed from the sea, the first job to be completed was the building of walls in the sea to create an artificial lagoon. It was completed in 1994 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II and President François Mitterrand. It opened to the public in 1997.

Up atop the cliffs are the remains of Hougham Battery.

Hougham Battery is a World War II coastal defence battery built in 1941 between Dover and Folkestone. It is on the cliff-edge between Abbot's Cliff and Shakespeare Cliff.

The battery is equipped with three 8-inch (203 mm) Mark VIII naval guns. The complex was built in 1941 and manned by men of 520 Coastal Regiment Royal Artillery^.

The construction of the A20 in the 1970s caused most of the battery to be covered with earth, so little can be seen on the surface, though access is possible to the underground battery plotting room. Some of the observation posts on the cliff edge are also visible.

The batteries to the east and west of Dover were each designated as a fortress and each fortress had an underground plotting room from where the guns could be controlled. At Hougham. there are No.1, No.2 and No.3 Gun emplacements.

Rifle Range

FLORA CALCAREA - 2005

Commisioned by Sustrans, the UK cycle network, Flora Calcarea is a series of works in limestone and bronze along the route between Dover and Folkestone. Like petrified herbaria they draw attention to the unique local flora along the route.

The Abbotts Cliff Mirror.

From the fortification you will see the enormous sound mirror constructed in the 1920s as a pre-radar warning system. Acting like a gigantic outer ear, it could detect the noise of enemy aircraft long before the human ear could. But the mirrors were rendered obsolete soon after completion. As technology advanced, ever-quicker enemy planes could be buzzing overhead by the time the alarm was raised.

Strange cut-out fortifications along the coast - these were often used as artillery placements in the Second World War.

We leave the cliffs and onto the Old Folkestone Road where we pass Mena House,Harbour view and Clement House.

We walk on through Capel-Le-Ferne and pass some Caravan sites.

We have had enough of the wet grass and mud so we leave the path and walk along New Dover Road that runs parallel.

We pass the Lighthouse Inn in Capel-Le-Ferne. The Lighthouse Inn, Capel Le Ferne is a beautiful cliff top hotel overlooking the Great British Channel.

We now take a footpath to rejoin the path we left. This is down the cliff steeply before climbing steeply again on the other side slip and sliding as we go.

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We eventually emerge at The Battle Of Britain Memorial. The National Memorial to the Few is a peaceful space, ideal for quiet reflection, atop the famous White Cliffs and offering superb views across the Channel to France.  The central statue of a lone pilot is complemented by the Christopher Foxley-Norris Memorial Wall, two replica aircraft and other items of interest.

After the fall of France in June 1940, Adolf Hitler contemplated invading Britain.

Before this could be attempted, the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, had to destroy RAF Fighter Command and thus achieve control of the skies over southern England.

So the Battle of Britain came to be fought – officially between July 10 and October 31 1940 – and the Luftwaffe, and therefore the invasion plan, was thwarted.

The spearhead of the British defence was just under 3000 pilots and other aircrew of Fighter Command, of whom well over 500 died from all causes during the Battle. Their contribution at a turning point in British history was eventually recognised by the immediate award of the 1939-45 Star with Battle of Britain Clasp.

In a speech in the House of Commons on August 20 1940, as the Battle raged, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister, referred to the British airmen who by their prowess and devotion were turning the tide of World War.

He went on to declare, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Ever since, those who fought in the Battle have been referred to as “The Few”.

Those who earned that title are quick to stress the contribution to their victory of many other men and women in the RAF, as well as in the Royal Navy and Army and civilians in many capacities.

They often, too, stress the contribution to final victory in 1945 of the man who led them, Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding (1882-1970). It is often argued that without Dowding’s victory in 1940, other Generals would have been denied their triumphs later in the war.

The feeling of respect was mutual. To the normally unemotional Air Chief Marshal Dowding, The Few were, “My Dear Fighter Boys”.

Lone Pilot looking out to sea.

Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, GCB, GCVO, CMG (24 April 1882 – 15 February 1970) was an officer in the Royal Air Force. He served as a fighter pilot and then as commanding officer of No. 16 Squadron during the First World War. During the inter-war years he became Air Officer Commanding Fighting Area, Air Defence of Great Britain and then joined the Air Council as Air Member for Supply and Research. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, and is generally credited with playing a crucial role in Britain's defence, and hence, the defeat of Adolf Hitler's plan to invade Britain. He was unwillingly replaced in command in November 1940 by Big Wing advocate Sholto Douglas.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand soldier, First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander. He was in operational command during two of the most significant air battles in the European theatre in the Second World War, helping to win the Battle of Britain and the Battle of Malta. In Germany, he was supposedly known as "the Defender of London".

Statue of Bob the Squadron Dog, Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne

Hurricane

Hurricane

Spitfire

Spitfire

We rejoin the footpath and carry on towards Folkestone. 

View down to Folkestone

Martello Tower. This is Tower 2 is about 50 feet lower than No.1, and sited on a small knoll slightly further inland, where Wear Bay Road is now situated. The tower was purchased from Folkestone Corporation in 1964, converted into a house, with a swimming pool on the roof. This has been replaced with a full roof, similar to that on Tower 8.
Extra windows have been added and the exterior coated with a coloured lime rendering. Surrounded by tall trees and situated up a private track, the tower is really only visible from a high position, such as the roof of Tower 3. The tower is a private residence.

Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards

Martello Towers stand up to 40 feet (12m) high, with two floors, and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15-25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360 degree arc.

Tower 1 stands 200 feet up on the cliffs above East Wear Bay, within sight of Towers 2 and 3 below, all of which could have benefited from the addition of moats. It was quite possibly used by the Coast Blockade and Coast Guard, but was described as unoccupied and missing its outer skin of brickwork as early as 1870. By the 1970's Folkestone Corporation had bought the tower and begun repair work. By the 1990's, the stucco cement rendering had been replaced with one of brick, and with a ground-level door and extra windows added at both floor levels, the tower became a residence.

Marc Schmitz and Dolgor Ser-Od – “Siren”

The artists have separate practices, but have collaborated on Siren. They were intrigued both by the beauty and the redundancy of the technology of the ‘listening ears’ (early warning acoustic mirrors) at nearby Denge (Dungeness). Siren is intended to evoke an unfamiliar technology, as if it has ‘landed from space’. It amplifies sound coming from far away, but adds the possibility of ‘speaking back’ by becoming a megaphone. Sited overlooking Folkestone Harbour, it gathers the noise of the waves (like a sea shell) and is a reminder of the fog horn that until recently sounded from the lighthouse on the Harbour Arm.

We walk along the beach to the harbour, where I see "The Mermaid On Sunny Sands".

The model for the mermaid was mum-of-two Georgina Baker, 38, of Meadowbrook, Folkestone, who was picked from a number of nominations.

She had a cast taken of her naked body, which Miss Parker worked from.

In 1541, King Henry was about to wage a war against the French. A plan was made to use Folkestone as a port of embarkation to supplies and troops. He sent a Master Tuk and Master Captain of Sandgate to look for a site for the new harbour. Plans were made but never implemented. On 2 May 1542, the King came to Folkestone but then headed to Dover on 6 May. The Folkestone Harbour plan was abandoned.

In 1703, a heavy storm swept away one of the fishing boats on the shingle beach and damaged many other boats. Also several houses had their foundations undermined as the beach was carried away. An engineer from Romney Marsh advised the local fisherman that the construction of 3 timber/stone jetties would protect the cliff (below the parish church). The work cost the fishermen £600. But in a storm in 1724, the three jetties were demolished and damage costing up to £1,100 was done.

In 1790, Edward Hasted noted, 8-10 'luggerboats' (used for herring and mackerel fishing), plus 30 smaller fishing boats (catching plaice, sole, whiting, skate, and others) employed up to 200-300 men and boys. This fish was then taken up to the London markets.

It remained a small fishing community with a seafront that was continually battered by storms and the encroaching shingle made it hard to land boats. And the loss of life, boats and damage to fisherman's housing was a constant threat.

In 1804, the Earl of Radnor had petitioned Parliament for the construction of a stone harbour. In 1807, an Act of Parliament was passed to build a pier and harbour, which was built by Thomas Telford in 1809. In 1810, the new harbour of local sand stone was complete. By 1820, a harbour area of 14 acres (5.7 hectares) had been enclosed. Folkestone's trade and population grew slightly but development was still hampered by sand and silt from the Pent Stream. The Folkestone Harbour Company invested heavily in removing the silt but with little success. In 1842, the company became bankrupt and the Government put the derelict harbour up for sale. It was bought by the South Eastern Railway Company (SER), which was then building the London to Dover railway line. George Turnbull was responsible in 1844 for building the Horn pier. Dredging the harbour, and the construction of a rail route down to it, began almost immediately, and the town soon became the SER’s principal packet station for the Continental traffic to Boulogne.

In 1849, the harbour was used by up to 49,000 passengers, and was being served by the Folkestone Harbour railway station, opened that year.

In 1860, the quay was built and a new fish market was opened on 2 August 1862. During the 19th century, the harbour was importing coal, timber and ice, being unloaded in the inner harbour. Chalk (for lime burning) was being exported. Many of the ships in this export/import trade were registered in Folkestone.

During World War I, the harbour became a huge embarkation point for British troops heading to France and the Western Front. It was recorded that 10,463,834 military mailbags were handled. The harbour also handled 120,000 war refugees.In the 1920s, the sail ships had been replaced by steam ships, who were using the outer harbour. The inner harbour had then started being used by smaller private craft.

During World War II, the port closed to civilian boat usage and 44,000 personnel used the port during the Dunkirk Evacuation, filling up to eighty trains heading to London.In 1945, cargo services returned to the harbour and ferries went to Calais and Belgium. On 1 August 1946, the 'SS Auto Carrier' started carrying cars to Boulogne. July 1947 the Folkestone-Boulogne service resumed after a winter break. Over 67,000 passengers had used the service.

In 1960, the services were very popular and were carrying over 800,000 passengers, 438cars and 276 lorries or commercial vehicles. In 1971-2, a Roll-on/roll-off ramp was built for two new ships, Hengist and Horsa. By 1972, the Folkestone to Boulogne, Calais and Ostend services were carrying up to 1,266,783 passengers, 913,160 cars, 5,633 commercial vehicles and 31,594 freight vehicles (lorries and trucks).

In 2001, all ferry services stopped. During this ferry service time, the fishing industry was going through various changes and by 2002, only 10 boats (with 30 men) were employed in the fishing industry.

In 2010 a plan was commissioned for the development of the harbour and seafront from architect Sir Terry Farrell and Partners, and outline planning permission was granted in summer 2013. Clearance of redundant and dilapidated buildings took place in 2014/15, and stonework and original steelwork on the harbour arm has been carefully restored so that the area can be opened up to the public as a new pier and promenade from the summer of 2015. Much of the former fairground site is being used for car parking and temporary recreational use whilst preparations continue for the rest of the development.

A plan was developed by the Remembrance Line Association which is based on retaining the harbour railway and its station as a major heritage/tourist operation and 'Leaving for War' museum given the significance of the Folkestone Harbour Branch in both World Wars which is important to the Allied and Commonwealth nations. The harbour railway station, unused by regular trains since 2000, has succumbed to nature, and the Office of the Rail Regulator confirmed the permanent closure of the branch line in summer 2014.

I was upset to see all the seafood places closed, I know its Winter but I was looking forward to some seafood.

We follow Lower Sandgate Road along the seafront.

We trundle through the shingle to join the boardwalk footpath along the beach.

Lubaina Himid’s Jelly Mould Pavilion

Lubaina Himid’s Jelly Mould Pavilion is perfectly positioned, it didn’t really say jelly mould at the time, it still doesn’t really, the pavilion is brilliantly positioned – it seems the artist has a thing for jelly Moulds –  The artist has collected ceramic jelly moulds for many years, adding her own painted pattern decorations. In 2010, in Liverpool, she laid out 30 Victorian moulds as if they were architectural maquettes, in an exhibition paying tribute to the Black community, recalling the slave trade and sugar plantations. One of these has now been realised as a full-scale pavilion in Folkestone. It sits looking out to sea on the former ‘Rotunda’ site, which was until recently filled with amusement arcades, a roller coaster and a Lido Pool, the sugar of candy floss and toffee apples fuelling the fun of summer visitors.

Leas Lift

Originally installed in 1885, in Folkestone, Kent, the Grade II Listed, Leas Lift is a funicular railway which carries passengers between the seafront and the promenade. It is one of the oldest water lifts in the UK.

The lift operates using water and gravity and is controlled from a small cabin at the top of the cliff. It has carried more than 50 million people since it opened, in a process that is especially energy efficient. The lift has a very small carbon footprint, as it emits no pollution and recycles all of the water used to drive the cars.

On June 1991, one of the lifts was seen in an episode of The Darling Buds of May (TV series). David Jason, Pam Ferris, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Philip Franks, Anna Massey and Moray Watson all appeared on the lift.

In June 2009, Shepway District Council’s lease ran out and it was decided that the lift was too expensive to run. Campaigners subsequently protested against the closure of the lift and in April 2010, it was announced that the lift was to be restored.

 In January 2017, the lift again closed temporarily, because of an unsafe brake, which cost £80,000 to replace. A new company set up to organise funds to help repair the lift. Folkestone Leas Lift Company (FLLC) was set up and with funding from the Radnor Estate and the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, The company also got funding from Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), so that repairs could be made and the lift should re-opened in 2018.

Beach Hut in the Style of Nicholas Hawksmoor was designed as an homage to the architectural vocabulary of the Baroque architect.

London artist Pablo Bronstein has created a combined lighthouse and beach hut for the Folkestone Triennial, incorporating exaggerated features that reference the work of 18th century architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.

We now enter Sandgate and pass Sandgate Castle.

Sandgate Castle is an artillery fort originally constructed by Henry VIII in Sandgate in Kent, between 1539 and 1540. It formed part of the King's Device programme to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and defended vulnerable point along the coast. It comprised a central stone keep, with three towers and a gatehouse. It could hold four tiers of artillery, and was fitted with a total of 142 firing points for cannon and handguns.

Sandgate was taken by Parliament in 1642 at the start of the first English Civil War, and was seized by Royalist rebels in the second civil war of 1648. The castle was extensively redesigned between 1805 and 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars. The height of the castle was significantly reduced and the keep was turned into a Martello tower; when the work was completed, it was armed with ten 24-pounder (11 kg) guns and could hold a garrison of 40 men.

The castle had begun to suffer damage from the sea by the early 17th century, and by the middle of the 19th century, the receding coastline had reached the edge of the castle walls. The high costs of repair contributed to the government's decision to sell the site off in 1888. It was initially bought by a railway company and then passed into private ownership. Coastal erosion continued and by the 1950s, the southern part of the castle had been destroyed by the sea. The remaining castle was restored between 1975 and 1979 by Peter and Barbara McGregor, who turned the keep into a private residence. In the 21st century, Sandgate remains in private ownership, and is protected under UK law as a grade I listed building

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We walk on into Hythe after a long day as the sun begins to set.

We arrive in Hythe where we left the car.

Hythe is a small coastal market town on the edge of Romney Marsh, in the District of Shepway (derived from Sheep Way) on the south coast of Kent. The word Hythe or Hithe is an Old English word meaning haven or landing place.

The town has medieval and Georgian buildings, as well as a Saxon/Norman church on the hill and a Victorian seafront promenade. Hythe was once defended by two castles, Saltwood and Lympne. The town hall, a former guildhall, was built in 1794, its fireplace designed by the Adam Brothers^.

Hythe's market once took place in Market Square (now Red Lion Square) close to where there is now a farmers' market every second and fourth Saturday of the month. Hythe has gardening, horse riding, bowling, tennis, cricket, football, squash and sailing clubs. Lord Deedes was patron of Hythe Civic Society, and the hounds of the East Kent Hunt are kennelled in nearby Elham.

As an important Cinque Port Hythe once possessed a bustling harbour which, over the past three hundred years, has now disappeared due to silting. Hythe was the central Cinque Port, sitting between Hastings and New Romney to the west and Dover and Sandwich to the east.

According to Hasted, a French fleet approached Hythe in 1293 and landed 200 men, but "the townsmen came upon them and slew every one of them: upon which the rest of the fleet hoisted sail and made no further attempt".

In 1348 the Black Death afflicted Hythe, and in 1400 the plague further reduced the population.

Hythe has no coat of arms; but the corporation seal represents an antique vessel, with one mast, two men in it, one blowing a horn; and two men lying on the yard arm.

Hythe is also the birthplace of Mackeson Stout, a type of beer.

Hythe Ranges is a military training ground that takes up a large section of the Hythe shoreline. Access to this section of the shore is restricted when red flags are showing.

We pass a trailer "Gump Around The UK".  Follow the Journey of Shane (Forest Gump / Friar Tuck / Badger) as he walks / rides with his 6 rescue dogs as the mosey there way around the coast of Britain raising money for Children with cancer

A bit from Shane

My reason for the 6.000 miles I'm about to walk and ride .over the last 3 years I nearly lost my life to cancer and was so I'll I was unable to work which resulted in me getting into debt then to knock the nail on the head my private rented property was sold under my feet and I was given only 2 weeks to vacate so am now living in my tent with my beautiful 6 rescue dogs the cubs and with no chance of being rehoused I have decided not to become just another statistic when I was sick the one thing that touched my heart was the bravery of children that were very sick I have been given a second chance some of the little ones I met wasn't so lucky so I have decided to walk ride the entire coast of the UK to raise money for these children money raised will not go towards a cure but just to better there days so donations will go to one in a life time holidays and hospital equipment a crowd funding page will soon be opened that I will not have access to any donations would be amazing no matter the size i will not waste the time I have been given I may not be able to change my situation but if maybe I could change the children's then something amazing could come from a bad situation thank you xxxx

#Gumparoundtheuk

We reach the car dump our packs and head up the road to Park Road Chippy.  I ordered the medium Cod and Chips, wish Id gone small now as it was a huge piece of fish with chips piled up. It was however a lovely piece of fish with crisp batter and lovely chips. Id recommend this place 7/10.

So after a 16.5 mile walk all in we set off home, tired but a great walk. One section left of the Kent coast. Next up Hythe to Dungeness.

GPX file here
Viewranger file here