Day 24: Burmarsh to Dover: Up and Over the Cliffs

June 12, 2012

We woke up with light rain and again took the tent down from the inside out. It was too wet to cook comfortably, so we set off without tea. We had our last little bit of cycling in what we now recognize as the pleasant Romney Marsh.

This map shows just how many little laneways there are all over the place. You can also see the marsh church locations:

Leaving the Marsh, we set out along the coast, playing the usual game of trying to stay on the NCN 2. As is usual with cycle routes, you are directed away from town centres, groceries, accommodation. So we passed through Hythe and Sandgate and Folkestone without necessarily seeing a lot of them. Here is one bit outside Hythe:

An the promenade by the sea

A broad promenade and the now calm Channel by Hythe

There were five original "Cinque Ports": Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich. In 1190 Rye and Winchelsea were added by Richard I, just before heading out in crusade. This was all before the 15th century establishment of the Royal Navy, and the deal was that these towns would supply ships for military purposes, in return for certain independence and tax free status.

Today, having been a Cinque Port seems to be a big thing with local tourism bureaus.

We got to see the port in Folkstone because NCN 2 again took a turn we did not see. It was worth it, but we had to backtrack. We asked a man who at a distance looked like a cycle tourist, but turned out to be a Royal Mail man on a red bike with red panniers.

The port in Folkstone. The tide comes in from the gap on the right.

In Folkstone harbour the boats are really stranded at low tide

We also checked with visitor information. They had no cycle maps and no real idea where NCN 2 was. However they did have a new presentation about the role of Folkstone in WW I. They call it Step Short because of the steep hills above the town. The name refers to the need of the millions of men who departed for Europe from here to take small steps in descending the hills.

War memorials are still a hot topic - this is a recent initiative

The need to step short also affected us, as we pushed our bikes up and up, after Dodie sniffed out NCN 2 somehow. When I say up and up, I mean up and up and up and up. To this we add strongly wind driven rain and the fact that we never did find any tea or much of anything else. Instead we relied on a few cookies we had in the pannier.

The trail led high up beside the white cliffs, and often was just a gravellyu track. In a couple of places where we could have ridden, the trail being levelled off, we still walked just to make sure there would be no para sailing over and into the Channel.

We did not exactly walk the 20 km from Folkstone to Dover, but we did walk a lot of it. Pushing a loaded bike up steep hills is tougher than pedalling, actually, and different things (mostly shoulders and elbows) begin to hurt.

When we started to descend (again, in the blowing rain) into Dover, we kind of felt like we were coming out of a long bush hike. It's not like there was any doubt that we could make it, but I was proud of us for just bearing down and doing it.

Most people, of course, go to Dover this way:

Arriving in any new town always has the uncomfortable bit where you try to figure out the lay of the place and what it is all about. These buildings on the waterfront are not really what Dover is about, but they are still interesting:

And these buildings downtown are not an accurate representation either:

Right now, it seems like this is the real Dover (aside from the ferry terminal)

Most of Dover is just as workaday port town

In our first few minutes of noodling around downtown, looking for a place to stay, a post office for our first mailback, and the tourist information, Dodie spotted a bike shop. Maybe they would have some cycle maps? We went over for a look, and met Dennis, who runs the shop. No maps, but now Dodie also spotted a B&B, just next door. The door had a price list: 35 single, 50 double, with breakfast. We asked Dennis if the place was OK. He said, "well yes. my Dad owns it". So, we now live above a bike shop! And guess where we stashed our bikes!

Dover does not feature a whole lot of obviously good restaurants, and by now we were getting seriously weak from hunger. People recommended several Indian restaurants, but Dodie is now a pub girl. This time it was the Eight Bells.

What we like, aside from the comfort food, is the homey feeling. Children are normally welcome, and people of all types are either dining or taking a beer at the bar. It's great.

Our plan is for one off bike day, so stay tuned for more about Dover. It's not Chichester or Brighton or Hastings or Rye or Battle, all of which we mostly or completely missed, but it does have a castle. Tomorrow we will try storming that!

Today's ride: 45 km (28 miles)
Total: 788 km (489 miles)

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