Extra Swimming Walk - Folkestone Circular

T=3.13 Catch the 09:37 from St Pancras. Arrive Folkestone at 10:30

13.1km (8.2 miles) - fewer miles than the average walk :)

As it's meant to be hot, an extra seaside walk...

This is a highly scenic coastal walk with fine sea views throughout and a steep but exhilarating climb in the middle. It firstly introduces you to some of the quainter sides of Folkestone, a town which like many south coast seaside towns is undergoing something of a renaissance, and then takes you past two fine Martello Towers (part of a chain built for defence against an invasion by Napoleon). You next descend into The Warren, an unexpected area of wild coastline to the east of Folkestone, and pass along a strange concrete seafront esplanade, almost certainly left over from World War Two. In places this is cracking and care is sometimes needed, but it is perfectly well frequented. With chalk cliffs looming up to your left, on a sunny day this section of the walk can be quite entrancing. The esplanade should probably be avoided when the sea is stormy, however, and if in doubt, you can escape from it by any path leading inland, turning right along the road and later track which parallels the railway line to get to the footbridge in paragraph 28 of the walk directions. The highlight of the walk then follows – an exciting path that climbs perfectly safely and easily up among what look from below like impossibly sheer cliffs. This path owes its existence to the Warren Halt, a station on the line here from 1886 onwards, which in the Edwardian era was a popular tourist stop with a beach and tea garden. At the top of the path, there is a cafe with a spectacular view of the channel. The route takes you back along the cliff top to Folkestone, with stunning views of the English Channel and the Warren below. On the way you pass the official Battle of Britain memorial, attractively sited right on the clifftop.