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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 28 January 2018

Sunday Walk A [minimal mud] Sunday Saunter from Dover to Deal and possibly onto Sandwich

Book 2 Walk 30:  An easy cliff walk from the dramatic White Cliffs of Dover to the charms of historic Deal or Sandwich t=2.30

Train:   Take the 9:37 AM Faversham train from London St. Pancras to Dover (9:44 at Stratford International), arriving at 10:41 AM.  Return trains from Sandwich are at 25 minutes past the hour and from Deal at 31 minutes past the hour until 21:25 and 21:31, respectively.  Buy a day return to Deal or Sandwich if planning on the longer route.

Distance:  11 miles to Deal and 16 miles to Sandwich (17.7 or 25.7, respectively, in new money)

Difficulty:  3 out of 10

First apologies for also posting another walk south of the river…..However, I could not resist the potential opportunity to see a waxing moon rising from the appropriately Eastward facing Sandwich Bay…..Besides, as this route mainly follows chalky cliffs, it is likely to be relatively mud-free…..

This fairly easy coastal walk follows the dramatic White Cliffs of Dover with nice views of the castle and the busy harbour.  It then dips down into St. Margaret's Bay for a seaside lunch before once again climbing up onto the cliffs to continue on to Deal.  The 5-mile walk to Sandwich is largely flat along a promenade with views out to Sandwich Bay.  After about 4 miles on the seafront, you will need to turn left to follow the Saxon Shore Way through the Royal St. George's Golf Club (if you pass some Public Conveniences on the left, you have gone too far (though you could also turn left along the Stour Valley Walk a short distance further on from the conveniences at a car park).  Both of these paths lead  into the charming village of Sandwich after about a mile.  If the weather conditions are clear, I would suggest, having a bevie in Deal and doing at least part of the last bit under a nicely waxing moon.  More information and the directions can be found here.

Lunch will be at the Coastguard in St. Margaret's Bay (01304 853176), a beach side pub claiming to be Britain's closest pub to France about 5 miles/8 km from the start of the walk.

The recommended tea stop in Deal is Jasins Café, located on the pier.  There are also numerous cosy pubs on the seafront.  For those on the long-haul, there are numerous pubs in Sandwich.

Fingers crossed for clear skies!

Enjoy the walk!

2 comments:

PeteG said...

It's the same fare for Sandwich or Deal

Stargazer said...

n=7 alighted from the train in Dover under w=initially-partly-cloudy-skies-clearing-to-sunshine-by-the-sea-with-better-weather-than-France-for-a-change. The walk along the cliffs was dramatic with great views of the harbor and the channel -- though even at these heights there were patches of the gloopy stuff to navigate....Lunch at the Coastguards was a bit slow for the 4 diners -- but fortunately the terrace proved a pleasant spot for the picnickers so that we all continued on together. In Deal, some went for tea and others harder stuff (sadly the café on the pier is temporarily closed). Eventually 4 re-assembled just before 5 and set off for Sandwich under w=a-beautiful-bright-almost-full-moon.