17.7 km (11 miles) or is it? 3/10
A few weeks ago there was a bit of discussion about doing this as a Wednesday walk and I thought it would be good to go a bit further afield now that the clocks have gone forward. It was posted on a Sunday in February, but a rail replacement bus possibly dampened enthusiasm that time.
It is simple – just following the coast – but should be spectaluar with many clifftop sections but not too many ups and downs, and an interesting finish along the shore at Deal. The walk seems to have got a mile longer since book 2, which says it is 10 miles although the route looks the same to me. But we'll see.
Travel: 1007 from St Pancras, arriving in Dover at 1113. There are two (very) low-speed options (Charing Cross 0904 or Victoria 0910) but as they leave before 0930, there is no cost advantage for most of us. Return trains from Deal at 07 and 37. Get a super off-peak return to Deal.
Lunch: In St Margaret's Bay, 7 km into the walk you come to the Pines Garden Tea Room and Museum, serving light lunches and cakes from 10am to 4pm. A few hundred metres further is the Coastguard (01304 853 051), which describes itself as Britain’s closest pub to France. It is open and serving food from 12 and all afternoon. It has a pleasant open-air terrace directly overlooking the beach. A couple of other tea places in St Margaret's are mentioned on the website but they may not be open midweek.
Tea: several pubs mentioned on the website including the Zetland Arms on the way into Deal, about 3 miles from the end, and the back-street Ship Inn with a bit of a detour into the old town (beyond the station) at the end of the walk.
For walk directions, map and GPX click here.
T=2.30
1 comment:
N=12 stepped out of the train expecting another sunny day. They were in for a shock. It was w=cloudy-with-a-chilly-breeze The chilly breeze got more chillier the nearer we got to Deal. Oh for a pair of gloves, oh for a thicker coat.
The walk didn’t disappoint, though. The whole route was festooned with alexanders ( a plant whose name I struggle to remember every year). St Margaret’s was reached and some dined or drank in the Coastguard there. (Soup mainly) Some were put off by the pub’s regimented manner and back-tracked to the Pines. Another 2 who missed the appointed train caught us up there. This made us n=14
The group had fragmented by the afternoon but many regrouped in the Zetland Arms for a pleasant - and warming - stay. Then on, alongside more Alexanders, the predominant flower on the beach. There were a lot of diggers out on the beach moving the pebbles around.
I think most must have got the 17:07. 2 who missed it had time for a further pint in the Sir Norman Wisdom - a Wetherspoons. Connections on the 18:07 were a bit slow arriving at St Pancras at 20:00. Just to rub it in the skies viewed from the train were blue and cloudless. Ooooh! (Frowny face)
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