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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.

Wednesday 2 March 2016

Midweek day walk - Birchington to Herne Bay

Birchington to Herne Bay - Keep the sea on your right

Easy coastal walk, passing the dramatic ruins at Reculver

Book 3* Walk 28

*On-line only

Length :  14 km or 9 miles

Toughness :  1 out of 10

Getting there :  Catch the 10:27 am train from St. Pancras International (10:34 am Stratford International) to Birchington-on-Sea or
Catch the 10:07 from London Victoria (10:23 am Bromley South) changing at Rochester to join the St. Pancras train.
High speed train fares are now about £5 more than standard fares and I seem to remember someone managed to upgrade on a return journey for the difference, before the HST joined the Ashford to St. Pancras track. (Train aficionados comments welcome!)

Meeting point :  Birchington-on-Sea Station at 11:53 am

Tickets :  Buy a cheap day return to Birchington-on-Sea

Brief Description

It is possible to do this walk in reverse to avoid the prevailing winds, but hey, we're the Saturday Walkers! - Herne Bay also sports the better tea stop options.
For those of you wanting to extend the walk, you may carry onto Whitstable, adding about 7 km to the walk. (If I recall correctly, there's an excellent Chippy in Whitstable. )

You may find full details of this walk here

Suggested Lunch stops

King Ethelbert Inn, Reculver Lane CT6 6SU, t: 01227 374368

The Dolphin Bar & Restaurant  t: 01227 504 987

Suggested Tea stops

Makcaris 54, Central Parade, Herne Bay  t: 01227 374 977 - open to 6:00 pm

Additionally, Herne Bay has several pubs: just beyond the clock tower on the left the Saxon Shore is a very pleasant Wetherspoon's outlet.

Map

OS Explorer : 150

Return train times

Trains return from Herne Bay at 44 minutes past the hour to London St. Pancras ( journey time 1 hour 26 minutes ) and to London Victoria at 16:12 | 17:16 | 18:16 ( journey time 1 hour 40 minutes )

Trains return from Whitstable at 50 minutes past the hour to London St. Pancras and to London Victoria at  16:19 | 17:23 | 18:23

3 comments:

Marion said...

Journey time for me from Victoria of 2 and a half hours and a cold wet and windy forecast will mean I shall be joining the West London Ramblers today if I can face the weather at all!

Anonymous said...

This walks was too much of a trek for me too especeially as i like to get back for dancing in the evenings.
Also some people who like to attend these walks are between jobs and walks that are so far away can be pricey ticketwise.jfk

Mike A said...

n=2 hardy souls on this trek. The weather was w=extremely_variable with a microburst of hail and strong gusty winds as we left Birchington - but just for 10 minutes. Intrepid walker 2 was heard to mutter "We must be insane" as we huddled in a bus shelter. However the hail and rain ceased and the wind dropped and the sun shone as we approached Reculver. During a hearty meal at the King Ethelbert Inn, another shower rolled in and the wind increased. It was a little challenging as we walked onto Herne Bay, but the sun re-appeared on our approach. We stopped for a welcome break and a drink at Makcaris before catching the 4:44pm back to London.
All in all an invigorating and exhilarating outing, but not for the faint hearted.
HST train fares were £18.40 with a card.