17.2 km 10.7miles. Difficulty: 3/10
One of the finest coastal walks in England, taking you along the top of the famous White Cliffs of Dover. On a clear day, you get stunning views of the English Channel and the French coast from Boulogne to Dunkerque. Apart from two climbs, the terrain is level or gently undulating. Later you descend alongside a shingle beach with unusual flora that should be in flower round abouts now.
Trains:
Get the 9:40 Hi Speed from St Pancras International platform 13 (Stratford Int 09:48), (destination Ashford Int). Change at Ashford International to the Dover Priory train (arrive 10:18 platform 6, dep 10:25 from platform 2). Arrive Dover Priory 10:55.
Trains return from Deal at xx:27 Get a Hi Speed return to Deal.
Lunch: Just before St Margaret's Bay, you’ll find the Pines Garden Tea Room and Museum (4.3 miles) into the walk, It serves light lunches and cakes from 10am to 4pm. On the bay, itself, you’ll find the Coastguard pub (01304 853 051). There's also a tea kiosk down there sells food.
Tea: 3 miles before Deal, you’ll find The Zetland Arms, 01304 370114 a pub on the beach, Why not stop there for afternoon ‘elevenses’?
An optional detour through old Deal would take you to a traditional back street pub, the Ship Inn (141 Middle Street). Nearer the station you got the Sir Norman Wisdom, a Wetherspoons (18–20 Queens Street).
Directions here.
The walk is so close to France that your phone can switch to a French network and start telling French time. You may even find yourself speaking French.
t=2.30 #2026-06-07T09:07
4 comments:
I can attest that the shingle beach flowers just beyond Kingswood are indeed in fine fettle at present (do flowers have fettles?)
The clifftop flowers around St Margaret’s Bay are gorgeous too.
Hello, is anyone leaving from St Pancras tomorrow?
Bob
2 alighted from the train at Dover Priory. Apart from a very brief light shower lasting little more than a minute, the rest of the day was dry but cloudy. We both decided to do a detour down to Langdon bay, following a steep narrow path protected with railing, down the cliff face, through a tunnel, then down a near vertical fixed ladder to the beach, to observe the wrecked hull of the SS Falcon, and iron-screw steamer which was deliberately grounded after catching fire on 25th October 1926.
We retraced our steps up the ladder to rejoin the main route.
Lunch was had at a very nice and reasonable priced cafe at St Margarets bay; the recommended lunch stop. Both then proceeded along the path past the Zetland arms, Walmer and Deal castles. Plenty of flowers to admire, both on the beach and gardens.
Arrived Deal at 4pm for enough time for a drink in the Goodwin pub before catching the 1627.
An excellent day out with good company, and if this walk is posted again, I would highly recommend a detour to Langdon bay but need to check tides as is only acessible low tides.
N=2 w=mostly-dry-but-cloudy
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