Cantii Way digital guide

Cantii Way

Experience the garden of England on a 234km bikepacking tour around East Kent

Max Darkins

First published in the United Kingdom in 2022 by Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Rd, Guildford GU2 9JX

The Cantii Way: Experience the garden of England on a 234km bikepacking tour around East Kent © 2022 Cycling UK

Text © 2022 Cycling UK

Photographs for full list of copyright see p.103

Route researched by Kieran Foster

Route guide written by Max

Edited

by

Design by

Darkins

Sophie Gordon, Adrian Wills and Rob Kingston

Roger Morgan morgan-creative.co.uk

Maps produced by Sophie Gordon

Map data by Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright 2022

Development of the Cantii Way and the production of this route guide have been funded through EXPERIENCE, a €23.3 million project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, €16 million) through the Interreg VA France (Channel) England Programme 2014-2020. This project will harness the experiential tourism trend to extend the season (October – March), generating 20 million new off-season visitors spending €1 billion across six pilot regions in England and France by June 2023.

With thanks to:

Peter Morris, North Downs Way National Trail manager

Kent Downs AONB

Gareth Wiltshire, National Trust at South Foreland Lighthouse

Sarah Rayfield, British Horse Society

Welcome

Cycling UK has been shouting about the joys of riding in the countryside for over 140 years.

Things may have changed a bit since our days as the Cyclists’ Touring Club, but at our heart we’re still all about the fun, freedom and sense of adventure that riding a bike can bring.

Cycling is the perfect way to really discover a place, and immerse yourself in the landscape, culture and history. As part of the EU-funded EXPERIENCE project, Cycling UK is developing new cycle hubs and promoted routes across Cornwall, Kent and Norfolk, enabling you to explore the unique character of each region in all seasons.

Not only is it great for our health and wellbeing, cycling also provides a great boost for the local tourism economy. Tourism spending from cyclists and mountain bikers in the UK brings in £520m per year, and leisure and tourism trips on the National Cycle Network support around 15,000 jobs.

With more people getting back on their bikes during the coronavirus pandemic, these benefits can only grow.

That’s why we’re also supporting hospitality businesses along the routes to attract visitors on bikes and bounce back from the pandemic, by offering advice and equipment through the Cycle Friendly Places accreditation so you can be sure of a warm welcome.

We hope the Cantii Way will encourage you to explore this fascinating corner of the UK, and take the time to experience and enjoy all that the ‘garden of England’ has to offer.

Sarah Mitchell Chief Executive of Cycling UK

EXPERIENCE project

As one of 14 partners on the EXPERIENCE project, Cycling UK is working to deliver sustainable new off-season tourism experiences and supporting businesses to attract cyclists with the Cycle Friendly Places accreditation.

The €23.3 million project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, €16 million) through the Interreg VA France (Channel) England Programme 2014-2020, and aims to boost visitor numbers in six pilot regions including Cornwall, Norfolk and Kent.

cyclinguk.org/experience

We hope the Cantii Way will encourage you to explore this fascinating corner of the UK, and take the time to experience and enjoy all that the ‘garden of England’ has to offer.

Your support enables us to open up more traffic-free trails

Imagine being able to cycle the length and breadth of the country on connected off-road trails, through fascinating places and amazing landscapes.

Recent years have seen many of us discover the simple thrills of exploring the countryside by bike, and the wildness, intrigue and escape that can be found within the confines of our islands. Our vision is to make this adventure and connection to nature accessible to all.

As the UK’s cycling charity, Cycling UK is working to make this a reality by campaigning for wider off-road access for cycling and developing new long-distance trails to link existing routes. But this work is only made possible by our members and donors.

If you want to support wider access to the outdoors and the creation of more long-distance trails, join Cycling UK today and help more people discover the joy of off-road riding.

By joining Cycling UK, you will enable us to bring about real change, while benefiting from our fantastic membership package, including insurance, retailer discounts and much more.

cyclinguk.org/join

Help us open up the countryside by joining our 70,000 strong membership today, and together, we’ll make a better world by bike.

We are the UK’s cycling charity

Cycling is amazing, which is why we want everyone to enjoy the thrill of the ride. We’re pushing for positive changes for cycling across the UK, from the corridors of power to the wildest upland moors. We’re making our streets safer, opening up new traffic-free routes and inspiring more people to get on their bikes.

Becoming a member is just one way you can help us achieve our vision, plus you’ll receive:

Insurance and legal advice

Free third-party liability insurance and legal assistance on and off-road

cyclinguk.org/join

Discount on cycle insurance

Provided by Yellow Jersey (Includes mountain bikes and e-bikes)

Retailer discounts and benefits

Prepare for your next adventure with exclusive reductions of up to 30%

Free subscription to Cycle magazine

Delivered every two months featuring inspiring routes, advice, news and reviews

If membership isn’t for you, please consider a donation to help Cycling UK to continue our work in opening up more rural access for cycling and campaigning for improving conditions for those who cycle all over the UK.

cyclinguk.org/donate

Cantii Way route

Chapter markers

National Cycle Network

National Cycle Network route number

Cantii Way

Taking its name from the Celtic tribe which inhabited the area during the Iron Age, the Cantii Way combines quirky coastal towns and dramatic chalk cliffs with the rolling hills of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The 234km circular route uses traffic-free cycle paths, bridleways and quiet roads, and is ideal for touring and hybrid bikes. It’s perfect for a leisurely trip with lots to discover along the way – from remnants of military defences to vibrant art trails and eco-friendly farms.

The ‘garden of England’ is also a haven for food and drink connoisseurs, with a wealth of local produce to sample, fresh seafood, vineyards galore and the pointed white tops of hop-drying oast houses peeking through the trees.

Make the most of it by stopping off at our accredited Cycle Friendly Places to rest and refresh along your journey. See them on a map at experience.cyclinguk.org/kent

Parts of the trail use the North Downs Way riders’ route, which Cycling UK first proposed in 2018 and is now working with the Kent Downs AONB to develop as an official alternative route for the North Downs Way National Trail through Kent. The overlap between the two trails provides various options to extend or shorten your journey, and come back for more another time.

Format of this guide

We have divided this route into seven short sections, split at locations that make natural breaks along the way, and where there are options for alternative or additional circular rides.

1 Wye to Canterbury 22km 271m climb

2 Canterbury to Herne Bay 26km 225m climb

3a Herne Bay to Cliffsend – inland 19km 167m climb

3b Herne Bay to Cliffsend – coastal 34km 389m climb

4 Cliffsend to Dover 31km 244m climb

5 Dover to Hythe

6 Hythe to Rye

7 Rye to Wye

– Additional Rye loop

393m climb

209m climb

267m climb

81m climb

To help you plan your trip, we’ve suggested possible two or three-night itineraries at the back of the guide. You’ll also find a cumulative mileage chart to each town and village along the route, including the useful facilities available at each one.

Download the GPX route file at cyclinguk.org/cantii-way

Navigation

Although the Cantii Way route is not signposted, most of this ride is easily navigated, either following the coastline or signed local or National Cycle Network (NCN) routes. Where this is not the case, the route follows straightforward trails, minimising head scratching and gazing at screens or maps along the way, so you’ll have maximum time to cruise and enjoy the scenery.

Ordnance Survey maps are recommended, although this simple route is easily followed on OpenStreetMap or Google Maps.

The name Kent derives from the Cantii, the ancient Celtic tribe who inhabited south-east England from the Thames to the south coast.

Terrain

Most of the route is on tarmac or concrete surfaces. There are also a number of gravel, grass and dirt trails along the way.

Low-profile tyres are recommended, but in poor conditions we would recommend a little more tread, especially if using narrow tyres; or you may wish to use road alternatives to the dirt trails.

Whichever bike and tyres you are using, take care when riding off-road in the wet, as the grass and dirt trails can become slippery and sometimes tenaciously sticky.

This is a predominantly flat ride, with only a few hills, meaning progress should be steady. However, be aware that the wind direction could affect your progress, either hitting you with a strong headwind or giving you the advantage of a healthy tailwind.

Recommended bike and kit

Although largely traffic-free, the route mostly uses firm, hard tracks that are ideal for a sturdy touring, hybrid or gravel bike. A hardtail mountain bike (MTB) could be useful for riding the off-road sections but would benefit from being fitted with low-profile tyres to keep drag to a minimum.

Electric bikes: This route is ideal for electric bikes (e-bikes). Although there are few big hills, the added assistance along flat, straight sections (especially into a headwind) is an efficient and helpful use of the battery. There are also plenty of locations, such as at refreshment stops, where you could potentially recharge the battery during the day, if required.

Pannier racks or bikepacking bags are a good way to transport your cargo, as there are many facilities along the route, as well as excellent rail connections, and it is possible to ride the route safely and easily unsupported and with minimal baggage. Although you would be unlucky to suffer punctures along this route, bike shops are not always easy or quick to come by, so be prepared.

The route mostly uses firm, hard tracks that are ideal for a sturdy touring, hybrid or gravel bike.

Top tips for a great ride

• Ride responsibly, showing respect for other trail users and the environment. Remember – Be Nice, Say Hi!

• Watch the weather forecast (including wind direction and strength) and plan accordingly

• A bell on the bike is useful along the busy promenade sections

• Don’t pack too much

• Make the most of the seafront shacks and cafés

• Leave no trace

Nature

Kent is one of the most wildlife-rich counties in Britain thanks to its varied geology, location, history, latitude and proximity to mainland Europe. With important wildlife habitats such as estuaries, chalk cliffs, woodlands and chalk downland, Kent encompasses some of the South East’s most iconic landscapes, such as the shingle headland of Dungeness and the White Cliffs of Dover.

Kent is home to numerous endangered species, stunning animals and fascinating habitats, from fungi and wildflowers to bees and birds. With more than 60 nature reserves helping wildlife thrive and protect numerous internationally important sites that are home to rare species such as orchids, the future looks promising.

The region is especially abundant in birdlife, with the diverse coastal landscape of flat marshland and coastal cliffs providing essential feeding grounds for migrant birds. The area is a paradise for twitchers as a huge variety of species are attracted to the region, such as dark-bellied brent geese, which arrive in autumn from Siberia, and the avocet which can often be seen in the summer.

Don’t rush: ride slowly/walk in the busy seafront areas or take an alternative route here.

Inland, crop fields and meadows provide a rich variety of plants and insect life, where bees and butterflies flourish on flowering grasslands, while woodlands fill with bluebells in the spring and are transformed into a beautiful array of golds and browns in the autumn months.

Swallows and swifts can regularly be spotted flitting about the sky, with swifts spending most of their life, eating, drinking and even sleeping in flight. Meanwhile, nightjars hunker down, well camouflaged on the ground, and can go almost unnoticed but for their telltale ‘churring’ at dusk, in the months of April and May when they come to visit our shores.

History

The county of Kent is widely known as the ‘Garden of England’ because of its abundance of traditional orchards of apples, cherries and hops. The name is said to have been first coined by King Henry VIII after enjoying a particularly delicious bowl of Kentish cherries.

Today, Kent’s agricultural heritage has moved into the twenty-first century with the likes of the high-tech Thanet Earth, Britain’s leading glasshouse complex, which produces millions of vegetables a year, including around 400 million tomatoes.

Traditional orchards were planted throughout the Kent Downs because of its warm climate and well-drained soils, but in more recent times, because its soil is similar to that in the Champagne region of France, it is now at the forefront of the emerging English wine scene.

Wine isn’t the only beverage produced there: it’s fun to spot the rounded oasts, with their high conical roofs, which once

dried hops as part of the brewing process. Although most oast houses have now been converted into residential dwellings, Kent still has a number of breweries, some of which welcome visitors, making a pleasant distraction along your journey.

Kent and the southern coastline, with its close proximity to Europe, has traditionally played an important role and stronghold in the defence of the country. The area is steeped in history, and dotted with numerous forts, castles and other defensive structures.

The name Kent derives from the Cantii, the ancient Celtic tribe who inhabited south-east England from the Thames to the south coast.

The Romans called the county Cantium, and Julius Caesar, who visited Britain twice, first landed at Deal in 55 BC. His fleet was defeated on his first visit, but he returned in 54 BC with cavalry and won a significant battle at Canterbury. Under Emperor Claudius, the Romans stayed for almost four centuries.

The Cantii Way combines quirky coastal towns and dramatic chalk cliffs with the rolling hills of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Dover Castle

Chapel Down Vineyard

After the Romans withdrew, the Germanic people came and brought the Old English language to Britain.

In the fifth century, East Kent became one of the kingdoms of the Jutes, and in the early medieval times the inhabitants became known as Cantwara, or Kentish people, with Canterbury being their capital.

Kent is traditionally divided into East Kent and West Kent, which dates back to at least Anglo-Saxon times. Those born east of Kent’s largest river, the Medway, are still known to this day as ‘Men of Kent’ (or Maids of Kent), and those to the west, known as ‘Kentish Men’ (or Kentish Maids).

More recent conflicts have also left their mark on the area, with much of the Battle of Britain in the Second World War fought in the skies over Kent.

The town of Ramsgate had more than 500 bombs dropped on it in one day on 24 August 1940, and built huge underground tunnels to provide shelter for around 60,000 people; a thousand people even made the shelters their permanent residence. And the white chalk clifftops are still home to the innovative sound mirrors, for picking up the sound of approaching enemy aircraft, and gun placements for super-sized guns that would exchange fire across the English Channel to France. More recent projects continue to add to the rich history of the county, notably the

construction of the 50km Channel Tunnel, which was opened in 1994 to connect our island with mainland Europe.

The idea for a cross-Channel tunnel had been considered for hundreds of years and as part of its excavation, a new nature reserve was created. Samphire Hoe, between Dover and Folkestone, is a 30-hectare site reclaimed from the sea using spoil from the tunnel workings. Home to various wildlife and plants, it attracts more than 100,000 visitors every year.

Coastal towns such as Whitstable, Margate and Broadstairs may have enjoyed their heyday in the 1950s and 60s, but a cultural-led regeneration has instilled new vigour into these charming seaside resorts, with arty boutiques, cafés, seafood shacks and much more.

With easy access, thanks to a network of trains and numerous cycle routes, Kent is a great destination to explore by bike. You can even cycle to Canterbury all the way from central London, largely car-free beside the Thames, along the NCN cycle route 1.

Embrace a leisurely pace of travel and an inquisitive mindset, and you’ll certainly leave satisfied.

Embrace a leisurely pace of travel and an inquisitive mindset, and you’ll certainly leave satisfied.

Ramsgate Tunnel

Wye train station

Wye to Canterbury

PART ONE

Part 1: Wye to Canterbury

Distance: 22km

Highlights

Ascent: 271m

• The Wye Crown, based on the Wye Downs overlooking the village

• Chilham village and Shelly’s Tea Room

• The traffic-free, picturesque Great Stour Way trail

• The beautiful, historic and bustling city of Canterbury, with its 1,400-year-old cathedral and St Augustine's Abbey ruins, a burial place for the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent

• The Foundry Brew pub, a unique craft brewery, distillery and restaurant

• Swap wheels for water and hire a punt to explore the River Stour for a unique and idyllic form of sightseeing, including haunted night-time tours

Advice

• Between the village of Chilham and the train station, use the path beside the busy A28 but stay alert for cars turning off the road and across your path, and, of course, pedestrians

• Canterbury is usually very busy with vehicles and pedestrians. Please stay alert to possible dangers as you may be preoccupied with the sights

• Take care as you enter Whitstable, where the trail becomes busier with people and road crossings

• You may have to walk a little way along the seafront to begin

Getting there

By train, Wye has a rail station close to the river, linking the village to Canterbury to the north, and Ashford to the south. For train times, see southeasternrailway.co.uk or call 0345 322 7021

By road, Wye is within easy access from the M20 motorway. Exit at junction 9 at Ashford, head north for five miles before turning right and heading into the valley where you cross the Great Stour River into Wye. Follow the road into the village for a free car park, shortly before the church and Co-op shop.

Navigation

You’ll have to pay a bit of attention initially to choose the right forest tracks through King’s Wood, until you join the North Downs Way National Trail into Chilham. From there you follow the Great Stour Way into Canterbury, signed as National Cycle Network (NCN) route 18.

Nature

Passing through mostly arable fields and old woodland, the terrain is teeming with insects, butterflies, beetles and dragonflies, as well as small mammals such as stoats, and larger animals such as deer. If you’re still riding at twilight, you are likely to see the fast and erratic flight of many different species of bat, darting and dancing about the sky.

Enjoy wonderful far-reaching views across the county. On this hillside is the Wye Crown, a hillside carving cut into the chalk of the North Downs above the village.

Area introduction and route summary

The small medieval village of Wye, nestled in the glorious rolling hills of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, has just 2,500 residents and provides peace and tranquillity in the busy and bustling South East of England. However, it is located just 10km north-east of Ashford and within easy access off the M20 motorway. With its own train station, it provides a warm welcome to visitors and cyclists, making it the perfect location for the start of an adventure.

The village's name comes from the Old English "Wēoh" meaning idol or shrine. Wye became an important ancient communications centre because of the ford that crosses the Great Stour River, creating a gap in the North Downs. The Romans built a camp and roads connecting it to Canterbury and Hastings. By the time of the Saxons, Wye had become a royal manor.

Many of the village buildings here are medieval, although most are concealed by more modern facades.

Although the village is fairly quiet now, until 2009 it was the location of London

University’s agricultural college, whose laboratories worked on ground-breaking developments in plant molecular and gene sequencing. It was home to students from all over the world and was even internationally famous for developing new varieties of hops.

Wye to Chilham

This first section of the route differs greatly from the second part of the ride. Situated on the edge of the North Downs escarpment and inland, there is no sight of the sea, for example. And despite the majority of the route being reasonably flat, there is an option to start the ride with some extra climbing.

That might not sound too tempting, and it is optional, but with fresh legs at the beginning of your ride, we recommend riding up Coldharbour Lane onto the Wye Downs, to the east of the village.

Here you will enjoy wonderful far-reaching views across the county. On this hillside is the Wye Crown, a hillside carving cut into the chalk of the North Downs above the village.

Wye Crown

The origins of the Wye Crown date back over a hundred years to the early twentieth century when Wye was home to a thriving agricultural college. Keen to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902, the college’s principal proposed carving a crown into the hillside above the village. Tommy J. Young, the college’s lecturer in surveying, used a vantage point from the fields below to guide a team of students armed with flags to mark out the symmetrical shape, taken from a crown from an 1887 florin. Once marked out, it took 35 students more than four days to move 7,000 barrow loads of turf, soil and chalk to create it. Illuminated by 1,500 fairy lights, it was viewed by the king from nearby Eastwell Manor, and in 1937 electric lights were used for the coronation of King George VI.

Option 1: King’s Wood

This picturesque route takes you out to the west of Wye, and soon starts to climb after leaving the village, getting steeper after crossing the A28. Just as the hill starts to get steeper still and disappears off up out of view, the long-distance National Trail, the North Downs Way (NDW) ducks off the road.

North Downs Way National Trail

This path was opened in 1978 and runs from Farnham to Dover, along the Surrey Hills and Kent Downs AONB, and was a popular pilgrim route to Canterbury. Much of it is now designated as footpath but in 2019 Cycling UK worked with the National Trails and the British Horse Society to create a fully rideable version.

cyclinguk.org/northdownsway

However, despite the NDW path looking tempting to join when compared to the hill ahead, the narrow, rutted byway track is steep and loose, so would likely result in a difficult push uphill. Staying with the road makes the climb rideable at least, and after less than 2km, you will have scaled around 125 metres in height and be delivered to King’s Wood. This fabulous 1,500-acre forest woodland is a joy to pass through, the quiet woodlands home to a mixture of conifer and broadleaf trees, and in spring, a stunning carpet of bluebells.

Chestnut coppicing

There’s lots of evidence of sweet chestnut coppicing, where trees are cut to a stump called a coppice stool, which stimulates growth of several new shoots the following spring. These can be left to grow until they reach the desired size and thickness before being harvested. Historical records from Canterbury Cathedral show there were large

areas of coppice grown in Kent by 1200, and the chestnut coppice industry expanded rapidly during the nineteenth century to meet a growing demand for hop poles from the brewing industry. Sweet chestnut coppice is grown on a 30-year cycle and because coppiced trees already have a well-developed root system, they readily regrow.

Fallow deer still run free in this former royal hunting forest, alongside new additions of sculptures, so keep a look out. Now managed by Forestry England and the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership for conservation, recreation and timber production, it is open to the public throughout the year, with the Friends of King’s Wood Association holding regular events here.

Following the wide forest tracks, you shortly join the more rugged byway track of the North Downs Way, or you could even stick to the smoother forest track until nearer the far end.

Cyclists are allowed to explore the hard tracks, making it ideal for gravel and family rides. Joining the rougher byway drops you out of the woods on an exhilarating track where you need to be careful of the ruts and roots. After bursting from the trees, the route joins a lovely singletrack road, weaving its way downhill into the beautiful village of Chilham. As you approach the village, beside the long brick wall of Chilham Park, some gates allow you the opportunity to peer beyond into the impressive and well-kept grounds.

The quaint little village of Chilham provides a delightful stop along your journey with a choice of refreshments in the idyllic and quintessential medieval square, either from Shelly’s Tea Rooms, which offers amazing tea, coffee and cakes, or The White Horse Inn, if you fancy something

Chilham

a bit stronger (local ales and ciders available) and a more substantial meal. It’s a joy to relax in the square, and all too obvious why this village is often chosen for filming shows such as Miss Marple, Poirot and Jane Austen’s Emma.

Immediately off the square, behind some substantial heavy wooden gates, is Chilham Castle, although only the keep remains of the ancient building. It is now a private house, which was originally built in 1616 by Sir Dudley Digges and has received various additions and developments over time, such as a lake and woodland, planted using the help of a young elephant brought from Sri Lanka. After being lovingly restored by its current owners, it now hosts events such as horse trials, open-air performances and open garden days (on Tuesdays in the summer months). Also of note is the pretty church of St Mary, just off the village square, whose history dates back to possibly the seventh century.

Option 2: Great Stour Way

The alternative flatter route follows roads up through the valley, before heading onto traffic-free trails along the Pilgrim’s Cycle Path, which continues to follow the valley bottom, parallel to the Great Stour River and railway line.

If you are on skinny tyres and prefer the smoother, easier option, this one is for you. Although, if you have the time to think over your decision, the lovely Tickled Trout is a great pub that sits beside the babbling river with a large garden and food.

The South-Eastern Railway (SER) branch line was first opened in 1846 and remains a popular link between Ashford, Canterbury and Margate, with trains rattling along beside as you start to gently ascend the hill before peeling away to Catha’s Seat.

This functional wooden sculpture was built specifically for cyclists, created in memory of cyclist and campaigner Catharine Keegan, who worked on the cycle route

Chilham St Mary's church

between Ashford and Canterbury. Made of large solid oak planks, the huge chairs act as both seating and bicycle parking, to offer you an opportunity to rest, sit back and enjoy the spectacular countryside views.

Continuing the gentle climb along this track, you skirt along the woods of Broadham Down, originally a small downland farm, but which was left abandoned before the Second World War. Having become overgrown with scrub, work started in the late twentieth century to convert much of it back to downland grassland, which has resulted in attracting orchids and rare insects, for which Kent has become known, back to the area. Opting for this route does, however, mean you’ll miss out on visiting Chilham on the opposite side of the valley, although dropping down the hill and doubling back to the village is always an option that will add a little over 2km each way.

Chilham to Chartham

Leaving Chilham behind you, follow a short section beside the A28, before peeling off, crossing the railway and joining quiet back roads wiggling their way to the village of Chartham. If you didn’t go via Chilham, there are further opportunities for refreshments at The Shop on the Green, a lovely little convenience store, or just off the route to the south, the friendly Artichoke pub. Its history dates back around 700 years. The pub is full of character, with old oak beams and cosy corners to enjoy some fabulous food and drink, which it has no doubt served to many travellers and workers from the nearby paper mill that which has been here since 1938.

refreshments.

For something a little different, try visiting Chartham Vineyard, a family-owned vineyard started in 2013, with soil that matches that of the Champagne region of France. Producing award-winning white, red and sparkling wines, and with a vineyard shop open on Saturdays from 10.30am to 5.00pm, it also offers wine tastings, (pre-booked) group tours, and a free art gallery. It’s certainly worth a visit for those who enjoy their wine.

The quaint little village of Chilham provides a delightful stop along your journey with a choice of

The primary route follows roads up through the valley, before heading onto traffic-free trails along the Pilgrim’s Cycle Path.

Chartham to Canterbury

After Chartham, your journey continues along a multi-use, traffic-free track known as the Pilgrim’s Cycle Trail, part of the NCN 18. It’s a smooth, flat trail that follows alongside the Great Stour (also known as the Kentish Stour), the second longest river in Kent, which rises from springs at the foot of the Greensand ridge in Lenham and flows 76km through Canterbury to the North Sea at Pegwell Bay, near Sandwich. This provides not only easy riding and navigation, but also a tranquil and pretty ride for around 5km through Whitehall Meadows Nature Reserve and Hambrook Marshes.

This area, after having become a gravel pit after the Second World War, has been returned to its previous marshland state by a local charity which bought the land to allow public access and to protect and encourage wildlife to the area again. Between the spring and autumn, you will mostly see grazing cattle, but there have also been more than 90 species of bird

Further riding

spotted in recent years. Sightings include kingfishers, herons and even the elusive snipe. With a wide variety of flowers and plants here too, the area provides a wonderful habitat for the likes of slow worms, newts, dragonflies and many others.

The trail delivers you right into the heart of the bustling city of Canterbury, but the transition from rural surroundings to urban is still beautiful and idyllic.

After passing through parkland, you join Westgate Grove, a road lined with old timber buildings on one side and the river on the other, where you’ll spot well-kept and vibrant flowerbeds, and punts floating on the water. You cross the river via an ancient bridge that delivers you to the Westgate Towers, an impressive 60ft high medieval gatehouse in the old city wall, and the largest surviving city gate in England. Just inside this wall is a church and the Tower House, with the Westgate Gardens, a popular wedding venue, behind that.

This wonderfully varied 40km loop visits no less than three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Canterbury Cathedral, the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey and the Church of St Martin. experience.cyclinguk.org/route/experience-canterbury-cathedral-cycle

Canterbury Westgate

Canterbury

Canterbury was the principal tribal capital of Cantium (Kent) with a second area of administration at Rochester which the Romans named Durobrivae Cantiacorum. Durobrivae meaning fortified crossing with a bridge. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the city gained a reputation for producing fine silk and later woollen cloth because of its proximity to its European neighbours, and garrisoned soldiers accounted for one third of the population.

Although the ‘Baedeker’ air raid of 1942 destroyed a great deal of property, the city today offers much for visitors, with historic buildings and vibrant shops and cafés.

Home to three UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Canterbury Cathedral, the Church of St Martin and the ruins of St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury’s rich history and beautiful buildings make it a popular tourist destination, which is consistently ranked as one of the most-visited cities in the United Kingdom.

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral has an impressive 1,400 years of history, dating back to when missionaries from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, arrived and converted the king of Kent to Christianity in 597 AD. The leader of the missionaries, Augustine, was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin’s) and was consecrated as archbishop. Since then, the cathedral has been the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. During the tenth century it became a formal community of

Benedictine monks, which continued until the monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII in 1540. Augustine’s original building lies beneath the floor of the nave. It was extensively rebuilt and enlarged by the Saxons, and the cathedral was rebuilt completely by the Normans in 1070 following a major fire. There have been many additions to the building over the last 900 years, but parts of the quire and some of the windows and their stained glass date from the twelfth century.

Canterbury to Reculver

PART TWO

The town of Whitstable is famous for its oysters and in its heyday of the 1850s to the 1870s, there would have been more than 100 oyster boats working offshore.

Part 2: Whitstable to Reculver

Distance: 26km Ascent: 225m

Highlights

• Eating oysters and seafood from the shacks and restaurants on the coast in Whitstable

• The hustle and bustle of the coastal towns

• The smell, sound and sense of openness and freedom of the sea

• Natural sea pools along the coast to paddle or swim in

• A wealth of facilities along the coastline where you are never too far from a café or ice creams

• If you’re riding in July, don’t miss the famous Whitstable Oyster Festival

• The Lobster Shack and the Mussel Shack on the east quay in Whitstable, or the Oyster Shack and Crab and Winkle Way along the harbour front, are great for seafood

Advice

• The coastal path can be busy in peak season, so don’t expect (or try) to pass through quickly. Instead, take it slowly and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells. If you need or wish to press on at a faster pace, there is a road that runs parallel to the coastal path and you can rejoin the promenade beyond Tankerton where it becomes quieter

• Take care after high tide and storms, when slippery pebbles from the beach can get washed up onto the concrete promenade path

Navigation

The navigation along this second section of the route is once again straightforward. It’s always a little tricky getting out of a city centre, but the National Cycle Network (NCN) route 1 trail helps considerably. Signed for, and passing, the university, this popular shared foot and cycle path, with its steady stream of students, takes you north along residential roads, alleyways and parks, and eventually uphill to pass through the University of Kent campus.

Nature

Blean Woods, north of Canterbury, became home to the UK’s first ever herd (of four) of European bison in 2021. These are the closest living relative to the ancient steppe bison which once roamed Britain but became extinct after the First World War. Using species like bison offers a sustainable approach to land management where nature can restore degraded ecosystems and lost species.

Clowes Wood, once managed commercially for timber production before being bought by Kent Wildlife Trust, has replaced some of its non-native conifer trees with broadleaved trees, attracting wildlife such as dormice and the nightjar back. Listen for the nightjars churring at dusk during May and June, or the nightingale singing in May, and watch for the fluttering flight of the fritillary butterfly or grazing semi-feral Konik ponies. Woodland plants such as wood spurge, yellow archangel, dog-violet, wood rush, pendulous sedge, agrimony and devil’s-bit scabious are also thriving. In the autumn, the red leaves of the uncommon wild service tree and the crab apple also bring bright wonderful colour to the woods.

Skylarks, which like open land such as heathland, marshes or dunes, are monogamous birds which pair for life. The male will spiral upwards to attract a mate or display his strength for territorial tactics. No other British bird is capable of sustaining such a loud complex song whilst hovering high above the ground.

National Cycle Network

European Bison

Area introduction and route summary

The Industrial Revolution significantly helped to shape this area. The first railway in 1834 brought Canterbury residents to Whitstable for their holidays, attracted by the beaches and seafood. This line was known as the Crab and Winkle railway and attracted many famous engineers such as George Stephenson and his son Robert, who built the Invicta locomotive, which pulled the carriages. Thomas Telford built the harbour in Whitstable, where the railway ends, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel inspected the route’s railway tunnel, the first in the world to take passenger trains. Although the railway has now gone, it has been replaced by a cycling and walking path which shares its name and enables people to travel the beautiful journey between the city and coast, but these days under their own steam.

Know your oysters

This section of coast, and Whitstable in particular, is famous for its oysters. Native oysters are historically dredged from the common ground near the recently constructed off-shore windfarm. Natives reared here (a freehold area of six square miles) are the only true Royal Whitstable Native Oyster. These, although regrettably rare, have their own superb characteristics. Rock oysters (gigas), whilst not indigenous, have found a permanent home in Whitstable Bay, and self-seeded rock oysters can be harvested from the intertidal zone. Most recently rock oysters have been grown on trestles in bags with seed from the Seasalter Shellfish Reculver Hatchery.

Canterbury to Whitstable

The route heads north from Canterbury city centre, sharing what was once the Salt Way, an ancient track used to transport salt from the salt pans in Seasalter to Canterbury. Follow the well-signposted NCN 1 and the line of students making their way to and from the University of Kent campus and city centre. This shared-use foot and cycle path wends its way northwards along residential roads, alleyways and parkland. The path climbs gradually, but it’s wise to keep some energy and gears in reserve as there is a steep rise at the end just as you arrive at the campus, where there will be a few onlookers to witness your achievement.

Pioneers of engineering

On Monday 3 May 1830, a clanking passenger locomotive, the ‘Invicta’ (which can be seen at the Museum of Canterbury, on Stour Street) pulled into the platform near Whitstable Harbour carrying nearly 300 excited passengers from Canterbury. The railway line was the third ever to be built in the world and in 1834 was the first steam-hauled passenger train to issue season tickets, putting it in the Guinness Book of Records.

The locomotive and the line were engineered by the famous George Stephenson and his

After the busy university campus, riding out past the halls of residence and sports fields, you now leave the urban surroundings of Canterbury behind you. Joining the traffic-free path of the Crab and Winkle Way, this shared path stretches for 10km, delivering you to the coast. Although the need for a cycle route between Canterbury and Whitstable had long been recognised, it wasn’t until 1997 that the council partnered with Sustrans to construct the path on the route of the old railway line, which closed in 1952.

son Robert, at their works in Newcastle upon Tyne. The ‘Invicta’ was based on Stephenson’s more famous ‘Rocket’ which came into service four months later, on the Liverpool to Manchester line. Unfortunately, with just 12 horsepower, the Invicta could not cope with the gradients and was only used on the section of line between Bogshole and South Street. Along the rest of the line, trains were hauled by cables using steam-driven engines at the Winding Pond in Clowes Wood and the Halt on Tyler Hill Road. By 1836, Invicta was replaced and a third winding engine was built at South Street. Railway engineering was pioneered on the line with embankments, cuttings, level crossings, bridges and a 764-metre tunnel through the high ground at Tyler Hill.

From 1846, the railway was worked with old engines and ancient carriages, always blackened by soot from the journey through the tunnel. It was said goods trains tended to slow down for their crews to check pheasant traps in the woods and to pick mushrooms in the fields. Passengers were carried until 1931, after which the line was used for goods only, and closed entirely in 1952. The line was offered for sale in the late 1950s and the tunnel blocked up when the university was built above it.

In Whitstable, shortly before you reach the coast, along Stream Walk, be sure to stop and read the information board showing how the town has grown and its surroundings changed. Named Stream Walk because the Gorrell Stream once flowed where you are standing, it shows both visually and with greater details in

descriptions how the wetland was drained, and the Gorrell Stream and harbours were concreted over and hidden underground.

Whitstable Harbour, built by Thomas Telford, opened in 1832 to import coal, although today it handles mostly aggregates and timber. Boat building was the backbone of Whitstable’s prosperity

Whitstable

As well as its oysters, Whitstable has a number of other claims to fame, such as boat building and deep-sea diving. In fact, the diving suit was developed here in 1828. Out to sea, beyond the white wind turbines, you should be able to spot the Maunsell Army Sea Forts, gun towers built during the Second World War to defend the Thames. They were built in Gravesend, towed along the river, and set on concrete 100 feet above sea level and connected by narrow catwalks. These magnificent structures make an interesting visit by boat, if you have the time.

from the late eighteenth century until the twentieth century, but today boatyards have been largely replaced by car parks and housing developments along the seafront, creating a popular and fashionable resort attracting many Londoners, or DFLs (Down from London) as they’re known locally.

Part 2: Whitstable to Reculver

Arriving at the coast, the wonderful salty sea air hits your nostrils and with the screech of seagulls overhead, a selection of cafés and shops, and a throng of people, it provides a thrilling buzz and an assault on all of the senses.

The town of Whitstable is famous for its oysters and in its heyday of the 1850s to the 1870s, there would have been more than 100 oyster boats working offshore. Unfortunately, most of the industry collapsed after an imported parasite led to many of the oysters dying off in 1921/22.

Today, Whitstable still has the largest commercial hatchery of oyster spat (young oysters) in the country and is home to the Whitstable Oyster Company, which has farmed the famous Royal Whitstable Native Oyster since the 1400s. This makes it one of the oldest companies in Europe, and at its peak in the 1850s, the company was sending as many as 80 million oysters a year to Billingsgate fish market. It’s estimated that Londoners alone consumed 700 million oysters in 1864.

The Whitstable oyster dates back almost 2,000 years before this, though, when the Romans discovered them. Regarding them as a delicacy, they shipped them live back to Rome in around 80AD.

The town is still a food-lovers’ paradise today and it’s well worth exploring the seafood shacks and restaurants along the seafront.

Whitstable Harbour, built by Thomas Telford, opened in 1832 to import coal, although today it handles mostly aggregates and timber.

Whitstable to Herne Bay

After enjoying the largely traffic-free route through town, you leave the hustle and bustle of Whitstable behind you, and the trail becomes quieter once more, passing Long Rock, a site of special scientific interest. With the freedom of a wide trail and fewer people, you can once again gaze at the sights which have changed from industrial and urban, to rural and rich in wildlife.

The North Kent Marshes are recognised as one of the most important estuarine habitats for birds in the UK, offering a wonderful place to watch flocks of migrating birds, wildfowl and wading birds, as well as enjoying various plants and butterflies.

The shingle beach and surrounding grass and wetland here also are home to a host of rare plants, such as the yellow horned-poppy, wild carrots and hog’s fennel, which in turn support rare insects and specialist wildlife such as the Fisher’s estuarine moth. Birds such as the skylark, ringed plover, meadow pipit and reed bunting flourish here, and thousands of migrating birds – such as the brent goose, which travels around 2,500 miles from Siberia – stop for a well-earned rest on the isolated headland of the shingle beach.

The sand martin is the smallest of the European hirundinidae family (martins and swallows), and is an agile bird that feeds mainly over water and nests in the cliffs.

Hopefully the ride eastwards will have the wind on your back, allowing a magical, quiet and easy, assisted ride along the flat and firm concrete coastal path. If you are facing an easterly wind though, this section will become much more of a challenge and test your endurance.

Although the route mostly follows the seafront, there are some twists and turns along the way, but the Oyster Bay Trail (NCN 15) is clearly signposted, which makes navigation easy. This makes for a pleasant and easy-going ride to Hampton, where you join the road for a short climb by the Hampton Pier and which is rewarded with lovely views along the coast and to Herne Bay.

Until the end of the eighteenth century, this typical seaside town consisted of not much more than a few cottages for fishermen, smugglers and agricultural labourers. There wasn’t even a proper road to the coast from Herne or Canterbury until it came under the control of the Turnpike Trust at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Now,

Herne Bay offers a good selection of eating establishments and shops, as well as the usual seaside attractions such as crazy golf, amusement arcades and even a small fairground on the pier.

however, it is a popular and bustling seaside resort. A long row of quintessential beach huts, painted in a variety of bright colours, guides you along the esplanade to the busy seaside town of Herne Bay. Although they may not look much more than a glorified painted shed, a quaint beach hut here will likely set you back around £80,000.

As in Whitstable, Herne Bay offers a good selection of eating establishments and shops, as well as the usual seaside attractions such as crazy golf, amusement arcades and even a small fairground on the pier. The central parade is usually buzzing with people and illuminated by neon most of the time, but this lovely town still makes a nice stop where you can enjoy a rest, some food and views while watching the busy world rush by.

If you’d like a paddle in the sea, look for the nicely sheltered Herne Bay Beach, found just past the pier by the Waltrop Gardens and Herne Bay Bandstand. Protected by a concrete offshore breakwater known as the End of Neptune’s Arm, you can venture to the end and enjoy views further out to the vast and open sea, or back inland to the busy mainland.

Just to the west of the Central Bandstand is a bronze monument and information board dedicated to the incredible story of long-distance solo pilot Amy Johnson, who died in 1941 when her plane ditched into the sea off Herne Bay. The statue is a fitting monument to women, aviation, engineering, the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War, as well as the part played by the local residents.

Amy Johnson statue

Herne Bay seafront

A little further along the coast, just before leaving Herne Bay, you pass near the statue of Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the bouncing bomb used in the Dambuster raids on three dams in the Ruhr valley in Germany in 1943. He not only lived in Herne Bay, but it was here that the final tests of the bomb were carried out. Leaving Herne Bay behind you, there is one last opportunity for some refreshments at Extra Scoops ice cream shop, but fear not if the queue here is too long, as it isn’t far to Reculver where there are further refreshment options.

Herne Bay to Reculver

Riding past the barriers of Herne Bay

Sailing club, the buildings disappear and a cliff rises up in their place as you follow the long and straight concrete track, known as the Saxon Shore Way, stretching out into the distance before you. Take care after stormy weather though as this path can be littered with pebbles washed up from the beach, and on the concrete surface it can be like cycling on marbles.

It is usually much quieter along this section, but people do wander up this way to escape the crowds, so please moderate your speed and give way to pedestrians as you go.

After a way, the cycle route bears up the hill, following the steep concrete track, which is all well-signposted as the Oyster Bay Trail and NCN 15 to Reculver. The cycle route continues along the grassy hilltop now, offering wonderful, elevated views and a matting laid into the grass ensures not only easy going and grip on this firm surface, but an obvious path away from the edge.

Along here, you’ll also find an unusual commemorative bench to sit and enjoy the view. Reflecting the area’s culture and history, it features three silhouette sculptures of a Dambuster pilot, an oyster fisherman and a woman in Roman dress.

From here you have a clear view of the imposing ruins of the Roman fort, Regulbium, and the imposing twin towers of a medieval church, which sit on the shoulder of the coast and dominate an otherwise empty skyline. This was the site of one of the earliest Roman forts built against Saxon raids on the Saxon Shore. It later became the site of an Anglo-Saxon monastery before becoming the parish church for Reculver.

The tall towers were built in a remodelling of the church in the twelfth century, although much of the site has been lost to coastal erosion. Only the southern half of the fort wall still stands, but there are numerous information boards that do an excellent job of giving you a sense of what once stood here, and it’s all free and easy to wander around. With a nice café by the first car park, the King Ethelbert Inn just beyond, and a choice of routes now on offer, this makes the ideal end to this leg of the journey.

Reculver Towers

Silhouette sculptures

Reculver to Cliffsend

PART THREE

Part 3: Reculver to Cliffsend

There are two route options for this section, depending on the time of year and weather conditions, and your preferred riding speed.

The inland option is pleasant and full of history, and allows you to make steady forward progress. If the wind is against you, it can also provide a welcome respite from the exposed coastline.

The coastal option circles the Isle of Thanet, offering unhindered coastal views and the interesting towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate to explore. The seafront becomes very busy in the summer months, and there are seasonal cycling restrictions in places, so expect to move at a very relaxed pace and dismount and walk occasionally. If you’d prefer to travel slightly faster, take the inland option instead.

The coastal option circles the Isle of Thanet, and is our recommended choice for the complete experience of the Cantii Way. It offers unhindered coastal views.

Area introduction and route summary

Britain became an island around 6500 BC as rising sea levels began to create the English Channel. Sea levels continued to rise for several thousand more years, and between 5000 BC and the beginning of the

Bronze Age (2000 BC), further flooding of low-lying land resulted in two tidal creeks being formed that eventually joined the English Channel to the Thames Estuary. This continuous sea channel, known as the Wantsum Channel, separated the north-east coast of Kent from the rest of Britain to create the Isle of Thanet. In Roman times, it would have been up to 4km wide and 9 metres deep in places and was a major shipping route. It was protected by the Roman-built Richborough Castle at one end and Reculver Fort at the other, with the first bridge to connect Thanet to Kent built in 1485.

The channel was used until around 1,000 years ago, when it was closed by silting from the River Stour in the late Middle Ages. Its course is now represented by the River Wantsum, which is little more than a drainage ditch running between Reculver and St Nicholas at Wade where it joins the River Stour, near Sarre. However, the land along this channel is only a few feet above sea level, and in January 1953 the Kent coast was battered by storms, causing flooding that virtually cut off the Isle of Thanet once again.

Inland option via Minster

Distance: 19km Ascent: 167m

Highlights

• Wantsum brewery and taproom in St Nicholas at Wade

• The Parkminster tearoom at Minster Abbey

• A little off the route is the Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum where you can experience a 30-minute flight in a Spitfire simulator

Advice

• Take care at the crossings with major roads

Reculver to Minster

Our route heads inland and stays close to the Wantsum channel, following the road from Reculver past a beautifully refurbished windmill, now a residential house, to join the Viking Coastal Trail. This good, firm track feels quiet as you leave the busy coastline, despite it running parallel to the A299, with the roar of the vehicles softened by the trees between. After crossing a bridge over the A-road, you weave through a farm-cum-industrial park with lines of farm machinery and

Navigation

Despite leaving the foolproof navigational aid of the coastline, this inland option still provides an easy-to-navigate route. Following the National Cycle Network (NCN) 15 signposts along mostly straight and direct tracks and quiet roads through the countryside, almost parallel to the A299, it quickly delivers you back to the coast once again.

the Wantsum Brewery and Taproom. If you time it right, it’s a great stop for beer lovers, offering a fine range of drinks, as you might expect from this hop-growing area. Just beyond here is the village of St Nicholas at Wade, where you are greeted by a large and imposing church as you enter the village. The village makes an excellent stopover, offering both a campsite and village pub with rooms, and a further pub/restaurant.

Beyond the village you are back out into big wide-open spaces, passing between the crop fields along the aptly named Orchard Lane. The quiet lane passes through Monkton, home to the smallest remaining ancient churches in Thanet, dating back pre-Domesday. They are of Norman style and quintessentially English. The village offers some places to stay for the night, but just a little further on is Minster, which has a few more options, with shops and eateries too.

Monkton & Minster off-road diversion

Between Monkton and Minster the route takes a short off-road diversion across some field bridleways and a smooth traffic-free track, followed by a fun singletrack descent into Minster. If it’s a windy day or the ground is wet and muddy, this can be hard work so you may wish to continue along the road instead.

The large medieval church of St Mary the Virgin at Minster, also known as the Cathedral of the Marshes, was founded in AD670 as a small monastic parish church and originally built using mud and wood. The present church was started by the Saxons and enlarged and absorbed by the Normans. Shortly beyond it is Minster Abbey, founded in 670AD. It was a private house until in 1937 when it was bought by (and is still run by) Benedictine nuns from St Walburga's Abbey in Eichstatt, Bavaria, as a dependent priory offering refuge from persecution. Also in the abbey grounds is Parkminster tearoom, which makes a lovely peaceful stop, with refreshments in the beautiful gardens.

Minster to Cliffsend

Back on the quiet country road, the route now passes beneath the A266 and railway, and past the unassuming St Augustine's Cross, set just back off the road in an area known as Ebbsfleet. This nineteenth-century Saxon cross is where it is thought Saint Augustine, sent by Pope St Gregory in 597AD, held his first service to King Ethelbert, thus marking the reintroduction of Christianity to the Anglo-Saxon people.

Within a few years, Christianity had spread throughout southern England and monastic life began to flourish. Saint Augustine then became the first Archbishop of Canterbury and, together with his monks, established a monastery there. Believed by some to be where Julius Caesar landed to launch the Roman invasion of Britain, this is also where you end this leg of the journey, back on the coastline at Pegwell Bay, Cliffsend.

Minster Abbey St Augustine's Cross

Coastal option around the Isle of Thanet

This section of the route can be very busy during peak times and there are few short sections where you will need to dismount on occasions. Please ride carefully and respectfully.

Distance: 34km

Highlights

Ascent: 389m

• Fantastic unhindered sea views and fresh sea air as you ride along the concrete coastal path

• The numerous beaches and tidal pools throughout this section, which make for lovely stops and swims along the way

• The interesting towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate that provide a wealth of facilities and interest

• Morelli’s gelato ice-cream shop

• A replica Viking ship on the clifftop

Advice

• If you are pushed for time, or don’t find enjoyment in riding slowly, then take the quicker and quieter inland route instead

• Check the weather. If the conditions aren’t very favourable, and the wind speed and direction against you, it may be best to follow the more sheltered, inland route

• When stormy, it is not unknown for the sea waves to come crashing over the coastal path. If the weather is bad, stay vigilant

• Take your swimwear if you are a fan of bracing dips, as there are several opportunities along this ride

• At certain times of the year, you will need to dismount on busy sections of the trail

Navigation

Burial mounds

Thanet has more Bronze Age burial mounds than anywhere else in Britain. During the Bronze Age (2100-750 BC), the Isle of Thanet became pockmarked with round barrows (burial mounds).

By continuing to follow the coastline, the navigational handrail of the sea to your left provides assistance and reassurance, for steady progress. You will need to stay alert to navigate between the pedestrians and road crossings, and there are a few turns to look out for, but generally it is well-signposted and obvious where to go.

The coastal option circles the Isle of Thanet, offering unhindered coastal views and the interesting towns of Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate to explore.

Reculver to Margate

Continue along the coastline on the wide, concrete path, known as the Thanet Coastal Path and part of the well-signposted Viking Coastal Trail and National Cycle Network (NCN) 15. This allows quick and steady progress, especially this first section, and even more so if you have the wind on your back. This quiet section of the trail crosses an exposed area with a pebble beach and far-reaching views of the sea to your left, and similar expansive views across the flat marshland to the right.

With the wind on your back and a straight hard-surfaced route ahead, the distance is quickly covered, and you are soon approaching a built-up coastline which stretches all around the headland. This also means that there are plenty of refreshment opportunities and other places of interest to visit, as well as many lovely beaches for swimming, if you wish.

Along the way, you pass interesting little holes and caves, and even old buildings built into the cliff as you advance towards Margate. As you approach the built-up busier areas, please take note of the

‘No Cycling’ signs, which apply between 1 May and 30 September. These no-cycling sections are not very long and you will need to dismount as they become busy with pedestrians.

First up in your approach to Margate is the popular Minnis Bay, with a long row of beach huts lining the route, as well as a food shack, brasserie and café as the promenade starts. It can get busy with both people and cars along the Parade, but at the far end of the bay is a tidal pool, should you need to cool down.

The wide concrete promenade continues once more, following along under the low cliffs, with large grassy areas on top, which are popular with visitors. A number of recesses into the cliffs provide some sheltered spots if you wish to hide from the wind.

Minnis Bay beach huts

Upon reaching Epple Bay, the route briefly heads off the immediate coast, but soon rejoins it, following the aptly named Sea Road. The cycle route rejoins the esplanade at the busy West Bay, passing the West Bay Café, and continues around the headland beneath the low cliffs, along the wide, concrete track.

If you don’t want to brave the busy beaches, there are plenty of green open spaces to rest in around this headland, by the British Legion Memorial park, before coming to St Mildred’s Bay. The popularity of this sandy bay means you will probably need to walk along the busy promenade, before remounting and passing more open grassland, past the Sunken Gardens, which offer some shelter and a place to rest, if required.

The Shell Grotto

The Shell Grotto is an unexplained network of underground passages that stretches some 70ft. And with a 2,000 sq ft mosaic chamber studded with 4.6 million shells, this certainly makes for an intriguing visit. The shells of cockles, whelks, mussels and oysters create a swirling profusion of patterns and symbols open to any number of interpretations. Discovered by chance in 1835, debate has raged about the grotto’s origins, with some believing it to be an ancient temple, while others are convinced it was the meeting place for a secret sect.

Westbrook Bay is another lovely and popular beach, as you reach the popular coastal town of Margate, a town that was once little more than a small fishing village. However, since sea bathing became popular in the early eighteenth century, Margate became one of the first and leading seaside resorts. The fairground, Dreamland, is home to old pinball machines, fairground artefacts, a bijou cinema housed in a vintage-style arcade and even a renovated 1920s wooden roller-coaster which offers a nostalgic ride with gentle drops.

After a more recent dip in tourism, the town is seeing a fresh resurgence in visitors, keen to visit not just the classic fairground rides and amusement arcades, but arty attractions such as the Turner Contemporary gallery and the mysterious Shell Grotto.

Lifeboatman memorial statue

This bronze statue serves as a reminder of the nine lives lost when the Margate Surf Boat capsized on Thursday 2 December 1897.

If you haven’t been tempted off your bike by the crazy golf, you probably will be just a little further on, where an excellent selection of food and drink shacks, and even an old double-decker bus, provide refreshments. These establishments are especially useful to warm yourself up again after a dip in the tidal pool close by. Just past the busy bay lies the pretty harbour, bustling with trendy bars and restaurants and the Turner Contemporary gallery, all of which are worth pulling over for, to rest and refuel.

Margate to Broadstairs

If you prefer it quieter, keep pedalling, following the lower concrete promenade below the cliffs to Walpole tidal pool, where you will climb up to continue along the clifftop. As you follow the tarmac track around the headland of Foreness Point, there are copious areas of lush green grass to rest.

Presently, you will pass close to the walls of Neptune’s Tower, a folly built in the shape of a typical Henrician castle, but on a much smaller scale. It’s thought this was built by Lord Holland at the same time (1760s) as the Captain Digby and Kingsgate Castle which both lie just around the corner. Captain Digby is now a busy family restaurant, while the castle sits quietly and peacefully on the clifftop on the other side of the bay.

You now join the roadside, passing Joss Bay – a lovely sandy beach and popular surfing spot – as you make your way southwards, following the cycle route past the barriers into and around, the North Foreland Private (housing) Estate.

The Eastern Esplanade road leads you along the clifftops to Broadstairs, where the familiar blue cycle route signs for the Viking Coastal Trail (NCN 15) guide you onto the shared-use path. Carefully making your way between the pedestrians into the

busy town of Broadstairs, you will emerge by The Old Curiosity Shop, which is actually (curiously) a café. You’ll be resigned to pedestrian status here, as cyclists are required to dismount to pass along the steep, narrow lane of Eldon Place to the popular Balmoral Gardens, with its numerous cafés that enjoy elevated views over Viking Bay beach below.

Just beyond is the Dickens House Museum. As a regular visitor to the area, Charles Dickens is thought to have used the cottage in which the museum is now housed as the inspiration for the home of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. An interesting visit for those who wish to learn more about Dickens or to gain a fascinating insight into life in Victorian times.

Broadstairs to Ramsgate

Your journey resorts back to following the road as you leave Broadstairs behind, the elevated clifftop roadside providing pleasant views, until being guided into and through the King George VI Memorial Park as you arrive in Ramsgate.

In the park is the fabulous Italianate Glasshouse (with café), which was erected in 1832 in the grounds of East Cliff Lodge, Sir Moses Montefiore’s 22-acre estate.

Entering Ramsgate, you double back on yourself to drop down to the main beach, along the coastline which now starts to head in a westerly direction.

Down at sea level, you’ll find the Ramsgate Tunnel tours, an interesting glimpse into the UK’s largest network of civilian wartime tunnels, including purpose-built air raid precaution tunnels where thousands took shelter and lived under the town of Ramsgate during the Second World War. Discover how the tunnels were built, the “mad mayor” who saved the town, and listen and see what town life was like, underground.

Skirting around the edge of Ramsgate Harbour, with its tinkling of mast stays from the moored boats, there are some delightful cafés and even a bicycle shop that have made their homes in the arches under the road that climbs out of the bustling centre of town.

After climbing the road, you’re soon onto the wide Westcliff Promenade, with views over the busy industrial port below, away from the traffic once more.

Ramsgate to Cliffsend

Leaving Ramsgate behind and passing through open countryside, you shortly arrive in Cliffsend, where there is a full-size replica of a Scandinavian longboat (the Hugin Viking ship that sailed from Denmark in 1949) on the cliff top.

This is where we end this section of the journey, above Pegwell Bay, beside a Viking ship on the cliff top, and perhaps with some celebratory refreshments from the lovely little Viking Ship café here to set you up nicely for the voyage of the next leg.

The Hugin Viking ship

Cliffsend to Dover PART FOUR

Part 4: Cliffsend to Dover

Distance: 31km

Highlights

Ascent: 244m

• Pegwell Bay Country Park is where the Saxons landed in 449 and St Augustine in 597. It’s also the site of the Salty Seal, a pleasant café to set you up for the day’s riding

• Sandwich is a lovely town with interesting buildings, boat trips and cafés

• Richborough Castle is worth a short detour if you enjoy history

• Betteshanger Country Park has some great off-road cycle trails, as well as other outdoor activities

• Deal is a lovely seaside town, with a pier, various shops and cafés, a long, shingle beach and two grand castles

• South Foreland Lighthouse

• Fan Bay Deep Shelter and Sound Mirrors

• View over Dover harbour

• Dover Castle

Advice

• Look out for stray golf balls as you ride between Sandwich and Deal

• After so much riding along the flat, get prepared physically and mentally for the climb out of Kingsdown, after Deal

• Take care when entering Dover – it’ll feel busy after all the traffic-free cycling

Nature

You could be lucky to see any of the following birds through this section of the ride: red kite, red-legged partridge, grey heron, shelduck, short-eared owl, buzzard, oystercatcher, green woodpecker, curlew, marsh harrier, skylark, and lapwing, all of which can all be spotted along this part of the coast. For more information, have a look at the Sandwich Bay Observatory Club. sbbot.org.uk

Navigation

This section of the route is another simple ride in terms of navigation, as it follows close to the coastline, which if you keep on your left, you won’t go far wrong. It also has the added benefit of following the same trails as the National Cycle Network (NCN) 1, so there are numerous useful signposts that will pop up to confirm you are on the right track.

Area introduction and route summary

You set off cycling through Pegwell Nature Reserve and the country park, slowly bearing away from the coast and following the cycle path as it guides you through a quiet area which provides habitat for rare flora and fauna. The grassy seafront park has a dedicated bird-watching box not far from the entrance, which is in stark contrast to what you encounter as you soon reach Richborough Port, a noisy cacophony of vehicles and industrial workings.

Cliffsend to Sandwich

There used to be a major town and port here called Stonar, a rival to Sandwich, but in 1365 it was flooded before being invaded and razed to the ground by the French in 1389, and from which it never recovered.

The path beside the A256 may be noisy with vehicles rumbling close by, but it’s easy to follow and firm track soon has you flying past the industrial estates and crossing a lovely little single-laned toll bridge into the charming town of Sandwich, one of the best-preserved medieval towns in England.

Just north of Sandwich sits Richborough Castle, perhaps the most symbolically important of all Roman sites in Britain, having witnessed both the beginning and almost the end of Roman rule. After riding past it, on the other side of the River Stour, to Sandwich, you can access it by heading back northwards on the Richborough road.

The site has a Roman fort and amphitheatre set amid the East Kent marshes. Here you can explore the huge stone walls that mark the site of the Saxon Shore fortress, the rolling defensive ditches and the foundations which show the scale of this once bustling Roman settlement. Now lying around 3km from the sea, this was most likely the main entry for the Romans' invasion circa AD 43. They established a bridgehead and

commemorated their success by building a triumphal arch whose cross shaped foundations still survive at the site. In the third century, Roman Britain was under attack by Saxon and other raiders, making it necessary to fortify the prosperous commercial port of Rutupiae. They dug triple ditches and ramparts which can still be seen, along with a museum and exhibits showing Roman life.

Sandwich to Deal

Your journey now heads back towards the coast, joining a quiet toll road, making for a pleasant journey across this flat, open area. Once again, the coastline here is a haven for butterflies, dragonflies, moths, unique flora and, of course, birds

Richborough Castle

Sandwich

Although the sea has now retreated, this was once one of the best medieval trading posts in the country. As well as a good selection of cafés, pubs and shops, Sandwich has a number of other attractions and sites of interest, such as a United States Navy P-22 gunboat, built in Germany in 1952 to patrol the River Rhine, and which takes tours up the river. And on the quay, which was the basis for Sandwich’s prosperity and fame for centuries, a Medieval Centre has recreations and displays on the period 1335 to 1485.

Betteshanger Country Park

Just off the route is Betteshanger Country Park, with more than 10km of off-road cycle trails, graded for difficulty, as well as other activities such as archery and den building. Situated on a former colliery spoil site, the area has been transformed into a wonderful outdoor area offering a range of activities and events. betteshanger-park.co.uk

Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust is located along the lane, and offers some pleasant, simple accommodation, open to non-members. It provides a peaceful stopover for anyone who’s happy to cater for themselves.

Continuing on your way, you have the option to stick to the tarmac, or as we chose, a sandy byway, to pass between the scrubland, although you’re more likely to see golfers in the heather as they pick their way from one lush grassy green hole to the next.

As you continue parallel to the coast, old pillboxes sit perched on top of the dunes, standing guard as you make your way south. After rejoining the tarmac, you pass the Chequers Kitchen Cookery School, where they provide not only cookery lessons but also a chance to dine at times. Sitting on long tables together, expect a friendly and convivial meal.

Entering the coastal town of Deal, and if you’ve timed it right for the market on Saturday, you’ll be treated to a range of local and foreign goods. Don’t worry if you’re here on another day, though: as with many coastal towns there are a range of cafés, restaurants and shops on hand along the seafront to satisfy your needs. Bicycles are not allowed on the pier, but there is some cycle parking available, and the Deal Pier Kitchen restaurant at the end offers a welcome treat.

Medieval town gate

Betteshanger Park

Statue at Betteshanger

Deal Pier

The current pier is the third incarnation. The first was built in 1838 but was washed away during a storm in 1857. In 1863, a replacement pier was commissioned and built to a length of 1,100 feet. It had a tram that carried luggage and goods up to a steamer landing stage for the convenience of its patrons, and a pavilion built in 1886 for concerts, plus a reading room added in the mid 1870s. However, even after it survived a number of collisions with ships, the army was given permission by Winston Churchill to demolish it in 1940, to allow coastal guns a clear line of sight during the Second World War.

The third and current structure, built from reinforced concrete to a length of 1,026 feet, was opened in 1957 by the Duke of Edinburgh. The four shelters on either side of the pier are popular with anglers and always attract large numbers for the 'heaviest fish of the month' competition run by the local angling shop.

Deal Castle

Shortly, when the road bears inland, you keep ahead to join the cycle path along the coastline, passing in front of Deal Castle, which was constructed by Henry VIII between 1539-40. This artillery fortress was built to protect against invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, and to defend the strategically important naval anchorage offshore, called the Downs. Although designed to allow all-round firepower from more than 140 guns, it never achieved that number. However, it was called into action for a hard-fought siege between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces during the English Civil Wars in 1648.

From 1730, the castle was gradually transformed into a genteel residence and ceased its military role around 1800. Thankfully, it still stands and remains one of the finest Tudor artillery castles in England. Visitors can explore everything from the circular rooms at the top to the store rooms and tunnels at the bottom.

The route continues south along the coast, following a traffic-free cycle path. If you wish to explore the town further, Deal is actively making itself more cycle-friendly, so look out for the new maps showing places to visit, such as conservation areas, green spaces, other cycle paths and useful amenities such as public toilets and cycle parking.

After so much riding along the flat, get prepared physically and mentally for the climb out of Kingsdown, after Deal.

Deal to Dover

The coast is always popular, but with such a long stretch of coastline and a shingle beach stretching southwards, it becomes quieter as you continue. Finding a quiet spot to call your own, and even enjoying a refreshing paddle in the beautiful turquoise sea to cool your feet, should be straightforward.

Just a short pedal further along the coast brings you to some more recent and tragic history in the form of the Royal Marines Memorial Bandstand. It was built to commemorate 11 Royal Marine musicians killed on 22 September 1989 by an IRA bomb at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, and plays host to a popular memorial concert held in July each year.

You are soon jumping back in time again as you pass another of the 42 artillery forts built under King Henry VIII’s rule. Walmer Castle became a stately home for the Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports, including the Iron Duke of Wellington, and the picturesque coastal castle is now home to more than eight acres of awardwinning gardens. With colourful displays and cool, shaded spots, as well as a

fascinating history, this is a pleasant and interesting stop along your journey. Having become accustomed to the flat terrain, the climb out of Kingsdown may come as a bit of a shock to the system, but the tarmac surface is good, the vehicles few and far between, and with a cool coastal breeze it could even be described as enjoyable.

After passing through St Margaret’s at Cliffe, for the moment you will need to continue along the road on NCN route 1, until it directs you to turn left near the coastguard station. Unfortunately this misses out on the fantastic South Foreland lighthouse, which offers both a café and, on a clear day, great views of the French coast. Cycling UK is in discussion with the National Trust and Sustrans about modifying the NCN route to use the well-surfaced track that leads from the lighthouse and behind the WW2 Fan Bay Deep Shelter. There are currently kissing gates at either end of the track, so until this is resolved you may have to retrace your steps a little if you decide to visit the lighthouse.

South Foreland Lighthouse

Built in the nineteenth century, its primary function was to warn mariners to steer clear of the Goodwin Sands, a ten-mile-long sandbank, three miles off shore, known as the Great Ship Swallower. These sands are constantly moving and have a quicksand-like consistency during high tide, making them dangerous to shipping. It’s said they have claimed more than 2,000 recorded wrecks. In 1872, South Foreland became the first lighthouse to use electricity, and in 1899, the first to use international wireless transmission following the invention of the radio.

After surviving 142 years and two world wars, the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1988, and is now owned by the National Trust, which offers tours of the building. Visitors are treated to spectacular views from the top and see the simple, yet sophisticated, clockwork mechanism installed in 1904. Used to turn the lens and make the lighthouse flash, it still turns smoothly today. Alternatively, just enjoy some quintessential English refreshments in the tearoom, with loose-leaf tea served in china tea pots and cups and a mouth-watering choice of cakes.

This section of the coast was known during the Second World War as Hellfire Corner because of the exchange of gunfire across the Channel between the British and German superguns. It’s hoped in the near future tourists will be able to visit two of the British guns, Jane and Clem, thanks to the National Trust which has purchased land at Wanstone, home to the largest of Dover's Second World War coastal batteries.

The guns were installed on the site with a deep shelter, plotting room, guard room and ammunition stores. Although the guns looked impressive and were useful for propaganda purposes, they were not effective in inflicting any useful damage to the German forces.

Just off the Cantii Way route is the Fan Bay Deep Shelter, an intriguing tunnel complex constructed in 1940-41 as accommodation for the British gun battery. These were integral to British defences during the Second World War. Hidden within the cliffs, the tunnels are virtually all that remains of these long-forgotten defences. Tours are available allowing you to explore beneath the white cliffs and include a visit to the Fan Bay Sound Mirrors.

These interesting constructions were built in 1917 and 1920, making them some of the oldest surviving sound mirrors in the country. The sound mirrors were one of the first early warning detection systems ever invented. A forerunner of radar, the idea came about in 1915 by English acoustic pioneer, Dr William Sansome Tucker, to detect the sound of enemy aircraft from around 15 miles away, providing the British army an extra 15 minutes’ warning of an imminent attack.

Fan Bay Sound Mirrors

Both of these mirrors here were initially cut into the chalk and lined with concrete to form the distinctive dish shape. Facing towards France, they were designed to give advance notice of approaching enemy aircraft by reflecting the sound and amplifying it to a focal point where an operator or sound collector would use a stethoscope to identify the different sounds. The operator would require specialist training and the complex task of distinguishing the sounds was so difficult, they could only work for around 40 minutes at a time. After being considered an eyesore in the 1970s, they were covered up, but the 600 cubic metres of soil has now been removed to reveal the constructions once more.

This section of the coast was known during the Second World War as Hellfire Corner because of the exchange of gunfire across the Channel between the British and German superguns.

Dover Castle

Cycling is not allowed on the cliff path, but bicycles are welcomed around the visitor centre further along the route, where there are bike racks available. So it’s best to continue along the permissive track where the route joins the road briefly and you are rewarded with a tantalising view across the valley of the mighty Dover Castle. You soon dive back off-road and descend to the National Trust car park and visitor centre, where you’re treated to superb aerial views of the busy Port of Dover docks below. Snag yourself a picnic bench here and watch the cross-Channel ferries come and go or pop into the visitor centre where you can park your bike and explore the centre or Fan Bay Deep Shelter.

Further riding

If you follow the River Dour to the Alkham Valley, and Kearsney Abbey and Russell Gardens, the most popular historic parks in Dover, Cycling UK has developed a cycle route where you can not only enjoy the parks, but also explore this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty further.

Finally, there is the steep descent into Dover town itself, and although you might be tempted by the more direct, traffic-free option, beware as there are lots of steps. There is a narrow ramp to wheel your bike down, but it’s easier to zip down the hill on the road and around the castle instead.

Following NCN 1 (River Dour Greenway) signs help guide you through the centre of town with relative ease, although after so much quiet and traffic-free riding it’ll seem pretty busy and require care riding among the pedestrians and vehicles once again. You pass beneath an underpass which pops you back out beside the sea and back into the present day, to finish this historical section of the journey and prepare to begin the next chapter.

cyclinguk.org/route/experience-dover-kearsney-and-alkham

The River Dour

The River Dour, a chalk stream which flows from the village of Temple Ewell, is just 6.4km long, and originally had a wide estuary and a natural harbour for Bronze Age settlers and traders on the site which is now modern Dover. The river now flows into the English Channel through a culvert at Willington dock in Dover Harbour, but is still important, being one of only 200 chalk streams in the world, making it a habitat for rare flora and fauna. Water quality of chalk streams is exceptional due to filtering through the chalk beds, and a stable temperature, enabling them to support a rich mix of botanical and invertebrate life such as river water crowfoot and starwort plants and brown trout.

Wildlife on the River Dour

Dover to Hythe PART

FIVE

Part 5: Dover to Hythe

Distance: 24km

Ascent: 393m

Highlights

• Exploring the castle and history of Dover

• Samphire Hoe Country Park

• Seeing the sound mirrors up close on the clifftop

• Visiting the Battle of Britain Memorial

• Visiting Terlingham vineyard

• Looking out over the Channel Tunnel Terminal

Advice

• Follow the cycle lanes out of Dover to avoid riding on the busy roads

• Some sections of the coastal path become footpath only, so you will need to follow the cycle path at these points

• After heading inland, the A260 crossing can be busy. An island in the middle aids crossing here

• If it’s been wet and you have skinny, slick tyres, either take care on the off-road sections (especially the descent to Hythe) or opt for the alternative route down

Navigation

Leaving Dover is straightforward as you follow a well-signposted cycle route beside the road and along the coast. Approaching the outskirts of Folkestone you weave inland and along higher ground, where some simple navigation is required, before heading back down to the coast where it all becomes simple once more.

Nature

Vegetated shingle is a Natural England UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat as it is rare and valuable for wildlife. The wildlife areas here promote natural colonisation and encourage a natural balance in the ecosystem.

The White Cliffs of Dover and the hills of the North Downs are formed of chalk, which comprises the skeletons of microscopic marine organisms called coccoliths that accumulated on the sea floor over 90 million years ago.

Area introduction and route summary

Dover is one of Britain’s best-known ports, standing proudly at the foot of the iconic white cliffs. Previously named Dubris during Saxon times, Dover became a fishing port and was one of the Cinque Ports that homed England’s first long-serving Royal Navy.

The town is often described as the ‘key to England’ due to its defensive significance, and with Dover Castle standing guard since the eleventh century, it has been a gateway to the realm for some 900 years.

With more than 80 acres of grounds to explore, battlements to walk, rooftop views to see, secret wartime tunnels to explore, and an underground hospital, it is worth taking time to visit on your journey through this part of the country, the closest point to mainland Europe.

Dover to Samphire Hoe

The route leaves Dover snaking between the marinas and with the gentle sound of the mast stays tinkling. You then join a cycle path that separates you from the hectic flow of traffic to and from this busy port town.

On the chalk cliffs to your right is an area known as the Western Heights, home to a vast hilltop defensive fortification from the 1800s known as the Citadel. This military barricade was built for protection from Napoleon, but in 1952, after the Second World War, it was converted into a prison and later became a youth detention centre. In more recent times it served as an immigration removal centre but was closed down in 2015.

Just outside the defensive ditch system which surrounds the Citadel, is the Citadel Battery, with three 9.2-inch breech-loading guns, mounted in large concrete emplacements. It remained armed throughout the beginning of the twentieth century and was manned during the Second World War, with magazines for the guns located in vaulted rooms directly below the guns. Although the entrances have now been filled with earth, many

of the Citadel's original buildings remain preserved and you are able to walk in the area, and also hopefully cycle soon.

Following the National Cycle Network (NCN) 2 out of Dover, you cross a bridge over the rumbling A20, to a junction where a big, dark and intriguing tunnel on your left drops down into the cliff, with cars queuing up to disappear into its gaping mouth.

This is the entrance to the UK’s newest strip of land, the 30-hectare Samphire Hoe nature reserve, which was created in 1997 using 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl excavated during the digging of the Channel Tunnel.

Designed both for people to enjoy and for wildlife to thrive in, it’s popular with anglers and walkers, as well as home to a huge variety of wildlife and nationally rare plant species, including the early spider orchid. There is also a gentle 2km cycle route around the perimeter of the reserve, passing beneath the cliffs, past lakes, and along a high sea wall. You’ll also find a café and toilets here. If you are tempted off-route, please note you should use the footway through the tunnel and it’s recommended cyclists walk.

On the chalk cliffs to your right is an area known as the Western Heights, home to a vast hilltop defensive fortification from the 1800s known as the Citadel.

Samphire Hoe to Hythe

Sadly, the North Downs Way trail along the edge of the cliff tops is not accessible by bike, making Houghton Battery accessible by foot only. However, continuing along the decent surface of the NCN 2 makes for easier going, and you also pass right by a sound mirror at Abbot’s Cliff.

These early warning detection systems were invented to give advance notice of approaching enemy aircraft. Although you won’t hear much from it now, you can still sit and appreciate the innovation and the view.

Shortly after, the route joins a path beside the road, which delivers you to Capel-le-Ferne, with wonderful views over the English Channel and refreshments at the Clifftop Café. A wonderful spot –if you don’t suffer from vertigo, as it clings to the side of the cliff, and boasts a stunning panoramic vista.

Back on the move again, you will shortly cross the entrance to the Battle of Britain Memorial site, a highly recommended stop-off. It’s set high on the cliffs and makes a fitting site for a monument to the aircrew who flew in the Battle of Britain, from July to October 1940.

A central statue of a seated airman looks out across the sea, to where the Luftwaffe would have appeared from the Continent in 1940. The airman in the statue wears an Irvin flying jacket to hide his uniform and disguise any nationality or rank, and is surrounded by the badges of

all the Allied squadrons and other units that took part in the battle.

A memorial wall contains the names of all the aircrew known to have flown during the Battle of Britain, listed in alphabetical order, without rank or decoration, to highlight and respect everyone who contributed to the RAF’s victory.

There are also some wonderful replica aircraft and plenty more to see inside the Wing, as the visitor centre is called. It was opened in 2015 and shaped to look like the wings of a Spitfire plane, complete with its famous uplift.

Cycle parking is available outside, while inside you can visit the Scramble Experience, a hands-on attraction that uses audio-visual effects and video wall to show something of what was experienced in the battle. On the first floor, an open balcony reveals more superb views across the Channel to France, and the Cockpit Café cooks up some fine refreshments too. There is also a well-stocked souvenir shop, if you have room in your luggage for any gifts, that is.

Battle of Britain Museum

Another place of aviation interest nearby, but off the route, is the Kent Battle of Britain Museum, to the north of Folkestone, in Hawkinge. It is home to a large collection of Second World War aviation artefacts and memorabilia, and worth the trip to learn and appreciate “how so much is owed by so many, to so few”.

kbobm.org

Samphire Hoe

Airman statue

Folkstone

If you have time, it’s worth dipping into the vibrant town of Folkestone for a look around. An important harbour and shipping port during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the town has transformed itself into an artistic hub

and foodie haven. The cobbled streets of the Creative Quarter are home to over 100 artists and projects, and the former ferry terminal of the Harbour Arm is now a popular destination for street food stalls.

The route now dips inland, keeping its height to traverse along the top of a steep escarpment, offering great views over Folkestone. The roads are quiet, making for lovely riding, and although it crosses the busy A260, you are immediately back onto singletrack roads. At a fork in the road, there is an option to take a diversion to the lovely family-run Terlingham vineyard. It requires climbing the hillside, but the lofty location of this natural, boutique vineyard is delightful. What’s more, they make award-winning wines and offer tours and wine tasting. The vineyard also has some B&B accommodation. After your visit, you can return to the route via a bridleway opposite the vineyard exit, which will cut the corner and add some off-road fun down the hillside, if you have the tyres (and head) for it.

Castle Hill

Approaching the outskirts of Folkestone you weave inland and along higher ground, where some simple navigation is required, before heading back down to the coast where it all becomes simple once more...

Also just off the route, on Castle Hill, is Caesar’s Camp, a Bronze Age barrow and castle, probably constructed in the twelfth century. It offers great views over Folkestone, but sadly is only accessible by footpath, so you will have to leave the bike behind.

The Channel Tunnel

An average of 60,000 passengers pass through the Eurotunnel each day, along with 4,600 trucks, 140 coaches and 7,300 cars. Since its completion, the equivalent of over six times the population of the UK and more than 80 million vehicles have travelled through the tunnel. It was one of the biggest engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK, taking more than five years and more than 13,000 workers to connect Folkestone with Coquelles in France. Running beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover, roughly 50 metres below the seabed (75 at its lowest), and 115 metres below sea level, the project cost £4.65 billion (equivalent to £12 billion today), 80 per cent more than expected, but is recognised as one of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World” by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Continuing along the road delivers more impressive views, this time over the Eurotunnel terminal below, with its spaghetti-like multiple railway lines and throngs of cars and lorries winding their way onto the shuttle trains.

However, we don’t recommend you try and cycle through the tunnel like Tour de France winner Chris Froome did in 2014.

An alternative method of crossing the Channel is to swim. The first successful crossing was in 1875 by Matthew Webb in a time of 21hrs 45mins. The fastest time was just 6hrs 55mins, set in 2012 by Australian, Trent Grimsey.

Your journey continues down a slightly rough, tree-lined singletrack road, where you’ll need to be alert and keen on the brakes should you meet anyone coming the other way. It’s a fun descent to the small village of Peene, which lies on the edge of the Eurotunnel terminal, where at the bottom, you now join a bridleway directly ahead and the road bears sharply right. At the fork in the bridleway, the route goes left, but if you wish, take the right fork to deliver you to the door of the Elham Valley Line Trust. This is home to the lovely little Peene Railway Museum, formed in 1984 to preserve railway history, along with a miniature railway, a model of the Eurotunnel layout, and of course, a tearoom.

Back to the route, follow a permissive bridleway along a weaving singletrack trail which passes through a tranquil and green corridor. There are lots of information boards on the local flora and fauna dotted along this stretch of trail, and between mid-May to early August you could well spot either the common spotted and pyramidal orchids here. Of nearly 60 species of orchid that exist in Britain, almost half can be found in Kent.

From the peaceful and the serene, to crossing beneath and over various bridges with a cacophony of noise from motorised vehicles, you’re soon leaving the drone of the M20 behind you and climbing into the quiet countryside once more. Well, that’s if the military training camp isn’t in action and firing on the ranges. Near the top of the road, the track technically becomes a footpath and the bridleway bears off right, up through a grassy field, but it rejoins at the top by Dibgate Camp.

Dibgate Camp used to house a number of anti-aircraft batteries and just to the south was a prisoner of war camp to house German prisoners. It’s safe now,

Peene Railway Museum

but numerous caution signs remind you not to touch anything, or wander off the public rights of way, for fear of explosions.

Do stop and turn 180 degrees though, to see the Folkestone White Horse, created by a local artist using limestone slabs, on the hillside you were riding across earlier.

The trail now passes through some deciduous woods to the Sene Valley Golf Club, where a weaving singletrack snakes its way between the hedges. Take care on this surface if it’s wet and you’re on slick tyres.

After being delivered down the hill, past the Fountain pub with a rather intriguing advert for Nana Fanny’s Salt Beef, you arrive back at the familiar coastline once more at Seabrook.

There are some cafés here, including the friendly Mr Whippet’s café just along the seafront, offering up some great coffee and treats, with benches and a sea wall to perch on while you soak in the far-reaching views all the way to Dungeness. It looks a long way from here, especially when your eye follows the long, arching coastline you are about to follow. However, there are

just a couple of kilometres further to ride of this short but busy section of your journey, into the coastal town of Hythe, where you will be met by a healthy selection of accommodation and eateries.

Hythe seafront

Folkstone white horse

Hythe to Rye

PART SIX

Part 6: Hythe to Rye

Distance: 52km

Ascent: 209m

Highlights

• Easy, pleasant and peaceful riding along the Royal Military Canal

• Unit 1 café, just off the military canal, is highly recommended

• The interesting history and sights of the Martello towers

• The one-third-size steam and diesel locomotives of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway

• A seafood snack from the Snack Shack in Dungeness

• The bleak but beautiful Dungeness, with its wild and rugged landscape, interesting shacks, boats, wildlife, lighthouses and even a nuclear power station

• The buzz and contrast of Camber Sands after Dungeness, with a sandy beach, cafés, ice cream and holidaymakers

• Knoops Chocolate café in Rye. Choose your hot chocolate from a wide range of cocoa percentages from 28% white up to 100% dark

• Wonderfully preserved medieval buildings and cobbled streets in Rye, with a great choice of cafés, pubs and accommodation

Advice

• Be aware of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) live firing ranges along the coast and stay out of the ‘Danger Areas’ when the red flags are flying

• Keep an eye on the weather forecast, as you are extremely exposed along the coast on this section, and likely to be battling into a headwind

• Do not try to wild camp at Dungeness

• Stay on the permitted tracks through the Nature Reserves and Lydd Ranges

Navigation

Although not following the coast at the start, the Royal Military Canal actually offers an even easier route to navigate, as it’s well-signposted and straight. There is a short section across the fields to Burmarsh that isn’t the usual straightforward navigation you’ve become accustomed to, but it’s easy enough, and you are soon back to the familiar coastline where you really can’t go wrong.

It becomes less obvious where to go around the nuclear power station at Dungeness, but follow close to the perimeter fence and then join the only (access) road to the power station and you will pass through easily. The fences, danger and nature reserve signs then shepherd you through the old marsh to Lydd where a cycle path leads you with ease all the way to the town of Rye.

Area introduction and route summary

After landing in Hythe (Hythe being an Old English word meaning haven or landing place), it’s inland where we now head, on our otherwise largely coastal journey. That is unless you fancy some refreshments by the sea first, as the Lazy Lobster Shack a little further along offers some great food in a lovely setting.

Located on the beach alongside local fishing boats, it’s an idyllic spot that offers a chance to bid farewell to the coastline for now. Past this point, it becomes an MoD firing range, so you head inland, along a shared pedestrian/cycle path beside the recreation ground, along Ladies Walk, into the town centre of Hythe and the canal.

The Hythe War Memorial is just over the bridge here but is on the south (enemy) side that we join the Royal Military Canal, an inland waterway created as part of a major military defence project against Napoleon’s planned invasion.

Hythe War Memorial

If there is a strong wind, this long, exposed section can be challenging, both physically and mentally, as you slowly push southwards towards Dungeness.

Hythe to Dymchurch

Built between 1804 and 1809 after concerns Romney Marsh could be used as a bridgehead – a strategically important area of ground to cross a body of water –this 45km defensive line was created between Seabrook, near Folkestone, and Cliff End, near Hastings. Following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh, it was constructed in two sections: the longer section from Hythe to Iden Lock, and the other from the foot of Winchelsea Hill to Cliff End. The two are linked by the River Rother and the River Brede.

Artillery batteries were located around every half kilometre along the canal, enabling guns to be directed along the next stretch of water. However, the canal didn’t see any military action as Napoleon never carried out his planned invasion.

The canal was also used in an attempt to control smuggling, although it proved ineffective as guards at each of the bridges along its length were easily bribed.

The canal was eventually abandoned in 1877 and leased to the Lords of the Level of Romney Marsh. However, during the early stages of the Second World War, it was once again manned and fortified with concrete pillboxes and entanglements of barbed wire in preparation for a feared German invasion. A number of the pillboxes still survive today and can be seen along the route.

The canal is now a tranquil haven for wildlife such as kingfishers, dragonflies and marsh frogs, and also part of the Saxon Shore Way, a long-distance public footpath that runs for 262km from Gravesend to Hastings.

Did you know?

Navvy was the term coined in the late eighteenth century to describe manual labourers working on major civil engineering projects such as canals, or navigations as they were also known.

Leaving Hythe, you soon cross over to the inland side where a military road, built to allow access along the canal, now provides an easy-to-navigate, flat, tree-lined track. This makes for quick and easy progress, but take your time and enjoy it, be courteous to other trail users, and look out for the interesting information boards along the way.

Saxon Shore forts

The most distinctive feature of Saxon Shore forts is their defences, which comprised massive stone walls, normally backed by an inner earth mound, and wholly or partially surrounded by one or two ditches. Wall walks and parapets originally crowned all walls, and the straight walls of all sites were punctuated by corner and interval towers and/or projecting bastions. Unlike other Roman military sites, there is a lack of standardisation among Saxon Shore forts in respect of size and design of component features, and they vary in shape from square to polygonal or oval.

To your right, you’ll notice a steep hillside and learn that around 2,000 years ago, before Romney Marsh was drained, you would have been pedalling in the sea here.

Shortly past West Hythe Dam, you pass below a site known locally as Stutfall Castle where the remains of Portus Lemanis (also known as Lemanae, the Latin name of a Roman Saxon Shore fort) lie. The fort was built between AD 260-280 to provide a base for the British arm of the Roman navy, the Classis Britannica, when there was a port here.

At Aldergate Bridge you leave the military canal where the track becomes a footpath as it continues westwards, and you head southbound, aiming for the coast once more. The rough but rideable track leads to a road which you dogleg over, to follow flat, grassy field edges which can get a little bumpy further on.

If you are riding on skinny road tyres and the ground is wet, you may wish to divert off the military canal a little earlier and pass through Botolph’s Bridge to join the coast by the Dymchurch Redoubt. This large defence tower, one of three (the others can be found in Harwich and Eastbourne) acted as a supply depot for the 21 smaller Martello towers between Hythe and Rye. It is owned by the MoD and although it sadly doesn’t allow any public access, it is an interesting building.

Take your time and enjoy the flat, tree-lined track, be courteous of other trail users, and look out for the interesting information boards along the way.

Dymchurch Redoubt

This circular, two-storey brick building with granite and sandstone dressings measures 68 metres in diameter, is 12 metres high, and possesses a nine-metre-wide dry moat with an earth bank and collapsible wooden entry bridge. The upper floor had placements for ten 24-pounder guns mounted on wooden traversing platforms, and the lower floor had 24 vaulted barrack and storage casemates, a circular parade ground and could accommodate 350 people. Ironically, by the time it was finished, the threat of invasion was over.

During the First World War, it was used for troop accommodation, and in the Second World War it was reconstructed as an emergency coastal battery. It was operational by 1942 and two six-inch breech loading guns were mounted in casemates built over the original gun emplacements. After the war it was used as a coastguard lookout, radar was installed to monitor shipping in the English Channel, and a mock-up of a street of buildings in the interior was used for army training in urban warfare. It is now disused except as a store and remains the property of the Ministry of Defence with no public access.

Dymchurch to Dungeness

Rejoining the coast once more at the village of Dymchurch, you’ll find a fine example of a Martello tower. These small defensive coastal forts were built across the British Empire during the time of the Napoleonic War, between 1798 and 1809, to protect sluices which drained the canal and Romney Marsh.

By 1812 there were 74 such towers sited along the South Coast and a further 29 in Suffolk and Essex. Inspired by a fort in the Bay of Mortella, Corsica, which had beaten off British warships in 1794, the forts are made with around half a million bricks and are slightly elliptical.

With thicker, sea-facing walls, they could deflect cannon fire. Meanwhile, a central round brick pillar supported the roof, on which a two-and-a-half ton cannon could be mounted with a 360-degree rotation. However, the Martello towers were never put to the test because Nelson's defeat of the French fleet at Trafalgar in 1805 and Napoleon's decision to invade Russia meant the attack on our shores never happened. They then became obsolete with the introduction of powerful rifled artillery, although many have survived and are preserved as historic monuments.

Take your time and enjoy the flat, tree-lined track, be courteous of other trail users, and look out for the interesting information boards along the way.

Dymchurch Martello Tower

The Dymchurch Martello Tower, no.24, is one of only three open to the public having been sympathetically restored and reconstructed. It is the only tower with an original cannon and has nearly all the features of the original design, with a front and parapet doors, window openings, fireplaces, ventilation shafts, 24-pounder muzzle-loading cannon, parapet shot lockers, hauling rings, and replica gunpowder barrels and 'Brown Bess' muskets.

Just inland, running along the coast, is the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway. This 15-inch-gauge light railway has been running since 1927, operating one-third-sized steam and internal-combustion locomotives along a 20km track, from Hythe (via Dymchurch, St Mary's Bay, New Romney and Romney Sands) to Dungeness.

You pass Lydd-on-Sea, a modern village built after the Second World War and consisting mostly of bungalows, which line the roadside and face out to the large expanse of sea, shingle and sky.

It’s bleak but also striking, and if you keep going, you’ll find it’s not a mirage: there really is a pub at the end of the road. The Pilot, originally built from a shipwreck, offers shelter and refreshments. Among its intriguing garden furniture is an old engine and propeller from a Second World War B17 Flying Fortress bomber (the same aircraft featured in the film Memphis Belle).

The stretch of beach along here is popular for land yachting, or sand yachting as it’s also known, where a wheeled vehicle is powered by a sail and the wind. Land yachts have been around since the 1950s but have now evolved into a racing sport and are fun to watch if they’re out and zooming around. However, it’s bound to be a bittersweet experience as it means there’s likely to be a stiff breeze, and sadly that almost inevitably means a headwind for you.

If there is a strong wind, this long, exposed section can be challenging, both physically and mentally, as you slowly push southwards towards Dungeness.

If you can hold off a bit longer, and the weather is favourable, do try the wonderful Dungeness Snack Shack on the Dungeness Estate. This seafood shop and food van provides top quality, fresh

Dungeness Fish Shack

Dungeness Lighthouse

The old Dungeness Lighthouse is a historic Grade II building from 1904, standing 46 metres tall, and made with more than three million bricks. It provided a land light to sea vessels for 56 years, and survived two world wars, before it was decommissioned in 1960.

seafood snacks that are well worth calling in to sample, and can be enjoyed in a rustic setting, on outside tables among fishing paraphernalia.

The Dungeness Estate is a private estate, a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest. Although it appears a barren and desolate landscape with its unique micro-climate, it is home to many plants, animals and birds that exist nowhere else.

A staggering third of all UK plant species are found here at Dungeness alone. It feels slightly unwelcoming as you enter, passing a sign outlining all the things you are not allowed to do. However, you are welcome to go in, and it certainly feels like a unique place to ride as you pass by numerous dilapidated old shacks with lobster pots and fishing nets hanging outside, as well as trendy new revamped huts with full-length glass walls. Even the original beach huts now command prices upward of £350,000.

Prospect Cottage

Look out for a black wooden house with yellow window and door frames, called Prospect Cottage, which was the former home of world-renowned film director Derek Jarman, who cultivated its richly idiosyncratic garden until his death in 1994.

Hagstones

If you look carefully, you may see a stone with a hole in it. These are known as Hagstones, also called Holy Stones, and have had a hole worn through them by running water. In ancient times, they were sacred stones of protection, especially for children and animals, and are still highly coveted today.

At the end of this headland stands the new lighthouse with its black and white sections. Here, you swing around the corner, past the Britannia Inn, to the foot of the tall, dark and handsome figure of the old lighthouse. Behind this lies the decommissioned Dungeness B Power Station, which was the first advanced gas-cooled reactor to begin construction in the UK.

It feels slightly odd to have this large and ugly, grey boxy building located in the middle of a national nature reserve, but it generated low-carbon electricity for 38.2 million homes since it was built in 1983.

You skirt around the perimeter fence on a concrete footpath, from which you can peer into the grounds, and although there is not really a lot to see, it does feel exciting to be up so close. After making your way to the access road to and from the power station, you join this lonely straight, flat road, passing through the bleak landscape, to reach and join the public Dungeness Road.

Riding between two large bodies of water, you soon turn off onto some gravel tracks that head into Dungeness Nature Reserve to explore off-road. A decent gravel track twists and turns through the lakes of Denge Marsh, before becoming grassy at the end. It’s all flat and easy going though, with views of the power station now off in the distance, with its long lines of pylons all leading from this huge grey structure that dominates the horizon.

Dungeness to Rye

You’re reunited with the England Coast Path once more here, but we’re all heading inland together this time, skirting around the edge of the Lydd Ranges.

A turning off the road here leads to an activities centre, a surprising location for such facilities, sandwiched as it is between a live firing range and a nuclear power station, on a nature reserve in the middle of marshland.

Herons Park also boasts a campsite, as well as a kart track and various water sports. Again, it doesn’t feel the most welcoming of places as you ride alongside high barbed wire fences surrounding the Lydd Ranges. They make it quite clear public access is not allowed, however there is one public right of way within the boundaries which you could venture south on when there are no red flags or lanterns out.

There is also another bridleway northbound, parallel to our route, but flanked by power lines, it feels more relaxed sticking to the track on this side of the fence.

As you pedal along you can peer through the fences and spot the viewing towers on top of their perches, keeping a watchful eye out. There aren’t many settlements within the marsh, but Lydd is one of them, and

Romney Marsh

Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland, covering around 260km² criss-crossed with numerous waterways. It has long been used for sheep pasture, with Romney Marsh sheep considered one of the most successful and important breeds of sheep in the country. The area was also popular with smugglers between the 1600s and 1800s, particularly around isolated Dungeness, where in 1633 they lured the Spanish ship Alfresia aground, looted the cargo and killed the crew. The upturned hull of the ship was then used to build the original Pilot pub. In a

Lydd Ranges

The Lydd Ranges, on this reclaimed Romney Marsh land, have been used for military training since 1869, and were often used for experimental types of warfare. They were also the main testing site for anti-tank defences, using moving tank silhouettes, so don’t be surprised if you spot one.

is home to the second largest population on the Romney Marsh. It is also the most southerly town in Kent. It reached the height of its prosperity during the thirteenth century when it was a corporate member of the Cinque Ports, as a ‘limb’ of Romney. It even has an airport, London Ashford Airport, providing mostly local and private flights, but commercial flights to Le Touquet in France also fly every weekend. Continue along the England Coast Path, which also becomes the National Cycle Network (NCN) 2, all the way to Rye. The decent track runs parallel to the road before they converge in the village of Camber.

There are other alternative rights of way that venture further north into the marshes here, but they end up resulting in frustrating trudges through lumpy, grassy fields, so you are best off sticking to the easy cruise along the cycle path.

single week in 1813, 12,000 gallons of brandy were known to have been smuggled ashore here.

If it’s towards the end of the day, you may be rewarded with a fabulous sunset as you cruise into Camber, with the sun dipping down into the sea. You are now leaving the county of Kent and passing into East Sussex, where the shingle and pebble beaches give way to a 5km sandy beach, the only sand dune system in all of East Sussex. This makes it a popular haunt for locals and holidaymakers, so it could well be extremely busy here, but the buzz and contrast to Dungeness is fun and exciting.

Camber was originally just a collection of fishermen's dwellings, but by the early 1890s, the number of visitors to Rye increased as tourism became more prevalent and led to the building of Rye Golf Links in 1894, in the sand dunes of Rye Bay. The cycle path leaves the roadside after Camber, taking a pleasant traffic-free shortcut to take you to the end of the River Rother and directly to Rye.

As you cross flat fields, you will see Rye rise up above the lush green pastures, all under the sea at one time. Rye was once a fortified hilltop town that stood defensively protecting our shores.

As you enter Rye and navigate through a one-way system, follow a cycle route up a steep slope to East Cliff Road. At the top, you are greeted with a wonderful view of an old medieval archway, a cobbled pavement, a pretty street and views back over where you’ve travelled from.

The original and trendy Knoops Chocolate café is also here, offering delicious hot chocolates to enjoy whilst taking a moment to celebrate your arrival and mark the end of this final coastal section of the route.

Camber

Camber village takes its name from the Camber (la Chambre), the huge embayment of the English Channel located between Rye, Old Winchelsea and Old Romney. This area was gradually lost to ‘innings’ and silting-up following changes to the coastline and the changed course of the Eastern Rother since the Middle Ages. The River Rother today flows into the sea below Rye, but until 1287 its mouth lay between Romney and Lydd. It was tidal far upstream, almost to Bodiam. The river mouth was wide with a huge lagoon, making Rye a port at its western end. That lagoon lay behind an island, which now makes up a large part of the Denge Marsh, on which stood the ports of Lydd and Old Winchelsea. All these ports were affiliated to (as ‘limbs’ of) the Cinque Ports.

Rye

Rye to Wye PART SEVEN

Part 7: Rye to Wye

Distance: 44km

Highlights

• An optional short ride south to Winchelsea and Rye Harbour

• Fantastic cobbled streets and old medieval buildings in the historic and trendy, arty town of Rye

Ascent: 267m

Advice

• Excellent choice of independent cafés, pubs and restaurants in Rye

• Sleeping inside the windmill (B&B) at Rye

• Spotting oast houses and windmills in the rolling Kent countryside

• Beautiful dappled light on trails through woodlands

• The feeling of accomplishment as you arrive back in Wye at the end of your journey

• Rye is generally busy with pedestrians and vehicles, so it’s best to do your sightseeing on foot. You can then explore the cobbled streets, narrow alleys, historical sights and independent shops and cafés at your leisure

• Beware of cars travelling quickly along the straight military road out of Rye

• There are a number of off-road paths that may look tempting on the map, but be aware that a lot of these trails are rough, grassy field edges which aren’t easy or particularly enjoyable to cycle

• In Ashford, watch out for pedestrians along the shared paths, and vehicles at the road crossings

Navigation

The one-way system out of Rye helps your initial departure, and then long, straight military roads take you a good third of the way to Ashford. From here you follow quiet, winding country roads, which allow for a relatively straightforward passage to Woodchurch. Some easy off-road riding delivers you to Shadoxhurst, where you then follow a signed cycle route to Ashford. More well-signposted, shared cycle and pedestrian paths guide you through and out of the town, to continue on more signed cycle trails along quiet country roads, following National Cycle Network (NCN) 18.

Nature

With the route now heading back inland, leaving behind the many species of birds attracted to the coast, your attention is drawn back to the butterflies and wild deer and – should you be out after dark – a number of different species of bat.

You may spot some resident reptiles, such as the common lizard, slow worm, grass snake, smooth snake or even an adder, our only venomous snake in the UK. They are shy, but cyclists can often surprise and spot them basking in the sunshine in woodlands and heathlands, so keep an eye out and don’t run them over.

if you are staying in Rye, park your bike up and enjoy exploring the cobbled streets, alleyways, and shops by foot.

Area introduction and route summary

Rye’s name is believed to have come from the West Saxon word for ‘island’, and in medieval times it stood surrounded by sea, a fortified hilltop town on a huge embayment of the English Channel, called the Rye Camber. It provided a safe anchorage and harbour, probably as early as Roman times, and played an important role in the defence of the south coast.

Nowadays, warships have been replaced with fishing boats and leisure craft. In Tudor times, kings of England developed

a standing navy, with the Cinque Ports providing men and ships to meet the military and transportation needs of their royal masters. The name comes from the Old French, meaning "five harbours”, which included Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich.

However, after New Romney was damaged by a severe storm in 1287, its harbour silted up and the River Rother shifted course closer to Rye. As a result, New Romney rapidly lost importance and Rye, New Romney’s subsidiary, was raised to full Cinque status in the fifteenth century.

Rye

Rye to Woodchurch

You follow the one-way system through the pretty and bustling high street of Rye, but beware when turning into Church Square, as this is the start of the cobbled streets. They are challenging to ride, and although you could keep straight ahead and stay on the smooth road through the town, you would miss some of the beauty and attractions of Rye. Alternatively, if you are staying in the town, park your bike up and enjoy exploring the cobbled streets, alleyways, and shops by foot.

The route passes around three cobbled sides of St Mary’s Church square. Built in the twelfth century, it includes a visitor centre and bell tower which you can climb to enjoy fine views across the town, although claustrophobes beware, it is tight in places. Just off the square sits Rye Castle Museum, also known as Ypres Tower, a venerable fourteenth century tower which offers views of the harbour, as well as exhibits and artefacts depicting medieval life inside, and the Gun Garden outside. Dating from 1249, this impressive Grade I medieval building was originally

constructed as a defensive outpost, but has also been used as a garrison, prison, morgue and now as a museum.

You continue to navigate along the cobbled streets between ancient buildings once the haunt of smugglers and highwaymen, and home to secret passages, passing the most popular and beautifully well-preserved street in Rye, Mermaid Street.

Steeped in history and with many interesting stories, a visit to Rye shouldn’t be without a visit here. However, be warned, it is steep and cobbled, so best explored by foot. You can then visit the wonderful Mermaid Inn, with its smugglers’ roots, and experience a drink in the Giant’s Fireplace Bar, imagining how the local Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers from the 1730s and 1740s caroused in the bar.

The main building was rebuilt in 1420, after Rye was burnt to the ground by French raiders 43 years earlier, but the cellars date back to 1156. Can you spot the secret passageway entrance?

Ypres Tower

Lamb House

Lamb House, home to the American novelist Henry James and now managed by the National Trust, is on the route, in Rye town centre.

After descending to the quay, where the Rye Heritage Centre can be found with its 3D model of the town, experience a stroll along a Victorian pier and enjoy historic seaside penny arcade attractions.

From here you have the option of a wonderful additional loop to the south, visiting Rye Harbour and Winchelsea (turn to the end of this section for more details).

Otherwise, continue to the right, following the one-way system leading you back around where you exit to the north end of town.

After crossing the railway bridge, bear right to join the quieter, long straight military road, although the wonderful Globe Inn Marsh may delay the last leg of your journey no sooner than you’ve started it. Back on the move, the road runs parallel to the Royal Military Canal once more, where sadly the path off the road is a footpath, so you have no choice but to stay with the road.

When the River Rother and Royal Military Canal split, a bridleway emerges alongside the Rother, but it’s a grassy track which gets progressively bumpier, so not great for cycling. However, on a dry, warm day, for those with bigger, comfier tyres, it could provide a quiet detour.

Continue on the military road and into the village of Appledore, with options for refreshments if required. Carry on northwards along lovely country roads and passing through woods which cast a dappled light along your passage, into Woodchurch.

Mermaid Street, Rye

Woodchurch to Ashford

If you require refreshments, keep to the left where there is a shop, café and a pub, before a gentle climb delivers you to an off-road trail.

The beautiful woodland byway has a firm gravel surface but might have some large puddles which are quite fun to negotiate. If you don’t fancy the risk of splashing your toes, you can stick to following NCN 18 along the road.

After the village of Shadoxhurst we’re back onto the roads and following NCN 18. Past Chilmington, the cycle route turns left, but we turn right and visit the Singleton Environment Centre, with its inviting café with outdoor seating.

The gravel track out of the back is a shared cycle/foot path through the houses which

rejoins the road, before diving right into a park, along the edge of Singleton Lake and the Great Stour and a delightful traffic-free and leafy corridor through the town.

The cycle path then continues through Victoria Park, following the peaceful Great Stour, away from the busy roads, right back to within metres of the Ashford International railway station.

Less than an hour from London and with more than 70 trains per day to and from the capital, including nearly 30 Eurostar trains, it is certainly well connected.

You continue along the traffic-free cycle paths, wending through green, leafy parks and past fashionable new houses and flats being built beside the river.

The River Stour

Also known as the Kentish Stour, this is the second longest river in Kent, rising from springs at the foot of the Greensand ridge in Lenham and flowing around 92km all the way to the North Sea at Pegwell Bay, near Sandwich.

Ashford to Wye

Following the East Stour river along a cycling and pedestrian walkway, separated by a faded white line (cyclists on the right, by the way) you immediately leave the busy streets of the town centre and flyovers above as you follow the right-hand side of the slow meandering river, heading north.

The route follows this pleasant green corridor through the urban landscape, almost oblivious to the industrial and housing estates it passes, before ducking under the M20 and slowly leaving suburbia behind.

As buildings start to thin out, and space opens up once more, you pass by some sports pitches, then stadiums, before country parks and fisheries lead you back into the countryside.

Agricultural Museum

The route now joins the tarmac of quiet country roads which wind their way along the valley bottom, parallel to the Great Stour, where you are guided by the NCN 18 signs.

It’s an easy ride along the quiet country lanes, twisting and turning as you glide back to the village of Wye, where it all started a few days earlier.

The quiet village may not have changed much, but no doubt you will feel quite different after your adventure, with a new understanding and appreciation for this unique and interesting corner of our country.

If you are interested in farming and history, you may like to make a short detour before Wye, to the agricultural museum at Brook. Located in a Grade I listed barn and Grade II listed oast house, it is home to an impressive collection of Kent-related agricultural objects. Now owned and run by the Wye Rural Museum Trust, which was formed in 1996 to take over ownership of the museum buildings, you can explore and learn about the history, buildings and collections. You’ll be left in awe and admiration of those who produced our food many years ago.

Winchelsea loop (16km)

If there isn’t much wind, this loop is great to ride in a clockwise direction, but if it is windy, riding anti-clockwise will give you the wind on your back along the coastal section.

Heading south out of Rye, past Cockles and Dreams offering some tasty seafood treats, turn left and join the Harbour Road, opposite a hidden Martello tower.

After passing an industrial estate, continue to Rye Harbour, which has a busy yachting centre, fishing fleet and some commercial shipping.

The village has a lifeboat station with a long and noble history, and places for refreshments should you need them.

The route turns off again by another Martello tower, and you enter the Rye Nature Reserve, onto the traffic-free NCN 2 trail.

Shortly along here, you arrive at the stunning Rye Harbour Discovery Centre, which is worth a visit for further information and its pleasant café.

Winchelsea Strand Gate

Here you’ll also find Camber Castle, which is open for guided tours but can only be reached by foot. Originally built by Henry VIII, additions were made later in 1542 to leave a large, concentric artillery fort, with a central keep, surrounded by four circular bastions and a circular entrance bastion, built from stone and brick.

Within the nature reserve, which is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with its long shingle shoreline and marshland, there are a few bird hides where you can spend some time observing the wildlife, if you wish.

Back on the bike, heading south, be sure to look out for the iconic Red Roofed Hut as you follow the line of the river to the coast, before turning to follow a long shingle beach.

You pass an abandoned lifeboat house along the way, which now serves as a monument to the crew who lost their lives in a disaster in 1928, before arriving at Winchelsea Beach.

You can cut the corner, heading inland along Dogs Hill Road, by the public toilets, or keep ahead for refreshments at Winchelsea Beach Café, a lovely place to stop for coffee and cake and with a good outside seating area. The ride now heads inland, following the road to Winchelsea.

After the delightful old Suttons Fish Shop, you meet the A259, but quickly turn left, up a steep climb to Winchelsea village. Arriving at the village through the stunning medieval stone Strand Gate, take your time to stop and look, and get your breath back.

The village was founded in 1288 as a port town to replace Old Winchelsea, which was overwhelmed by the sea during the thirteenth century.

As one of the 'Ancient Towns' which joined the Cinque Port Confederation during the Hundred Years War in the twelfth century, the town was attacked by the French and Spanish, but its demise came with the gradual silting of its harbour.

It’s a pleasant little village with a pub, motel and the medieval Church of St Thomas, plus a small museum which is open in the summer months. In the churchyard, you’ll find the grave of one of the village’s most famous former residents, the much-loved comedian Spike Milligan, with his famous epitaph: “I told you I was ill.”

Leaving the village through another wonderful stone archway, take care joining the A259 and dropping down a steep hill. Don’t worry about making the super-sharp right-hand corner: you’re keeping straight ahead, passing Winchelsea train station.

The 1066 Country Walk and NCN 2 merge here and take you parallel to the trainline, along the foot of Cadborough Cliff. This would have had you in the sea years ago, but now the flat cycle path delivers you with ease back into Rye to complete this interesting loop ride.

Camber Castle

The Cantii Way and the North Downs Way riders’ route

The Cantii Way links with part of the North Downs Way National Trail, which runs for 150 miles from Farnham in Surrey to Dover and Folkestone in Kent.

Only parts of the trail are open to cyclists, so in 2018 Cycling UK proposed a riders’ route which could be cycled from end to end, by linking the rideable parts of the trail with bridleways, byways and quiet stretches of road.

cyclinguk.org/northdownsway

Cycling UK is now working in partnership with the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the North Downs Way National Trail manager to develop this as an official alternative route for the National Trail as part of the EXPERIENCE project.

The East Kent loop of the North Downs Way connects Wye, Canterbury, Dover and Folkestone, and the rideable version creates a wealth of options for alternative

Explore more of Kent by bike

routes on the Cantii Way. It means you can short-cut the full route if you haven’t got much time, or provides the option of splitting it into three interlinking day loops:

• North Kent coast and Thanet loop

• East Kent loop

• South Kent coast and Romney Marsh loop

The North Downs Way East Kent loop has more off-road terrain than the Cantii Way, so is best for gravel bikes or mountain bikes, or hybrids with suitable off-road tyres.

Through the EXPERIENCE project, Cycling UK is creating several cycle hub locations along the Cantii Way and North Downs Way, with a range of day routes to explore from each one. We’re supporting cafés, pubs and accommodation businesses in these locations with the Cycle Friendly Places accreditation scheme, to reward what they are already doing to welcome cyclists and help them to do more.

• Wye

• Canterbury

• Dover

• Hollingbourne & Lenham

• Otford

experience.cyclinguk.org/kent

Places and facilities

For places that are a slight detour from the Cantii Way route, the distance and ascent shown relate to the closest point on the route.

Pub/restaurant Café Shop Bike shop Train station

Suggested itineraries

Here are our suggested overnight stopping points to help you plan your trip.

Total distances

Suggested itineraries

Coastal option via Ramsgate, including Winchelsea loop

Inland option via Minster, including Winchelsea loop Two nights – 90km per day Distance from start (km) Cumulative ascent (m) Sandwich 90 909 Lydd 177 1656 Two nights – 90km per day Distance from start (km) Cumulative ascent (m) Deal 83 701 Lydd 161 1434

Through the EXPERIENCE project, Cycling UK has developed several cycle hub locations in Kent, including Wye, Canterbury and Dover. We are supporting hospitality businesses in these hub locations and along the Cantii Way route to become accredited Cycle Friendly Places, so you know you will be greeted with a warm welcome and everything you need. cyclinguk.org/cyclefriendlyplaces

Explore more of Kent by bike

Image credits

Front cover image by Stefan Amato/Pannier

All images by Jordan Gibbons/Pannier, Stefan Amato/Pannier and Rob Spanring/ Cycling UK except:

Front pages

p.7 top left by Joolze Dymond/Cycling UK, bottom left by Julie Skelton/Cycling UK.

Introduction

p.14 both images by Visit Kent; p.15 Ramsgate tunnel by mifl68 (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Part 1

p.21 bottom image by Adrian Wills/Cycling UK; p.28 by Michael (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); p.29 both images by Visit Kent.

Part 2

p.33 bison by Brad Smith (CC BY-NC 2.0); p.35 by Mark Morgan (CC BY 2.0); p.36 by Visit Kent; p.37 by Jill Catley (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); p.39 bottom left by John K Thorne (CC0 1.0); p.41 Reculver Towers by John Fielding (CC BY 2.0) and bottom right by Smudge 9000 (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Part 3

p.46 St Augustine’s Cross by shirokazan (CC BY 2.0); p.48 top image by Sam Jones/ Cycling UK; p.49 shell grotto image by Lebatihem (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) and statue image by Andy Turner; p.50 top image by Visit Kent; p.51 Viking ship by Quartettgeschwister (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Part 4

p.56 Richborough Castle by eddmcfish (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0); p.57 Sandwich town gate by Jim Linwood (CC BY 2.0); p.61 South Foreland Lighthouse by LoggaWiggler via Pixabay;

p.62 Dover Castle by Jake Keup (CC BY 2.0);

p.63 Kearsney Abbey by Robin Hickmott (CC BY-ND 2.0) and bottom image by Smudge 9000 (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Part 5

p.69 White Cliffs image by Steven Penton (CC BY 2.0); p.70 by Ted and Jen (CC BY 2.0); p.70 Samphire Hoe by Tony Morris (CC BY-NC 2.0) and Airman statue by Smudge 9000 (CC BY-SA 2.0);

p.72 Folkestone Harbour Arm by Visit Kent and Castle Hill by Alfred Gay via Wikipedia creative commons; p.73 Channel Tunnel terminal by shirokazan (CC BY 2.0); p.74 Peene railway museum by John K Thorne (CC0 1.0); p.75 Folkestone White Horse by ahisgett (CC BY 2.0).

Part 6

p.79 Hythe war memorial by Loz Pycock (CC BY-SA 2.0); p.82 Dymchurch Redoubt by Tom Bastin (CC BY 2.0); p.83 Martello tower by Loz Pycock (CC BY-SA 2.0); p.84 Prospect Cottage by Nigel S (CC BY-ND 2.0); p.86 Romney Marsh by Spixey (CC BY 2.0); p.87 Camber by Geoff Henson (CC BY-ND 2.0).

Part 7

p.93 Mermaid Street by JR P (CC BY-NC 2.0) and Lamb House by Tony Hisgett (CC BY 2.0); p.95 Agricultural Museum by Brook Agricultural Museum; p.97 Camber Castle by Ted and Jen (CC BY 2.0); and arch by debs-eye (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

Back pages

p.105 by Sam Jones/Cycling UK.

Afterword

Imagine being able to cycle the length and breadth of the country on connected off-road trails, through fascinating places and amazing landscapes.

As the UK’s cycling charity, Cycling UK is working to make this a reality by campaigning for wider off-road access for cycling and developing new longdistance trails to link existing routes. We started with the North Downs Way riders’ route, and followed that up with the Great North Trail, King Alfred’s Way and the West Kernow Way. The Cantii Way is the next step on that journey.

cyclinguk.org/offroadcampaigns

Exploring our forests, moors and valleys by bike is inspiring and spirit-lifting. It’s the best way to discover new places, and a great boost for rural tourism. We believe everyone should have the opportunity to ride from their door on connected traffic-free trails.

If you share our vision, do something incredible and join Cycling UK today. Because together, we can make a better world by bike.

Become a member of Cycling UK

Join over 70,000 members and receive:

We are the UK’s cycling charity

Cycling is amazing, which is why we want everyone to enjoy the thrill of the ride by making our streets safer, opening up new traffic-free routes and inspiring more people to get on their bikes.

We have more than 140 years’ experience of supporting cyclists and campaigning for their rights.

We believe everyone has the right to ride a bike, have access to safe routes and to be given the skills to cycle with confidence.

But we need can’t bring about change alone. Our community of passionate members and supporters give us a louder voice to lobby government and inspire millions more people to cycle.

• Free third-party liability insurance and legal assistance

• Discount on cycle insurance (includes mountain bikes and e-bikes) with Yellow Jersey

• Retailer discounts and benefits

• Cycle magazine every two months for inspiring routes, advice, news and reviews

• Your membership directly supports the work we do to make a better world by bike

cyclinguk.org/join

If membership isn’t for you, please consider a donation to help Cycling UK to continue our work in opening up more rural access for cycling and campaigning for improving conditions for cyclists all over the UK.

cyclinguk.org/donate

About the author

Max Darkins started Rough Ride Guide in 1998, riding and researching mountain biking trails in the UK, and writing guidebooks. After designing the London to Brighton off-road route in 2003, he got involved with organising large cycling, walking and running events for a range of organisations, largely in the charity sector. Rough Ride Guide now also offer guided rides and holidays across the UK and Europe.

Max also writes articles and reviews for MTB magazines including What MTB, MBUK and Singletrack, as well as for Cycling UK and Sustrans. He is the author of Cycling UK’s Great North Trail guidebook.

"I had an amazing time riding the Cantii Way. Having grown up in Kent, there were lots of lovely familiar parts, and we even rode past my mum's house at one point, but I was also amazed at how many new experiences I was introduced to along the way.

“It's an incredibly varied and beautiful route that takes you through some of the best landscapes that Kent has to offer, including coastal paths, country lanes and fun bridleways. It's immensely fun on a gravel bike but could definitely be ridden on a hybrid. I think it's a really accessible route for anyone wanting to try out bikepacking without committing to venturing off into remote wilderness, and I will definitely be back for another go."

Mildred Locke, journalist at Cyclingnews and Bike Perfect

"The Cantii Way was a fantastic route taking in some of Kent's best cycling. It really showed how varied this part of the country is – from forest tracks to coastal paths, the route has something new around every corner... and delicious food and drink options along the way. We're based in Kent however it still showed us some areas we'd never cycled through. I would definitely recommend it!"

Will Meyer, Brother Cycles

T: 01483 238301

cyclinguk.org

Railton Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9JX

Cycling UK,