Part 3 – Reculver to Cliffsend

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: 18.5km Ascent: 160m

40m

20m

0m 0km 5km 10km 15km

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

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.

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 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.

Minster Abbey St Augustine's Cross

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.

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.

40m

20m

0m 0km 10km 20km 30km

Distance: 33km Ascent: 440m

Highlights

• 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

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).

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

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.

Minnis Bay beach huts

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

The Hugin Viking ship

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.