Day 8: Deal to Dover

It’s farewell to the North Sea as I pick my way around the fishing boats, nets and equipment stacked along the beach at Deal. The English Channel will be my companion for the next few months. The sunrise struggles to break through the overcast and blustery weather. A long, flat early morning stretch takes me past Deal Castle and Walmer Castle, both built in 1539 by Henry VIII to protect against a French invasion.

Reaching the imposing cliffs at Kingsdown, before climbing up, I want to see what the view is like from the shore beyond the footpath steps. Although the area is marked Restricted Access, I’m fortunate to come across a birdwatcher. He’s a friendly chap who allows me to view a Eurasian crag martin — the first sighting in Kent. It should be enjoying the warmth in North Africa, poor thing. As I leave, a procession of birdwatchers are arriving, each tentatively asking me if the celebrity bird is still there. I’m pleased to be the bearer of good news.

St Margaret’s Bay looks interesting, so I walk down to explore. It’s home to the Coastguard pub and a sign proudly tells me it is the closest inn to France. Of course, it is sadly closed, so I make do with a warm drink from a nearby van.

Wandering along the stony shore, hands cupping the hot coffee in the face of a cold wind, there’s an intriguing rope ladder. I resist the temptation to climb up and explore what I later discover to be a WWII machine gun tunnel complex. It’s probably the right call to avoid making a complete fool of myself in front of an audience of dog walkers.

The walk is spectacular as I rejoin the clifftop and pass South Foreland Victorian lighthouse (1843).

The path offers a series of choices. Follow a higher route round the edge of each bowl or walk down into each hollow and climb back out again. I can’t resist the latter. There is another reason. As I climb steeply out of Fan Bay, about two-thirds of the way up, I reach one of the two WWI sound mirrors built into the cliff to detect incoming aircraft. The adjacent deep shelter tunnel complex is closed.

The curved approach to Dover gradually reveals the port, which looks like a giant toy set from the cliffs, endless snakes of lorries winding their way to and from the ferries.

The town is rather grim and functional once I get down to the seafront. Perhaps I’m doing it an injustice, as it is overcast and growing dark. I walk up the hill to Dover Castle entrance (11c) but the views are not great in the fading light and cloud cover.

I try to squeeze in a walk out to Admiralty Pier but all I find are a lot of locked gates and container lorries. It is now far too dark and deserted around the docks for my comfort so it is off to find a train back to Deal. It was a magnificent stretch of coastline today.

Walk distance: 10 miles.

Total distance: 129 miles.