Around Britain

I caught the 10 am train to Dover Priory. Rain fell on the journey but it was another perfect day for walking once I was on my way.

By walking along the promenade I found myself drawn into the port area. It looked as if I would have to retrace my steps and find a way over the top of the cliffs. In fact the Saxon Shore Way between the cliffs and the port led me upwards out of the town where I had a fine view of the castle and the port. In rapid succession three ferries left the harbour. The port complex was enormous and accommodated a large number of monster lorries, most of them foreign.

As I made my way over South Foreland I could see the lighthouse just this side of St Margaret's at Cliffe. The road led me down to St Margaret's Bay where I was stopped by a notice warning me of cliff falls and being cut off by the tide. The waves were pounding the bottom of the cliffs so I didn't need to be warned. A zig zag path took me up the cliff and then along the back of a row of houses looking out to sea. The Saxon Shore Way now hugged the cliff top over Hope Point before descending to houses again at Kingsdown with Walmer and Deal beyond. I kept to the path along the top of the beach past Walmer and Deal castles with the Coastguard Station in between. There was a bandstand commemorating the members of the Royal Marine band who died in a terrorist bomb blast in 1989.

I bought a ticket to Dover at Deal station and then took some tomato soup with bread and butter in a café nearby whilst I waited for the train.

Today I travelled to Deal. The northern end of the town is marked by the site of Sandown Castle. The coastal path separates the sea from the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Links. I reached the exclusive Sandwich Bay housing estate beyond which lay the Royal St Georges Golf Links. At this point I headed inland towards Sandwich along a toll road.

In Sandwich I crossed the bridge over the River Stour. I then had to endure a dreadful stretch of road (A256) until Ramsgate. There were only two lanes, for the most part without pavements, but the traffic was heavy. This was an industrial area with Pfizer, an American drug company, much in evidence. There was also a group of three giant cooling towers. When I at last escaped from this road I was rewarded by a couple of hundred yards of ancient road immediately before Ramsgate. This had a sunken earth surface with banks on either side. Out of the banks grew trees, much coppiced, which met overhead so that one seemed almost to be walking through a tunnel.

At Ramsgate Station I bought a ticket back to Deal and proceeded from there back to Charing Cross. My time today was 3 hours 20 minutes 30 seconds.

For my last few excursions I have used the line from Charing Cross via Ashford International through Folkestone Central and Dover Priory. Today I switched to the line which hugs the north coast of Kent terminating at Ramsgate. I bought a day return to Ramsgate. This is within an area called the Isle of Thanet. A swathe of low lying land separates the Isle from the “mainland”. Perhaps it was at some distant time truly an island.

The weather turned hostile as soon as I emerged from the train. At first I ignored it but this only served to infuriate the elements. The wind raged and torrential rain and hailstones bombarded me as I descended the hill towards Pegwell Bay. Wet and cold I turned back towards the station. By the time I reached it the storm had abated so I turned round again. I didn't really want to return to London with nothing achieved having travelled all this way. A light patch of cloud turned blue and the day steadily improved.

I passed through Chilton to the south of Ramsgate where a number of houses were boarded up. In the harbour there was a largish boat which might have been a ferry, although I'm not aware of any ferry service from Ramsgate. At East Cliff I walked through a small park which was once part of the grounds of a large house. All that survived was a substantial greenhouse. I descended into the Dumpton Gap and climbed again to find myself on the front at Broadstairs. I had struggled to run at all today so I made for the station. There was no buffet so I bought tea to take away from a nearby restaurant and just made it back in time to catch the Victoria train. I had taken 2 hours 15 minutes to cover only a short distance but this included turning back and then turning again.

A day return ticket took me from Victoria to Broadstairs. My plan was to get to Birchington-on-Sea. I soon found that I had to take the B2052 around North Foreland. I passed a castle built by the first Lord Holland and left the road by a pub to follow a cliff top path beside a golf course. Shortly afterwards I was walking/jogging over an expanse of grass which separated housing from the sea. As I approached Cliftonville I began to suffer urinary discomfort which made me disinclined to run more than a few steps at a time. I thought it might be the effect of the cold. Whatever the reason I decided to go no further than Margate Station.

As I came into Margate I looked in vain for the pier marked on my old OS map. It was shown as being next to the short wall with a small lighthouse at the end, projecting out into the bay. The road along the front was occupied by a series of Amusement Arcades many offering cheap meals to get people inside. I had been out for only one hour 50 minutes but I was glad to get into the station to warm myself up with tea and a hot croissant.

A fine, cold morning drew me out for the next instalment. At Victoria I bought a return ticket to Margate. I thought there must have been an increase in fares as it cost more than I expected. When I studied the ticket I saw that it was a period return. Normally I would have questioned the price but I was hurrying to catch the 11.35 which I missed anyway. As I strolled about waiting for the 12.05 I saw a Pullman train, resplendent in brown and yellow, standing on platform 1. Each carriage had its own name – Ibis, Lucille, Isabelle and many more. Inside the compartments were separate and fitted out with tables upon which food and wine were spread. The train was full of passengers sampling these delights and it was due to depart at 11.55. On the same platform as the waiting train were the offices of the Orient Express. Outside there was an advertisement for a train tour taking in Canterbury and Leeds Castle. Brunch was served at the start. Bucks fizz would be provided with food at tea time. A banquet would be provided on the return leg to London to avert the slightest risk of malnutrition. The price was £500 a head. Clearly this had not served as a deterrent. On New Year's eve there was a longer jaunt not arriving back until the early hours. The cost of this was £650.

When I settled in my train I pondered the bargain that I had secured. For a mere £13.60 I could enjoy 3 and a half hours on the train. Admittedly I had provided my own lunch supplemented by carrot and coriander soup bought from the New Covent Garden Soup Company. I regret to say that my overripe brie drove a well dressed woman out of my compartment. Afterwards I worried that she thought that I was the source of the smell. With long, ragged shorts worn over my track suit bottoms to counter the cold, I did not look my best.

Disembarking at Margate, I faced a built up section of the coastline. My intention was to reach Birchington-on-Sea Station. It only took me 1 hour six minutes and at one stage I contemplated adding the next stage to Herne Bay. I decided against since it covered a deserted area and I would probably be caught by darkness. The scenery is so beautiful that I would regret not seeing any part of it. For much of this section I was able to run on a concrete platform at the base of the chalk cliffs. Looking seawards I puzzled whether I could see the opposite shore of the Thames estuary or not. I would have to be further west to be sure.

At Birchington I bought tea whilst waiting for the train. The restaurant close to the station charged me 40p. If one buys tea at a station buffet or from a trolley on the train one now pays as much as 95p. Twenty years ago I calculated the effect of inflation by reference to the price of a cup of tea. Then I thought the £1 cup of tea would mark the destruction of monetary value as we then understood it.

A day return to Birchington-on-Sea cost me £11.60. This seems to be the standard fare for all the stations along this part of the coast. An overcast sky had made me hesitate but, by the time I caught the 12.05 from Victoria, the day promised well.

I was soon out of Birchington and left the coastal sprawl extending to beyond Margate behind me. Hugging the shore on a raised concrete road I could see to the south a low lying area crossed by dykes and the railway. This area when flooded would have separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland. Ahead the dominant feature was St Mary's Church. As I approached I concluded that the congregation was made up of those who occupied the mobile homes which surrounded it. In fact the church was a ruin. Only two towers and the wall connecting them on one side of the church remained. Close by was the site of a Roman camp. There was also a pub and a few houses which made up the village of Reculver.

The next section consisted of a path over fields above cliffs. At the top I could see Herne Bay. The sun was now low and dazzling so I followed a path to the bottom of the cliff away from its glare and proceeded along another concrete road apparently used only by pedestrians. I looked out for the pier indicated on my map but this had disappeared just like the one in Margate. I reached the station via the town centre 2 hours 3 minutes after starting out.

A misreading of the timetable caused me to miss the first train to Herne Bay from Victoria at 8.05am. Instead I caught the 8.41 slow train and changed at Chatham. The day was brilliantly sunny and cold.

As soon as I got to the front I saw where the pier had been. Its position was given away by the pier pavilion. Ahead lay the Isle of Sheppey. According to rules that I made up as I went along, I didn't have to go there as it was separated from the mainland by the Swale. The promenade was very crowded, particularly on the approach to Whitstable. It had been my intention to run to Faversham today but, as Whitstable approached, I knew that I would catch the return train there. In fact I cut it fine. There was only one train an hour so I had decided to go to Faversham if I missed the 12 noon. As I crossed the footbridge (after 1 hour 22.5 minutes) I saw the train approaching. I thought I had made it easily but, as I descended on the other side, I saw that the entrance to the platform was quite a distance away up a slope. I dashed madly and caught it easily in the end.

The 12.05 from Victoria arrived at Whitstable shortly after 1pm and I promptly lost myself in narrow streets to the north of the main road. Eventually I picked up the Saxon Shore Way and in no time I was in Seasalter. I left that rundown place by an embankment which protected the coastal road and the low lying land, Seasalter Level and Graveney Marshes, beyond. At a pub the road turned inland towards Graveney but I continued on the embankment. By now the estuary was concealed by the Isle of Sheppey. Cleve Marshes was succeeded by Nagden Marshes to the south. To the north there was an area of salt marsh and flat shores stretching far out into The Swale. Eventually the path made a 180 degree turn when confronted by an inlet. The map suggested that this lost itself in Faversham and was not a river.

I reached Faversham via a boat yard and found myself in the remarkable Abbey Street full of half timbered and other old houses of great variety. I discovered that King Stephen was buried at Faversham Abbey. When the Abbey was disestablished a certain Arden was employed in the government office responsible for the disposal of Abbey land. This same Arden bought much of the land himself. He became obsessed with money and was murdered by his wife, assisted by her lover. This story is commemorated by the 16th century play, Arden of Faversham. It has actually been performed in the garden of the house where Arden lived (and died).

This stage took me 2 hours 55 and a half minutes.