In Dover: the North Downs

June 14, 2022

The day begins with a blowout meal at breakfast, letting me try a bit of everything in the English Breakfast option. Rachael chose more modestly, as I will tomorrow morning. A very nice experience though, chatting with our host Helen, originally from Zimbabwe. She supplied us with plenty of coffee and was fine with me lingering over it while I polished off the day’s entry.

Our first English breakfast shows the spectrum of what we can expect. We can pick and choose at this B&B, so I’ll be a little pickier tomorrow and at least drop out the blood pudding.

Item One on today’s agenda is to find an outlet converter so we can charge our devices. We were chagrined to arrive last night and discover that the two pin adaptors we brought with us are only useful in Certain Areas of Great Britain, but likely nowhere we’ll actually be traveling. Fortunately our host Vaughn lent us one last night so we could recharge everything while we found a replacement - which Rachael located, at a Boots store near here. We stitched in a detour there to start today’s ride.

The ones on the lower right are much better to travel with because they’re so light and compact. Unfortunately they’re also useless, except in “Great Britain Certain Areas”.

We have a very leisurely itinerary planned for our tour of England and Wales, with nearly as many layover days planned as travel days. The first part of the tour is typical of the whole: two nights here in Dover then Canterbury for three, Rochester for two, one night in Maldon, and then two each in Colchester and Ipswitch. We anticipate enjoying many day rides without luggage as well as a liberal sprinkling of walks.

For today we took a fairly short out and back west along the coast, starting with a climb out of town and over the North Downs, a formation that feels like a western extension of the White Cliffs we walked along yesterday. After that we dropped to the coast at Folkestone and then followed it west for another seven miles before turning back. We had a longer 45 mile ride with a loop at the west end planned, but we scrapped it and turned back when we started running short on time.

All in all, an excellent first ride in England: brilliant weather, a fine route outlined for us by the National Cycle Network, and success in avoiding getting ourselves killed while we retrain ourselves to bike on the left and to look right when crossing the street. Surprisingly, the hardest part so far is retraining to having the mirror on the right side of the bike. By the end of the day I’m still looking left first when I look down.

On the outskirts of Dover, looking back at the cliffs and castle from the marina.

Climbing west out of town we pass several miles of trucks stopped on the highway waiting to be loaded to the ferry. We’re about three miles from the port here.

We’re biking across the North Downs, a chalk formation west of Dover. It’s a beautiful ride for a few miles through a landscape similar to yesterday’s hike east to the lighthouse.

At the end of the queue, five miles from port. Over breakfast the next morning we’ll learn from our host Helen that they’re ‘stacked’ here, and only allowed entry into Dover in batches at loading time to protect the city from the noise and pollution of idling trucks. Helen said that it’s been like this ever since Brexit and Covid, and trucks are stuck in the queue for days. She said that before they started stacking them outside of town life in the city was a nightmare.

In the North Downs: presumably a relic of World War Two. Just up the road is a memorial park for the Battle of Britain.

After a gradual climb of a few miles we crest the hills west of town and Folkestone comes into view.

At the top we stop to admire the views and enjoy a long chat with Jackie and Stuart from Plymouth (like the race car driver, Stuart helpfully tells us).

Another view down toward Folkestone, once an important port and resort on the southeast coast, but diminished once the Chunnel was completed and its ferry services ceased (the Chunnel’s English entrance is here).

Dropping through the North Downs toward Folkestone. We’d never have found this route which avoids the steeper and busier main road if it weren’t signposted on the national cycling network.

Lunch stop above Folkestone, staring back at the North Downs cliffs. We’re in a protected scenic area, the Kent Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, an acronym you’ll be seeing a lot of).

The North Downs cliffs. You can see the long pier of Dover Marina extending out behind it.

At the fishing harbor, Folkestone. I especially like the gulls in the nearest boats.

On Sandgate Beach. West of Folkestone the coastline flattens and straightens, looking like this for about four miles.

We get our best view of the castle when coasting down from the Downs on returning to town.

Video sound track: New Beginnings, by Yasmin Williams

Dinner tonight at La Scala, an Italian restaurant with a much different menu and drinks list than the White Horse Inn. I’m sure we’ll look for alternatives like this when we’re staying in larger places, because there will be plenty of stays where a pub is the only option.

The view from our table tonight: Maison Dieu, now in use as a museum and Dover Town Hall. 800 years old now, it began as a medieval hospital, providing accommodation for poor pilgrims on their way to the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury. It later became a victualling yard, supplying ship’s biscuit and beer to the Royal Navy, before becoming Dover’s Town Hall in the 1830s.

On the way back to our inn we enjoyed this view of Saint Paul’s Roman Catholic Church.

After returning to our room I went out again to walk up to the castle, a steep climb up the hill that begins right behind the inn. A lot of work for a modest reward since I could only stare at the walls. You can’t enter the castle grounds without a ticket, which I couldn’t buy as I hadn’t brought my wallet; and it was closed for the day even if I had.

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Ride stats today: 34 miles, 1,800’; for the tour: 36 miles, 1,800’

Today's ride: 34 miles (55 km)
Total: 36 miles (58 km)

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Eva WaltersSounds like you're off to a great start in the UK. We'll enjoy following along.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Eva WaltersHooray, you came back! I keep wondering how long folks will stick around. We’ll try to make it worth your while again.
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1 year ago