Day 1 - Dover to Sandling

The route (all links open in a new window)
Starting point: Dover seafront
w3w: ///allowable.bleaching.sits
Distance: 14 miles
Accompanying video

Dipping my feet here in Dover signalled the start

The day started well. I got up, saw to my ablutions and headed to Dover via train. Leaving the station at Dover I didn't have a sense of anything other than "get me to the starting line!"

In this case the starting line was me dipping my foot in the sea off the coast of Dover because I knew I'd be wanting to close that 'start' off with a 'finish' in Weston-super-mare some 280 miles west of my starting position.

A nice easy start with Samphire Hoe in the distance to the left.

As you can imagine the coastal path at any sea port is flat and Dover is no exception. Stretching out ahead of me was lots of sunny coastline but there is a small hill which has a bit of a sting in its tail at only a couple of kilometers in. However, once on top of the hill you are blessed with some great views and it is especially gratifying to turn around and see where you've walked from. There is an immediate sense of achievement.

Do not adjust your sets. The hill stung but was mercifully short

The coastal path is very active in places (eg. signs of erosion) and I'd advise checking your footing here. I could imagine in the darkness some parts of this path could be quite dangerous so keeping your wits about you is paramount. Luckily for me I was travelling in daylight hours so I could see very clearly. I say "luckily for me" but some of the shear drops made my stomach drop as I inched by them.

The gorse in springtime smells amazing. Expect busy bees!

Abbott's Cliff Acoustic Mirror

There are some interesting sights to be seen along the way. One of which is the acoustic mirror at Abbott's Cliff. It is a huge, almost sculpture like artefact which demands investigation. Andrew Grantham has a really great website which discusses acoustic mirrors here but ultimately this is technology which was almost immediately superseded by modern radar.

I dropped down into Folkestone and made my way through the bustling streets, popping out onto the main promenade. By now I was feeling quite drained. The sun and wind had sapped the life out of me but I crashed on regardless because, well, what else was I going to do? I did stop at a little fish and chip hut/shop where they also sold ice creams. Not having money on me I just asked if they could refill my empty water bottle which they gladly obliged with.

The promenade was a very long stretch of the walk and my feet were glad when, finally, I broke away from the coastline and started venturing inland. I almost immediately joined the Royal Military Canal but I was only joining this for a short spell before making my way uphill once again along a road called "Cliff Road". This is one of those roads where it is almost its own community. I felt like I had invaded someone's private space. It has a strange 'stepford wives' feel about it and it doesn't appear on Google street view. Almost like they have something to hide. Although a little odd, the stunning houses and landscaped gardens made a great change to the flat 'samey' views I had up until now.

No sooner had I gone through Cliff Road private estate (as I self named it) I was out onto more public roads, then into rolling hills. It really is awesome to have so much changing landscape in such a short time frame. I made my way across countryside saying "hi" to the sheep and lambs that gambolled in the fields. It was a really special walk and a great first day.

A full video of the day can be seen here - "The Long Distance Walker"