Day 38 – Sittingbourne to Rye

On day thirty-eight we will be covering most of the Kent coastline, so a long day of travel, and the weather is absolutely fantastic for mid-October!

 

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Dungeness, Lighthouse, Romney Marsh, Fifth Lighthouse, Sunset
Dungeness Lighthouse

 

Isle of Sheppey

Coastal Road Trip, Isle of Sheppey, Sheppey Crossing, A249, Bridge, The Swale
As we have a lot of ground to cover today, we made an early Sunday morning start driving over The Swale to the Isle of Sheppey.

 

Leysdown-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Leysdown-on-Sea, Beach, Leysdown Coastal Park, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, Thames Estuary
After a quick stop at Sheerness on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey, we headed over to Leysdown-on-Sea’s beach on the east of the isle, with views across the empty Thames Estuary.
Coastal Road Trip, Leysdown-on-Sea, Beach Huts, Leysdown Coastal Park, Isle of Sheppey, Kent
Smart beach huts lined up on the front at Leysdown Coastal Park.

 

Whitstable

Coastal Road Trip, Whitstable Harbour, Market, Ice-cream Van, Huts,
My Whippy on early morning duty at Whitstable’s Harbour.
Coastal Road Trip, Whitstable, Tankerton Slopes, Beach Huts
More colourful beach huts along Whitstable’s Tankerton Slopes.  If you look carefully you can see the remains of Herne Bay Pier Head out at sea.

 

Herne Bay

Coastal Road Trip, Herne Bay, Mopeds, Clock Tower, Central Parade, Kent
An MOD scooter meet-up in front of Herne Bay’s Clock Tower on the Central Parade.  A great day for a bike ride.
Coastal Road Trip, Herne Bay, Pier, Boats
The Pier at Herne Bay….
Coastal Road Trip, Herne Bay, Pier, Pier Head, Boats
…. and out at sea the remains of the pier head, which got separated from the rest of Herne Bay Pier in a storm back in 1978.
Coastal Road Trip, Herne Bay, Jet Ski
A jet-skier making the most of the October heatwave.
Coastal Road Trip, Herne Bay, Saxon Shore, Beach, View East to Reculver Towers
Then looking east, views along Herne Bay Beach and Saxon Shore towards Reculver Towers in the distance.

 

Reculver

Coastal Road Trip, Reculver Towers, Roman Fort, Anglo-Saxon monastery, Church, English Heritage
The medieval Reculver Towers, the remains of the church of St Mary, looking stunning against the blue sky.
Coastal Road Trip, Reculver Towers, Roman Fort, Anglo-Saxon monastery, Church, English Heritage, Julian, Jarno
Reculver has suffered major coastal erosion over the years, and now the Reculver Towers are perched right on the edge of the sea cliff.

 

Margate

Coastal Road Trip, Margate, The Bay, Harbour, Panorama,
A panorama of Margate Bay.
Coastal Road Trip, Margate, The Bay, Harbour, Lighthouse, Harbour Arm
The lighthouse at the end of Margate Harbour Arm breakwater.
Coastal Road Trip, Margate, Turner Contemporary, Beach, ANOTHER TIME, Antony Gormley, Sculpture
On Fulsam Rock by the Margate foreshore, the Turner Contemporary was exhibiting the lone figure ‘Another Time’ by Antony Gormley.  A nice reminder of day 7 of our Coastal Road Trip, where we had seen the complete version of Anthony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ sculptures submerged in Crosby Beach.

 

North Foreland Lighthouse

Coastal Road Trip, North Foreland Lighthouse, Joss Bay, Kent, Isle of Thanet
On the way to Broadstairs, the North Foreland Lighthouse sitting above fields leading down to Joss Bay.

 

Broadstairs

Coastal Road Trip, Broadstairs, Beach, Viking Bay, Harbour
Broadstair’s Viking Bay with its steep cliffs down to the beach.

 

Ramsgate

Coastal Road Trip, Ramsgate, Pirate Van, Victoria Parade
Whilst stopping on the Victoria Parade above Ramsgate’s Beach, we realised we had parked in-front of this funny pirate themed camper-van….
Coastal Road Trip, Ramsgate, Pirate Van, Victoria Parade, Sign
… please do not disturb! 😉
Coastal Road Trip, Ramsgate, East, West, Pier, Lighthouse, View from Victoria Parade, Beach
Views down to the east and west piers at the mouth of Ramsgate’s harbour and marina.
Coastal Road Trip, Ramsgate, Yacht Marina, Harbour, Boats
Ramsgate’s Yacht Marina looking almost Mediterranean with the bright blue sky and waters.

 

Deal

Coastal Road Trip, Deal, Deal Castle, English Heritage
The 16th century Deal Castle.  If you Google aerial photos of it, you will see it actually looks somewhat like a flower from above.
Coastal Road Trip, Deal, Beach, Boats, Fishing
Wooden fishing boats resting on Deal Beach.
Coastal Road Trip, Deal, Pier, Beach
The Pier at Deal is better seen from a distance.  It was pretty brutal looking close-up!

 

Dover

Coastal Road Trip, Dover, White Cliffs of Dover, National Trust
Finally we have made it to the famous White Cliffs of Dover.  It had been on our to-do list for quite some time.  It seemed like everyone else had the same idea to visit on this sunny Sunday afternoon as it was pretty busy.  Fortunately the land is managed by the National Trust so we parked for free, which made up for the pricey coffee and cake!
Coastal Road Trip, Dover, White Cliffs of Dover, National Trust, Jarno
Thumbs-up from Jarno….
Coastal Road Trip, Dover, White Cliffs of Dover, National Trust, Julian Shadow
… and a wave from Julian’s shadow.
Coastal Road Trip, Dover, Ferry, Port, Terminal
Looking down through the sea mist to Dover’s bustling ferry port.
Coastal Road Trip, Dover, Dover Castle, English Heritage
Dover Castle silhouetted against the bright but hazy evening skyline.
Coastal Road Trip, Dover, Banksy, Brexit, EU Flag, Street Art, Castle Amusements Building
Banksy’s Brexit street art just off a roundabout, as we drove through Dover.  Not the best welcome for our European neighbours as they arrive off the Dover ferry onto mainland Britain.

 

Capel-le-Ferne

Coastal Road Trip, Capel-le-Ferne, Battle of Britain Memorial, lone pilot, Harry Gray, Folkestone
The lone pilot sculpture by Harry Gray at the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, just outside Folkestone.
Coastal Road Trip, Capel-le-Ferne, Battle of Britain Memorial, Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 Replica US-X, Sunset, Folkestone
The sun starting to set over the Hawker Hurricane Mk 1 Replica US-X planes at the Battle of Britain Memorial.

 

Folkestone

Coastal Road Trip, Folkestone, The Grand, Hotel
We were struggling what to take a photo of as we drove through Folkestone, until we past a row of handsome hotels above the cliffs on the Leas Promenade.  Agatha Christie, wrote Murder on the Orient Express whilst staying here at The Grand.

 

Sandgate

Coastal Road Trip, Sandgate, Beach, Sunset, Sandgate Esplanade
The long seafront and esplanade at Sandgate, just west of Folketone.

 

Dungeness

Coastal Road Trip, Dungeness, Nuclear Power Station, Romney Marsh, EDF Energy
Our final stop of the day at the surreal Dungeness.  The area was a weird mix of beach, barren marshland, artist community, pub, gift shop, train station, lighthouses and a nuclear power station.  What a mix!
Coastal Road Trip, Dungeness, The Old Lighthouse, Nuclear Power Station, Romney Marsh, EDF Energy
The Old Lighthouse and its neighbor, the nuclear power station….
Coastal Road Trip, Dungeness, Lighthouse, Romney Marsh, Fifth Lighthouse, Sunset
…and closer to the headland the current lighthouse.  Not your traditional lighthouse, but pretty sleek, and looked great lit-up in the clear evening sky.

 

Daily video

 

 

One thought on “Day 38 – Sittingbourne to Rye”

Comments are closed.