Sittingbourne – Coastal Road Trip

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

Day 37 – Southend-on-Sea to Sittingbourne

We are travelling 104 miles today as we drive first along the north side of the River Thames and estuary, then back along the south side. One of our busiest days for traffic too as we skirt around the edge of London. However, there was a mid-October heatwave, so at least we are lucky with the weather!

Photo of the day

Coastal Road Trip, Gravesend, St George's Church, Pocahontas, Statue, Princess, — Pocahontas statue (yes, you read that right!) in a graveyard in Gravesend.

Shoeburyness

Coastal Road Trip, Shoeburyness, Gunners park, Shoebury East Beach — We started off with a short detour east from Southend-on-Sea to Shoeburyness at the mouth of the River Thames Estuary. Views northeast from Gunners Park towards Shoebury East Beach.

Coastal Road Trip, Shoeburyness, Gunners park, Shoebury Ness, Graffiti, — Interesting welcome signs at the entrance to the Thames. It is a shame that the war defences were covered in graffiti, but at least it brought some colour to the concrete.

Coastal Road Trip, Shoeburyness, Warrior Square, Horseshoe Cresent, Clock, Gates, Garrison — Shoeburyness was a pleasant surprise, with smart military avenues and squares, mixed with newer developments. We also tried to continue further north past the St Nicolas Church at Great Wakering, but found ourselves heading into a Ministry of Defence area, so did a quick u-turn.

Southend-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Southend-on-Sea, Beach, Ness Road Slipway, South-on The Sea — Heading back into Southend-on-Sea, we made a short stop at the beach by the Ness Road Slipway with views towards Southend-on-Sea.

Coastal Road Trip, Southend-on-Sea, Pier — The longest pleasure pier in the world at Southend-on-Sea, stretching into the hazy sunshine.

Coastal Road Trip, Southend-on-Sea, Pier, Train — It is so long (1.34 miles) that you can take a train to the end!

Coastal Road Trip, Southend-on-Sea, Adventure Island, Roller-coaster, Rage, Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter — The entrance to Southend Pier flanked by roller-coasters at Adventure Island.

Leigh-on-Sea

Coastal Road Trip, Leigh-on-Sea, Leigh Marshes, Boats, Thames Estuary — Abandoned boats in the marshes on the edge of the Thames Estuary at Leigh-on-Sea.

Canvey Island

Coastal Road Trip, Canvey Island, Canvey Point, Smallgains Marina — Driving through Canvey Island (basically a large housing estate) we arrived at Canvey Point and the nearby Smallgains Marina.

East Tilbury

Coastal Road Trip, East Tilbury, Coalhouse Fort — More Thames defences at Coalhouse Fort. The original fortifications date back to the 15th century. More recently it has been used for a variety of purposes, including being featured at the start of the ‘Batman Begins’ film. It is now a pleasant park overlooking the Thames, where today families were enjoying the sunny afternoon.

Tilbury

Coastal Road Trip, Tilbury, The Worlds End, Pub, Tilbury Fort — The Worlds End Pub on the way to Tilbury Fort. Aren’t British pub names great?! This pub was haunted too!

Coastal Road Trip, Tilbury, Tilbury Fort, Gun — Guns at Tilbury Fort. The first fort was built here by Henry VIII in the 16th century, and continued in use until after World War II.

Coastal Road Trip, Tilbury, Tilbury Fort, Cruise Ship, Thames, CMV, Wind Turbines — Looking west up the Thames from Tilbury Fort to the cruise terminal and a wind farm project.

Coastal Road Trip, Tilbury, Tilbury Fort, Boats, Yachts, Thames, Gravesend — The Thames was busy with yachts, making the most of the lovely weather.

Dartford Crossing

Coastal Road Trip, Dartford Crossing, Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, Cable-stayed Bridge — Heading south over the Queen Elizabeth II Darford Crossing Bridge.

Gravesend

Coastal Road Trip, Gravesend, St George's Church, Pocahontas, Statue, Princess, — Probably the biggest surprise of the day, finding a statue of Pocahontas in the graveyard of St George’s Church in Gravesend. Pocahontas had died on a ship on the River Thames close to Gravesend, and her remains are thought to be buried somewhere close to St George’s Church.

Hoo Peninsula

Coastal Road Trip, RSPB Northward Hill, Thames Estuary, Autumn, Colours, Fall Colors, DP World London Gateway Port, Stanford-le-Hope — Heading across the Hoo Peninsula, we decided to stop at the quiet RSPB Northward Hill nature reserve. Along the track there were lovely views over apple orchards turning autumn red, quite a contrast to the shipping port at Stanford-le-Hope across the Thames.

Upnor

Coastal Road Trip, Upnor, Upper Upnor, High Street — A quaint cobbled lane leading down through Upper Upnor to the River Medway.

Coastal Road Trip, Upnor, Upper Upnor, Upnor Castle, River Medway — Upnor Castle had just closed for the day, so we took in the views across the marshes on the edge of the River Medway.

Rochester

Coastal Road Trip, Rochester, Rochester Castle, Julian, Jarno — Another selfie moment at Rochester Castle, its orgins dating back to the 12th century.

Coastal Road Trip, Rochester, Rochester Castle — The castle towering an impressive 113 feet high.

Coastal Road Trip, Rochester, Roofs — Red roofs of Rochester. Rochester was a well preserved historical town, and we learnt it had actually been inspiration for many of Charles Dickens’ novels.

Coastal Road Trip, Rochester, Rochester Cathedral — The Norman Rochester Cathedral. Apparently Jools Holland is a big fan of the acoustics. We then made our way along the Medway to Chatham Historic Dockyard for dinner, before heading to Sittingbourne for the night.

Daily video