Of course we were now on high above the channel on the cliff top. We set off from the village of Capel-le-Ferne, whose name means “Chapel in the Ferns". Perched on top of the White Cliffs of Dover, the village has a surprisingly large population of some 2,400 – I’ve no idea where they put them all because it was exceptionally quiet on this particular Saturday afternoon. The village’s main claim to fame, apart from having a very French-sounding name, is that it is home to the Battle of Britain museum – and, of course, the Channel Tunnel runs underneath the northernmost part of the village.
We set off on the North Downs Way which twins with the Saxon Shore Way from here to Dover. The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath which starts at Gravesend and traces the south east of England coastline as it was in Roman times. This doesn't follow today’s actual coastline due to the fact that in those far-off times, Romney Marsh was virtually a beach! The path runs all the way to Hastings, covering some 163 miles in total.The start of our journey today took us along Abbott's Cliff – and the edge of the cliff was certainly not for the faint hearted! There is a stunning view over the channel – but an unnerving glance towards your feet is guaranteed to get the old vertigo up and running!
Some people, however, have a different approach to such height hazards – as the handwritten sign pointed out! A little digging when we got back turned this little gem from The Daily Mail:
Death from the pathA man fell to his death after he posed for a photograph holding on to a cliff edge by a tuft of grass, coastguards said yesterday.
The 39-year-old Polish man tumbled 300ft down the sheer cliff face, landing in the bushes below at Seaton, Devon, on Sunday.
A coastguard helicopter and team were called to rescue him but paramedics declared him dead at the scene.
His death follows that of another man, thought to be Russian, who fell from a cliff top as he walked with friends at Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone, Kent, on the same day.
Dover Coastguard said the cliff where the Russian man fell was a sheer drop of around 300ft, in an area that is popular with walkers.
So, there you have it. Beware of cliff edges – particularly if you’re from Eastern Europe. And if you’re Polish – don’t be a prat!
Our walk along the cliff top was interspersed with .... well just bits of pointless stuff. Silly stuff. Call me a cynic if you like but a walk is really easy. You put some clothes on and some shoes – and you walk! You can have a look around at some magnificent scenery and – sure - it’s good to see little bits of eccentricity along the route. But, for goodness sake we kept bumping into stuff which was obviously paid for by some crackpot arty farty grant scheme i.e. us.
So, we came to Chalk Lines along the Chalk & Channel Way. Now the Chalk & Channel Way is OK - it’s a walking and cycling trail between Dover and Folkestone, along the National Cycle Route No 2. But they couldn't leave it at that. Oh no the walk wasn’t good enough on its own – it needed something else. So a series of art works have been installed along the route. Bits of stone stuff with engraved notes about the local flora. Not to be content with that we then came across a series of marker posts encouraging us to call a number and hear a poem especially written about the view before us. How much did this little lot cost, for God’s sake?
Give me strength.
Further along Abbots Cliff we came to Lydden Spout and the location of another of the sound mirrors, some of which we had seen near Dungeness. They were designed to detect oncoming enemy aircraft by means of acoustic amplification of the propellers’ drone - Britain built a series of these concrete sound mirrors between 1915 and 1935.
At this point the footpath links up with a cycle path which is part of the National Cycle Network - route no. 2 if you are interested. The National Cycle Network was created by a bunch of beardie sandal-wearers who must have dome something right because they got a whopping £42 million National Lottery grant to build a load of cycle paths around our country. National Route 2 of the National Cycle Network is a long distance cycle route which will link Dover with St. Austell in Cornwall. Except the route is only fully open and signed between Dover and Brighton.
The rather fancy signs were funded by the Royal Bank of Scotland – which presumably means that we own them now.
The ground we are now walking on today is above the site of a number of old Channel Tunnel workings. The first time a tunnel under the sea to link France with England was mooted was in 1802 when a French mining engineer called Albert Mathieu put forward a proposal to tunnel under the English Channel, with illumination from oil lamps, horse-drawn coaches, and an artificial island mid-Channel for changing horses. Sounds marginally better than we what we have now.
In the 1830s and again in 1856 ideas were presented for tunnels – indeed a proposal was presented to Napoleon III for a railway tunnel between Cap Gris Nez to England at a cost of 170 million francs - less than £7 million.In 1881, the Anglo-French Submarine Railway Company dug a 7 ft diameter, 6,211 ft pilot tunnel from Shakespeare Cliff but the project was abandoned on the grounds that a tunnel would compromise Britain's national defences.
Eventually both the British and French governments supported the concept of a tunnel inking the two countries and in 1974 another attempt was made. A tunnel was cut through the cliff to reach the old colliery site and the boring machine put in place, only for the new Labour government to cancel it in 1975. Eventually of course the project did get off the ground though God knows how much money it has cost and lost since then.
As the Tunnel Boring Machines cut the chalk marl it was loaded onto rail tipper wagons, brought back along the tunnel and then moved onto the surface by conveyor belt. Large JCBs then moved the spoil into artificial lagoons constructed with sheet piled walls - and this became what is known today as Samphire Hoe.
During the construction of the Channel Tunnel, the area was known as the Shakespeare Cliff Lower Construction Platform. In 1994 a competition was organised by Eurotunnel and the Dover Express to find a new name for the newest part of England. Hundreds of entries were received, from which the judges chose Samphire Hoe.
As the cliff footpath passes over Samphire Hoe, we arrived at Lydden Spout Battery. Lydden Spout Battery is one of a number of coastal batteries established during WW2 along the Kent Coast. It was built in 1941 and manned by men of 520 Coastal Regiment Royal Artillery.
The Lydden Spout Battery Rifle Range is also still prominent - the guns were removed in the 1950’s and the site was used as a rifle range which can still be seen today.
Amongst the ruins we spotted what appeared to be a milestone with the words Dover Borough 1934 – and the name Croft. Another bit of digging when we returned showed up that the stone refers to one Fredrick H Morecroft who was the Mayor of Dover in 1932 and 1933 but why the stone? No idea!
Another thing to puzzle us was a very round hill thing called unsurprisingly The Round Down. It is now owned and managed by the National Trust - but we can find absolutely no information whatsoever about the thing!
We came shortly to Shakespeare Cliff which dominates the western side of Dover. Some of the action of Shakespeare’s play ‘King Lear’ takes place around Dover. On 4 October 1605 the ‘King’s Men’, Shakespeare’s theatre company, visited Dover and it is quite likely that Shakespeare himself was with them. He certainly must have visited Dover at sometime as he uses one of its landmarks as the setting for one scene.
The walk down into Dover is somewhat disappointing. It’s very, very urban, skirting the A20 dual carriageway. Despite the relative prosperity of the port of Dover, the town itself is bordering on dilapidated in many parts. The Western Docks are in a state of decay with many derelict buildings and open space.
Just before we reached the western side of the port though we passed Archcliff Fort. We have driven past this place hundreds of times and never knew what was inside – so we took a peep as we walked past. And what a surprise it was too! Archcliffe Fort formed part of the coastal defences of the town from the 16th century. The first fort was constructed under Henry VIII in 1539 and 1540, although the initial fortification of the site may date back to the late 14th century. It is now the site of a community housing ex-homeless people. The community is managed by St Martin’s Emmaus and is one of over 400 communities throughout the world, of which almost 20 are in the UK, that provide a home, work and “a future” for otherwise single homeless men and women. The movement started in 1949, when the founder, Abbé Pierre, started the first community in Paris. The community in Dover has been in Archcliffe Fort since 1995, when the buildings were in various states of dilapidation - its Patron is Terry Waite.
So we made our way to the conclusion of our day's walk and we entered the Port of Dover. Dover is, of course, the nearest English port to France – which is just 21 miles away - and one of Europe's largest passenger ports. The port has been owned and operated by the local Dover Harbour Board, which was formed by Royal Charter in 1606 by James I.
Dover’s history, because of its proximity to France, has always been of great strategic importance to Britain. Forts were built above the port; lighthouses were constructed to guide ships; and one of the best-preserved Roman villas in Britain is in Dover – but we didn’t see it!
And so to the end of our walk in the Marina and a decent beer and plate of nachos we had too – in Cullin’s Yard, a wine bar and bistro owned by an old friend of ours, Jim Gleeson. We know Jim from originally from his stint as Chairman of the local football club Dover Athletic – but we also bump into him from time when we’re running. Jim is a veteran of some of the most gruelling events including the notorious Marathon de Sables.
So, to use a very British phrase – the day ended in a very agreeable way. After our beer and nachos we hopped on a bus back to Capel-le-Ferne and a drive home via the local Chinese take away.
Miles covered 5.16 miles
Time taken 2 hours and 12 minutes
Miles covered to date 39.60 miles
Time taken to date 12 hours and 43 minutes
