Did they get me? Am I on GoogleEarth?? What are the views like…

I doubt that I made it :-( from the look of the flowers and foliage my best guess is that these images date back to the spring and early summer. The oilseed rape seems to be in full bloom, most of the trees are in leaf – though if you look carefully some of the largest (which I presume will be oaks) have a slight pinky-brown tinge in patches on some of the trees and I think that will be the leaves just unfurling.

Some of the views down are excellent, and compare well with some of the photos I took on my way round…

Derek Jarman’s garden
Battle of Britain Memorial
Deal Castle
Viking Ship at Pegwell Bay
The remains of St Mary’s Church at Reculver
Rochester Castle
Grain Tower
An old boat rotting away on the River Thames
Dartford Bridge

Overnight another band of rain had raced through, leaving a trail of heavy showers in its wake. The forecast was not great and the wind was up again. I headed back to Gravesend on the bus and decided to catch a train up to Greenhithe.

I missed out a bit of coast but the map and guide showed it as full of industrial areas and waste ground – not pleasant walking particularly in this weather. From Greenhithe I was able to make it quickly back onto the path and soon the Dartford Bridge was looming above me.

Yet more industrial works on the western side of the bridge thankfully made way for the Dartford Marshes fairly quickly and I was next to the River Darent in next to no time. This river marks border with Kent and I had made it from end to end around the coast!

My enthusiasm was slightly tempered by the fact I was in the middle of nowhere and despite the large flood barrier straddling the river there was no way across. I was forced to head south for 3 miles before I found a bridge.

I had thought about continuing along the River Thames into London but with the detour along the River Darent and the poor weather forecast I decided 150 miles in 10 days was enough and I caught the train home.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

For some reason there was a big gap in the scheduling of buses, I could wait for more than an hour or I could set off now and probably make it to the next village before the bus would arrive. It meant a lot of road tramping but there was little in Grain to hold my interest.

I pressed on and made it to within a stones throw of the bus stop at Lower Stoke before being overtaken by the bus – I was beaten but only just.

Thankfully the walk from now on, for the rest of the day, was going to be much more picturesque. I had two options – a walk along the northern shore or to cut across the middle of the peninsula. As I had already walked a fair distance the longer northern shore walk was discounted and I also hoped to find some more interesting countryside further inland along the higher ground.

I still got good views of the River Thames from the middle of the peninsula and the walking was more interesting with a mix of farmland, small villages, woodland and orchards – I think I had the best of both worlds.

The views across the marshes at Cliffe were breathtaking – this is certainly no place for airport development. I made my way down onto the marshland and around the RSPB reserve with its large lakes and headed for Cliffe Fort which was where I would pick up the shoreline path.

From the Fort I continued along the Saxon Shore Way and made steady progress towards Gravesend. It was such a nice day I continued into Gravesend instead of cutting inland to find the B&B for the night at Worth – in doing so I walked a little further but at just over 18 miles it was a good days walking.

I caught the bus out of Gravesend and made it to the B&B just before dusk.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

After a day off, and a later than normal start, I was keen to get going. I again walked passed the Cathedral and Castle, and then it was over Rochester Bridge to get onto the path on the northern shore of the River Medway.

Having gone though more industrial areas I made it to Upnor Castle and made my way along the high tide mark of the river until I was forced to head inland by a marina and the ever increasing marshes and mud flats – and the Kingsnorth power station.

I was now on the Hoo Peninsula and the journey inland made a pleasant change of scenery, particularly with a field of onions breaking the monotony. I could have remained inland but the path along the top of the sea defences at the back of the salt marshes offered wonderful views to the south – despite the wind I meandered along preferring to look south rather than east towards the Isle of Grain and the massive industrial areas.

Eventually the mudflats and marshes ran out and I reached the main road through the industrial areas of power stations, oil and gas storages, and who knows what else in the sprawling development behind high fences.

Instead of heading directly into Grain when I reached the edge of the village I headed south east to make it back to the coast and to get a fix of shoreline walking. The views were not much improved, the tide was out and the industrial town of Sheerness on Sheppey dominated the landscape.

It was a mixed days walking, and I had managed just over 17 miles, hopefully tomorrow the north of the peninsula will offer more interest.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

The Isle of Sheppey was now off the list due to the bad weather, perhaps another time. The forecast was still not great so I headed out of Sittingbourne by the most direct route – the A2, which follows the line of an old roman road in almost a straight line all the way to Rochester.

I soon became bored of the A2 and, with the weather improving, I decided to cut back to the coast and rejoined the shoreline path at Lower Halstow. The path now followed the estuary of the River Medway and the outgoing tide had exposed great swathes of marsh and mud.

The path then itself headed inland through the village of Upchurch and it was nice to be walking through orchards and decent woodland (of chestnut coppice and oak standards). The path soon headed back along the river after a few miles and then linked up with the Gillingham Riverside Country Park.

I was making good progress but all of a sudden the park stopped and the way forward was blocked by a marina and industrial works. I was still a couple of miles from Rochester but it was no longer possible to stick to the river, I had to take to the roads and cut across the housing estates and built-up areas of Gillingham and Chatham to complete the day’s walking.

I had only walked 15 miles today but it seemed more. The weather had improved and the outlook was good for the weekend. Having missed out the Isle of Sheppey meant I now had an extra day in Rochester – I decided to have a day off to explore some of the Medway towns and to watch the Six Nations Rugby.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

Having been given a room at the very top of the B&B I had half expected to be woken in the night by the wind, and perhaps have made it to France. The weather forecast on the morning news did not provide much to look forward to, much of the country seemed to have been hit with severe weather, roads were closed, trees were down, electricity supplies had failed.

As I walked back towards the shore it was breezy but while it had been raining there were only a few spots of rain in the air. I soon found that I was being sheltered from most of the bad weather by the town, walking along the beach I soon found I was walking into gale force winds and driving rain. The sky was almost black and the sea was churning violently.

I made very slow progress, with little shelter from the wind. When I could I tried to walk in the lee of the sea wall but this soon became impractical with access barred on one side by a nature reserve. I eventually made it to a footpath that cut across the marshes and could provide a shortcut to Faversham.

This section of the walk was always going to be fairly challenging as the inlets, marshes and creeks would add many additional miles to the walk, as they forced the path inland to find suitable crossing points.

I paused a while and refuelled on tea and cake. Looking at the map I decided progress would be too slow along the coast and a way through further inland could provide a good solution – though it also meandered round and through numerous orchards and small villages.

I set off again and headed towards the old Gunpowder Works, they were fascinating and I added to my walk by weaving my way through the woods and around the remains of the old buildings. At least the woodland provided some shelter.

After passing through the woodland I headed up hill through the village of Oare – to follow along the Swale Heritage Trail that I had first picked up at the Gunpowder Works. It was at the top of the small hill, at the end of the village, that I was hit again by the full force of the wind and rain.

It was a miserable day and these desperate times called for a desperate measure – the bus to Sittingbourne. I had walked almost half way (about 10 miles) but I was glad to be sitting down out of the wind. The hot shower at the B&B was most welcoming.

While the weather was due to improve slightly tomorrow I decided to forego the walk round the Isle of Sheppey and head for Rochester instead. My decision felt vindicated when the local evening news included an item on the new bridge across to Sheppey having been closed.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

The rain had swept through overnight, leaving an overcast sky and chill wind. Thankfully I was walking towards a large patch of blue sky on the horizon and by the time I had walked a few miles to Birchington the sun was fully out.

The wind turbines out at sea on the horizon seemed to be making the best of the wind, so too were the seagulls soaring on the updrafts from the chalk cliffs.

As I continued to walk westwards the chalk cliffs to my left were diminishing, and I was soon off the Isle of Thanet and walking along the edge of Chislet Marshes towards Reculver and the twin towers of St Mary’s Church on the horizon. This area is where the Romans invaded in AD48, though much of the earthworks and fort have been reclaimed by the sea. This coastline is also where Barnes Wallis tested his ‘bouncing bomb’ used during the Second World War.

In the distance the land rose slightly again at Herne Bay and beyond was Whitstable. Staying on the sea wall the walk was not particularly remarkable and the only clues as to progress were the lines of beach huts and sailing boats.

After almost 16 miles I arrived in Whistable in good time and had a short walk away from the sea to find the B&B set on the high street.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

Leaving Sandwich I was on the long slog through the Pfizer industrial complex and along the main road to many miles. It was hardly inspiring and I was wishing that I had caught the train to Ramsgate instead. Though after I had passed the old power station at Richborough I was able to get off the path along the main road and meander instead through Pegwell Bay Country Park.

I also passed the replica Viking ship ‘Hugin’ which sailed from Denmark to Thanet in 1949 to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the invasion of Britain. Pegwell Bay is marked on the OS map as the ‘Traditional site of the Landing of the Saxons 449 & St Augustine 597′.

Rounding Pegwell Bay I made good progress along the the cliff top promenades of Ramsgate and Broadstairs. I had considered yesterday of bypassing Broadstairs completely and walking further inland, I am glad I did not as it is a delightful little town and I found an excellent sandwich shop.

Leaving Broadstairs and passing through North Foreland (the most easterly point on the walk) I came across Botany Bay with the ‘door’ in the cliff of White Ness. Passing Foreness Point I was in Palm Bay though no sign of palm trees.

Walking along the bottom of the cliffs, along the beach promenade, I missed most of Margate. Approaching the bay and small harbour I was not sure that I had missed much and I pressed on to find the Youth Hostel in the western side of the town. After 17 miles I was glad to find it right on the sea front and away from the centre of town. It had been an interesting walk today but I was looking forward to a more picturesque walk tomorrow – away from the Isle of Thanet conurbations.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

The views of the Castle offered a good distraction to the poor walking through scrub woodland and wasteland. One highlight was coming across the memorial to Louis Bleriot’s record breaking first flight across the Channel in 1909. The silhouette of the plane was marked out on the ground but it seemed fairly lost, hidden deep within dark scruffy woodland, and I did not stay long.

After a few more twists and turns, humps and hollows, I was up on the cliff tops above the Eastern Docks. I could have stayed here for hours gazing out to sea and watching the comings and goings in the harbour – the movement of ships, lorries and cars looked almost balletic. However the White Cliffs beckoned.

I headed away from Dover, towards Deal, and what turned out to be some of the best cliff top walking so far. The clear blue sky helped and I could have been in France, and my phone thought I was – springing into life with a cacophony of beeps and a text message welcoming me to France Orange!! Unperturbed I continued along the cliffs and headed down along Deal’s beach.

The seafront of Deal was very pretty, with its forts and rows of fishing boats, but it was not long until I was in the land of golf courses with three that hugged the thin strip of land along the shore.

Having made good time so far I opted not to go and find the B&B in Worth straight away but to head up to the mouth of the River Stour and Pegwell Bay. The dunes and shoreline were beautiful and I lingered a little too long before heading back. It was almost dusk as I passed through Sandwich and by the time I got to Worth it was completely dark.

With the detour I managed just over 22 miles today. It was a slow walk back to the village pub for supper as my legs were starting to cease up. It could be a very slow walk tomorrow to Margate.

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.

The weather was even better today, and after an early start I headed off along the sea wall path. The tide was out and in the far distance it looked like a large digger and lorry were making massive sandcastles.

As I got closer to the workings it became apparent they had closed the beach to work on the sea defences and I had to take to the pavement along the road that ran parallel to the shore. More bad news was to follow, as the sound of the beach workings diminished I could hear a battle – well gunshots – and spotted the red flags were flying over the Hythe Ranges. It was time for plan B and I headed inland towards the Royal Military Canal.

The canal was dug by hand as a third line of defence against Napoleon (after the Royal Navy patrolling the English Channel and the line of 74 Martello Towers built along the south coast) and was completed in April 1809. Today it offered an excellent walk into Hythe and the coastal path I had deviated from, and I made steady progress along to Folkestone.

At Folkestone the first sign of chalk cliffs started to rise to my left. I wandered around the harbour and the small Sunday market, and under the cliffs to Copt Point. Here I had to leave the gentle level walking and head slightly inland to emerge on the cliff top path that was to take me to Dover.

The progress along the cliff top was good, I passed the Battle of Britain Memorial and the figure of the airman starring out to sea and further along the remnants of pill boxes and defences in the undergrowth littered the cliff top. The visibility was hazy but the lines of ships entering and leaving Dover harbour was quite a sight and gave me some measure of progress.

I covered almost 20 miles today, but it was the last few that were the hardest. The cliff top path was severely squeezed between the A20 main road out of town and the cliff edge and at the first opportunity I headed down and through the subway under the road. This then left Dover’s Western Heights as the main obstacle into town, with a couple of fairly cheeky steep paths, but it offered good views of Dover Castle on the eastern side of town (which would be the first objective in the morning).

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See all the pictures from all the days walking here in this gallery.