Still a bit damp this morning but soon drying up and the clouds gradually thinning as the day wore on and we are keen to get out and about again.
Today we are heading for Dover, well more specifically the White Cliffs and headed for the National Trust car park up above the Port and Dover. The small motorhome specific car park (only taking 8 vans and certainly nothing over 7.5m in length) had just the two spaces left – lo and behold either side of an identical van (me on the right)….
We set off on a rather windy walk along the tops of the White Cliffs with views of Dover castle behind us and the white cliffs ahead (west)….
We were soon looking down on the black sands of Langdon Beach (accessible through a tunnel and steep metal steps – so not for us) and out at the cloud shadows and glimpses of sun out across the English Channel unfortunately it is definitely not clear enough to catch any glimpses of France….
We reached South Foreland Lighthouse and decided to continue along to the next village of St Margaret’s at Cliffe visible along the cliffs in the distance….
A steep climb down onto the beach at the bottom where we took a while recharging our batteries before making the climb back up….
Our return route was slightly more inland and away from the worst of the wind through lush green meadows with glimpses back along the cliffs….
Rejoining the cliff path for a look at the busy Port and down onto Dover and it’s beach in the distance….
Well yesterday afternoon and evening’s lovely sunshine did not last and this morning we have woken to grey skies and rather than intermittent showers, pretty heavy rainfall lasting for hours at a time with only sporadic breaks in between.
A grey day in Canterbury….
So we have stuff to do, laundry and admin things like catching up on photo organisation and these blogs so we decided to stay put and use the day catching up and binge watching YouTube to get ideas for our next adventures.
Still some heavy showers around through the morning but the day improved with age. Today we drove to the seafront and free parking at Birchington the next village along (east) of Herne Bay and waited out a particularly heavy downpour before venturing down onto Minni’s Bay, a long stretch of low tide mostly sandy bay….
From here we followed the concrete promenade below the low chalk Birchington Cliffs to the not so sandy Grenham Bay….
Shortly arriving at the lovely sandy West Bay at Westgate-on-Sea….
Around the next headland to the stunning St Mildred’s Bay with it’s seawater paddling pool….
A little further along the path and around the next headland to Westbrook Bay as we arrive into Margate-on-Sea….
And lastly Margate Bay with another tidal pool….
At Margate Bay I had to be a little careful when taking photos because there were several groups of young school children enjoying out of the classroom activities on the beach.
At this point we decided to turn about and make our way back the way we had come – a very enjoyable and totally dry walk.
Wet overnight and several hefty showers during the day but fortunately we managed to dodge the worst and have a good day.
After sitting out an heavy rain shower, we started our day with a walk along the promenade at Herne Bay, the beach here is shingle with some low tide sand just becoming visible so we were glad to be walking along the promenade….
The pier was a delight with lots of little artisan cabins (many of them still closed or probably just opening at weekends) selling lots of crafty bits, speciality coffees and homemade cakes with a small funfair at the end – not an amusement arcade to be seen which is quite refreshing and offering lovely views along the beach….
At the far end (east) of the town a pretty clocktower and just visible on the horizon out at sea the 6 remaining Maunsell Forts (one of the original seven was destroyed when hit by a ship in 1963), abandoned military anti-aircraft installations from WWII….
Retracing our steps and continuing further west we arrived in Hampton and enjoyed far reaching views of Hampton Beach where the sand was more exposed and more rain was on it’s way….
Moving a little further west we found parking along the sea front at Tankerton and after the shower had passed we made our way down onto the promenade above Tankerton beach….
From here we walked in a westerly direction to the small but lively village of Whitstable and it’s shingle working beach – oysters just about everywhere along the sea front being sold from cabins or in sheds – shucked or not, but with a pretty little high street running behind with lots of individual shops and cafes ….
Here the heavens really opened but fortunately we were able to take shelter under a shop awning until it had passed and strolled back to the van in brilliant sunshine!
A bit of a dull day for our return via the Eurotunnel to the UK – all was very straight forward – a bit of queueing here and there but nothing major and by 2.30, having stocked up in Sainsbury’s we were set up on our grass only pitch at Canterbury Camping and Caravan Site for the week, as we plan to explore the Kent coastline.
Apart from the obvious difference of keeping to the left we instantly noticed the potholes and volumes of traffic – why do we have actual ‘holes’ in our roads whereas in Europe if the road is in poor condition it tends to be cracks in the surface which may be bumpy going but not likely to cause actual damage?
Statistics and my thoughts of our journey:
Miles driven – 3625
Not as many as I anticipated at the start of the journey and mostly in nice unhurried journeys of around 150-180 mile trips or significantly less if just mooching from place to place
The roads are all considerably better to drive on than most of the UK roads both quality wise and the fact that they are generally wider with better visibility – if it is a single track road it is usually one way or is quite clearly signed as unsuitable.
The road systems, speed limits etc are pretty standard through out with reminders as you enter a new country of their national restrictions.
Also I didn’t ever feel pressure from other drivers to speed up or get out of the way. Note I’m sure that would have been very different if I had entered any of the major cities.
Miles walked – tba
Generally we were able to use the superb cycle path network to walk safely and comfortably and really enjoyed the lovely seaside promenades
Most routes either had a cycle path to use or adequate pavements though we did come unstuck in the more mountainous regions inland
Beaches – 171
Yes we have added to our tally of new beaches visited and enjoyed lots of quality beach time
Beach dog bans were a bit of an issue on the south coast of France and along the Ligurian coast in Italy but there was always a dog friendly promenade of board walk that meant we were still able to enjoy them
I was surprised to find that the Ligurian sea is not very tidal so long stretches of low tide firm sand was only an option in Normandy and Belgium.
Overnight stays – 88 nights – total cost £TBA av pn £TBA
We mostly stuck to authorised and generally paid secure Aires or campsites from choice – with the Aire system in France being significantly more widely available than in any of the other countries.
We bought an ACSI Camping Card and this was very useful in Italy, Switzerland and Austria
Grocery shopping
This was straight forward with only Italy appearing to have fewer out of town supermarkets where parking was not an issue
Toll roads
Generally we have tried to avoid toll roads not just because of the additional cost but because the non toll route is much more interesting to drive but also because we were not in a hurry
The south of France turned out to be the exception to the above as sometimes the non toll route was a significant detour through the mountains adding 50 to 100 additional miles and quite a few hours
Countries – 8
Belgium – I feel like we only touched the surface of this small country and were very pleasantly surprised by the endless beaches of it’s coastline. Bruges was easily the nicest city we visited – clean and busy without being overcrowded. The interior as we drove through was green and lush with lots of opportunity for further exploration.
Luxembourg – very clean, green and wealthy and fuel was 20p cheaper
Germany – only really touched this vast country and though the cities do not appeal I would like to return someday and do the Romantic Road to see all the castles – we did try to weave this into our journey but it just didn’t fit.
France – Not keen on the busy south coast and was actually surprised at how few sandy beaches there were but we did enjoy our little foray into the mountain areas in the south and have pegged quite a few place for future visits. This trip also made me appreciate even more the excellent network for campervanners.
Italy – Wow – blown away by the crumbling little villages both in the mountains and coastal areas – just so charming and unassuming and in the main very quiet – Italy appears to have a very short season – mid June to the end of August and it would be a pleasure to travel further south outside of those times and explore further.
Austria – Beautiful – clean and lush and the driving experiences were amazing but to stop and stay – I’m not sure.
Lichtenstein – pretty, clean and tiny – 24 hours was probably enough
Switzerland – as with Austria but frustratingly difficult to find somewhere that wasn’t ridiculously (IMO) expensive to stay and many of the excursions you would like to do were likewise eye wateringly expensive. Also was a little frustrated that a number of the smaller passes that I wanted to traverse were still closed until June (understandable but just frustrating)
Trip highlights:
Beaches:
Westerpunt on De Panne Beach, Middelkerke in Belgium – Plage du Veillat, St Raphael in France and Spiaggia Spotorno, Spotorno in Italy…
Villages:
St Tropez in France, Manarola in Italy and Murren in Switzerland….
Cities:
Bruges in Belgium, Nice in France and Venice in Italy:
Lakes:
Lac Serre Poncon, French Alps, Lake Garda, Sirmione in Italy and Thunersee in Switzerland….
Driving routes:
Black Forest in Germany, SS1 Coastal Road in Italy and Grossglocken High Alpine Road….
Walks:
Walk to Sirmione on Lake Garda in Italy, Rosengarten Trail from Imst in Austria and Lauterbrunnen walk, Switzerland
To say we have had an amazing journey does not do it justice but what I am certain it has done is inspired us to venture back out to Europe as often as we are able and keep on finding beautiful places to be – if this is what retirement is all about well bring it on….
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