A walk along the cliffs from Dover to Walmer  | - Click on the image above to view gallery
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 Channel Swimmers Statue Soon after leaving Dover Priory we were walking along the seafront, which looked very nice on this lovely sunny morning but we did wonder how cold the swimmers who were having some kind of race in the harbour must have felt. Walking along under the cliffs we followed the signposts for the Saxon Shore Way, which took us to little streets we never even knew were there, as we usually drive past on the main road just yards away. The footpath continued past the docks under the Jubilee Way (the last stretch of the A2 into Dover). After a steep climb to the level of the cliff tops we reached very familiar ground, as we have frequently walked along the section of cliff paths from the National Trust visitor centre at Langdon Cliffs. The last time we were here was a rather different day as we visited here in February when the whole country was covered in snow. As it was so unusual to have snow on the cliffs we made a special point of visiting that day. On some of the paths we were following today I remembered being up to my knees in snow drifts on that day.  Adonis Blue Butterfly  Corn Bunting
We pressed ever onwards and before long we were passing the South Foreland Lighthouse and making our way down into St Margaret’s Bay. There seemed to be lots of people parked here today and were there enjoying the sunshine but we didn’t linger too long. This was about the half way point of our walk but we wanted to keep going so we made our way up the steps to the top of the cliffs once more. It was really well past our lunch time so we were pleased when we noticed a bench in a nice sheltered spot out of the worst of the wind. We were able to watch quite a few butterflies while eating our lunch including a lovely Adonis Blue Butterfly. I always get excited when I see these wee butterflies: their vibrant colour always looks stunning in the sunshine.
Lunch over we continued our walk towards Kingsdown and there is always a great view as you descend the cliffs towards Deal, where we could just make out the pier, and in the distance the cliffs of Ramsgate. The keen wind was certainly having an effect on the incoming tide with some fantastic breakers and it was fun to watch the youngsters doing their best not to get wet as huge waves hit the promenade wall.  Approaching Kingsdown  Breakers
Walking now was definitely on the flat as we had left the cliffs behind at Kingsdown and we probably now saw the most people we had all day walking along the path towards Walmer. You have to be a bit on your guard here as the path also runs alongside the cycle path, so be sure you are on the right section of the path. Before too long we found we were at Walmer Castle so we called in here for a much-needed Ice cream.
At almost 10½ miles it was certainly the longest walk we had done for a while but it was easy walking on the whole. The only problem I had was I wore my walking boots for the first time for months and my feet were certainly not happy by the end of the walk. For our next coastline walk we plan to get the train to Walmer and walk all the way home; not too sure when we’ll have time for that one but hopefully sometime soon.
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