Photographs from our 2006 Romney Marsh Ride

For beaches, sea vistas, Martello Towers, a nuclear power station, a lighthouse with a view of France, a thirteenth century church with a wooden spire, the Royal Military Canal and flat over the marshes riding . .

A 60 mile flat ride around Romney Marshes starting and finshing in Folkstone. The ride heads south along the coast going through Hythe, Dymchurch and St Mary's Bay to Dungeness.- where we'll stop to take a look at the power station and the lighthouse. From Dungeness we head inland to Lydd and Brookland. The ride finishes along the northern edge of the marshes heading back to Folkstone.

Lunch in a pub.

An all day ride.

Suitable for all bikes.

Report

Ian, Jane, Simon, Susil, Sue, Sue, Barry, Cheryl, Alan, Katie, Bill, Neville, Janet, Jurec, Kieran, Kay-E, Nick, Ruth and Cathy all boarded the train at London Bridge. Trevor, Andrew and Jo were waiting for us at Folkstone.

It was another large group again this week so thanks go out to Barry who spent a large amount of time at the back of the group and to Jurec, Bill and Kay-E who waited at turns to make sure we stayed together and didn’t lose anyone at the back.

Our route from Folkstone was south through Sandgate, Hythe, Dymchurch, St Mary’s Bay, Littlestone-on-Sea, Greatstone-on-Sea, Lydd-on-Sea and Dungeness. Between Lydd-on-Sea and Dungeness we stopped for lunch at The Pilot. The fantastic feature of the ride between Folkstone and Dungeness is the mile after mile of besides the beach riding. Work continues on the flood defences between Dymchurch Redoubt and Dymchurch and when this is finished there should be another 2.5km more of beachside riding. With the exception of a stretch through Dymchurch, where the families were out in force on this perfect summer’s day, the area remains peaceful and unspoiled apart from Dungeness nuclear power station which on a clear day can always be seen on the horizon, but I think is definitely a feature of the ride.

The Pilot is famous for its fish and chips which is what almost everyone went for. Alan had his own picnic on the beach and went for a swim. Dam good idea, I wish I’d come equipped. Barry led another group off to The Britannia which is by the lighthouse in Dungeness because we thought that such a large group descending on one place might prove troublesome. However, The Pilot was obviously ready and able to deal with large groups and we were all eating half an hour after placing our orders. Fish and chips meals range from £7.95 to £9.95 according to the size of the fish. The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway passes within a few metres of The Pilot and the whistling trains provide good entertainment for the alfresco clientele.

From The Pilot we headed off and met the other group down by the lighthouse before cycling round the power station and heading off to Lydd. From Lydd we went to Brookland stopping for some time to admire the 13th Century church. This is well worth a look There is a small museum in the back of a church. Do you know what a ‘Hudd’ is? It’s not a Head Up Display Display, It’s a peculiar invention of the marshes. Go and look.

Brookland to Snaregate to Hamstreet to Ruckinge. All ridden on exceptionally quiet roads with plenty of opportunity to spread out and take in the landscape at your leisure. The one hill of the day coming out of Hamstreet took us up to a heady 30 metres, so a pub, drink stop was in order and we stopped off at The Blue Anchor in Ruckinge.

From Ruckinge we twisted around on the northern lanes of Romney Marsh before turning onto the Royal Military Canal Road at West Hythe and which runs into Hythe besides the Royal Military Canal. Through Hythe and we found our way back onto the beachside promenade which took us cycling all the way back to Folkstone Harbour.

59.6 miles
8 hours
A very flat ride, only 2 climbs, 30m out of Hamstreet and 35m to Folkstone Station.
260m total climbing.

To be repeated . . . .

Ian Pendleton.