Meeting Points

London Bridge : Meet Trevor Hughes by the ticket office at 08:15 for the direct service to Westernhanger - departing at 08:38 - ETA 10:07

Or - Meet Andrew Fergar on Bromley South Station Forecourt at 08:00 for the 08:17 to Orpington - where we will catch the same train as the London Bridge contingent is already on.

Buy return tickets to Westernhanger - ride finishes at Charing - you can catch a train to Ashford ( one stop ) for trains to London Bridge . From Charing trains run direct back to Bromley South

The Ride

Todays ride will be 47 miles in length ...but only 1589 ft of ascent/decent ...much of the 22 miles will be flat - or nearly so ...as we will be traversing the Romney Marsh ...stopping in at Dymchurch to see the sea ..then we will climb up the slope of the Isle Of Oxney ..which towers 200 ft above the marshlands ..and was a real island not so long ago..then down again to cross the Kent & East Sussex Steam Railway ..before ascending to Rolvendon ..then it's onward past Biddenden and through the heart of historic Smarden ...progressing then to much haunted Pluckley ..then shortly after to Journey's end in Charing .

I am planning to find a pub for the lunch stop - possibly at the 30 mile point in Rolvendon

There will probably be an optional extra bit of mileage - involving climbing Charing Hill then riding on the ridge the lies above the Pilgrim's way ..before swooping down into Bearsted

My email contact is :
andrew.fergar@cliffordchance.com
or my mobile number is
07717693701

Report

Around 9 of us – Captain Andrew, Ian, Jack, Jo, Katie, Linda, Mob, Steve and Trevor got ourselves onto the train heading towards Westernhanger, on the very edge of the Romney marshes. After a spectacular descent into Lympne we hit the flat for the next 24 miles. A few miles in we stopped at Dymchurch to look at the seaside before heading west towards the quiet and unhurried villages of St Mary in the marsh, Ivychurch (where Captain Andrew called the pub to say that we would be there a bit later), Snargate (where Jo surprised an errant sheep who decided to run into someone’s house) and Appledore, where apparently it is a romantic place to propose to someone, or so I have been told.

Lunch was at a quaint old pub at Stone in Oxney, where a bbq was in full swing and we gorged on lamb, scallops and ribs. This consuming of calories was advised as the second part of the ride contained hills.

The first few miles were fairly undulating, but it was really after Rolvenden that the hills began as we headed north (North Kent has very bumpy bits). This continued until we hit my all time favourite village in Kent, Smarden, and then it was only a few miles hence to Pluckley Station where we said goodbye to Mob and Linda (it was great to meet you guys) and thence towards Charing, where we also bid adieu to Steve (good luck with the cycling).

After Charing, some of us decided to add some extra mileage and headed towards the pilgrims way and Bearsted. My brake cable started to misbehave, which Ian gamely tried to fix. After about 6 miles we were approaching Bearsted, but not before saying goodbye to Captain Andrew and Trevor who were heading to the fantastic Black Horse for some food.

Many thanks to Lord Fergar for leading a wonderful ride and a great Easter Sunday!

Katie Collis