| Day 27 - Kent |
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| Copyright Famocon Tours 2001 |
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| We left Fairlight via the coast road to Winchelsea keeping the huge seawall to our right. Its a pity that the sea wall stops you from viewing the coast. You can, however, find regular spots to pull over and climb the stairs to the top of the wall for a panoramic view. At Rye we parked the car and strolled through this surprisingly large heritage town which used to be a major harbour until the water receded (or was drained away). We then drove to Brookland and New Romney before veering inland to explore Romney Marsh and those vast bright yellow canola (rape seed) fields. We visited St Mary in the Marsh, Dymchurch and Lympne before resurfacing at Hythe and Folkstone. The marshland is well drained by hundreds of channels and is lush with crops. Small roads wander off in every direction and we just followed them at random pretending to know where we were going. Then on to Dover. We were absolutely amazed by Dover Castle - not only is this remnant castle perched so incredibly high above the town with unbelievable views over the Channel to France - it has so much history going back to a Roman lighthouse and Saxon church to secret war tunnels fitted out to recreate the war rooms and hospital they once held. Here too are secret underground chambers that held troops ready to meet Napoleon's expected invasion. The castle is huge and one of Henry VIII's major defences. It is funny how many times Henry VIII pops up - England would have been a very dull place for tourists if Henry had not been around 500 years ago to liven things up. From Dover we drove further up the coast and roved around St Margarets at Cliffe to catch views and photos of those famous white cliffs - they certainly look whiter on a bright day. It was now late afternoon and our hopes of getting the best cliff photos were fading as clouds moved in to cover the sun. A nice postcard attracts our attention and we buy it. We arrived at our Guest House at Kingsdown near Walmer in time for a lovely stroll along the pebbled beach before an early dinner at one of the two local pubs. The Guest House is an immaculate two floor building almost on the beach and we are given the bedrooms that look out directly over the sea - what a view! |