Friday, 6th October 2023. Preparing bikes for return flight.

    AM: Today we have to take the bikes on the shuttle to the South terminal, pick up two bike boxes from the 'Oversize Luggage Counter', and then partially dis-assemble the bikes and put them securely into the boxes.

   Then we have to put the boxes into storage for tomorrow's flight.

   We have done 1193 kms since we arrived in the UK, and we are looking forward to a few days rest.

   PM: It took almost 3 hours from start to finish to go to South Terminal, pick up the boxes and pack the bikes. It was quite stressful, but not too bad. The British Airways bike boxes are smaller than the Schiphol ones, but it worked out alright.

   I'm glad that we allocated a full free day to do the bikes. It would have been difficult if we had gambled on doing it on the morning of the flight.

   

Thursday, 5th October 2023. Tunbridge Wells to Gatwick Airport. 44 kms.

    A relatively easy ride today from Tunbridge Wells to Gatwick, because a large part of it was on an old railway line which has been converted to a cycle path. This means that there were no steep hills, but the path was mostly a gradual climb. This makes it easier, but the only problem is that if there are no downhills, you don't get a rest. If you stop pedalling, you stop moving, so we had to take a couple of rest stops.

   The route got a bit tricky when we arrived in Crawley with all the traffic and twists and turns, but we managed to find our way.

   Route: Tunbridge Wells - Cabbage Stalk Lane - Groombridge - Balls Green - East Grinstead Station - Rowfant Station - Three Bridges Station - Gatwick Airport Station - Shuttle to North Terminal and Premier Inn.

Wednesday, 4th October 2023. Tenterden to Royal Tunbridge Wells 52 kms.

    AM: We woke up this morning to the news that there will be a rail strike in this area and there will be no trains or replacement buses, so the roads will be busier than usual. The price of petrol here is the equivalent of AU$3.00 per litre which is very high compared to Australia. I think that I was paying about half that when we left. I can remember quite recently paying 99 cents per litre when one of the stations had a special. We did have to pay as much as over $4.00 per litre at the height of the oil crisis, though.

   Today we have a complicated route from Tenterden to Tunbridge Wells.

   PM: Well, the ride was very hilly and circuitous, with many very steep hill climbs. We managed to get very aerobic every 5 to 10 minutes or so.

   We've come across quite a lot of Golden Pheasants on the quieter paths and roads. They can run very fast, and when we surprise them, they reckon that they can outrun us and head off in the same direction as we are going. So, we find ourselves following them for quite a while until we get very close, then they seem to suddenly remember that they can fly. They have a choking, panicky sounding chirp when they fly off.

   Route: Tenterden - Readers Ridge Road - Brass Tacks - Beacon Hall House - The Woodcock Inn - Water Lane - Ranters Lane - The Hopbine Inn - Camden Arms Hotel - Royal Wells Hotel. 52 kms.

   

The White Lion Hotel, Tenterden was built in the 1600s, and our room had a sloping floor.

Tenterden.

Tuesday, 3rd October 2023. Canterbury to Tenterden. 50 kms.

    We spent the day yesterday just exploring Canterbury and re-gathering our strength.

    Canterbury is a pretty impressive place with the amazing Cathedral which is the worldwide headquarters and the spiritual home of the Anglican Church. The city has some beautiful architecture.

    Today we rode from Canterbury to Tenterden (50 kms.)  Once again, because as we are now heading in a westerly direction, we had a strong headwind. The ride seemed to be a steady gradual climb as well, but it was easy to follow and quite scenic.

    The road was closed in two separate places because of what looked like a damaged water main. We were very lucky that the workers let us slip through both road blocks on our bikes, saving us about 2 hours of backtracking. All cars were turned away.

    We had lunch at Ashford, which is an unusually modern town with lots of new modern houses and well planned parks and gardens. It also has two railway stations right opposite each other - one for normal English rail travel (London etc), and the other one was called 'Ashford International Station'. I'm assuming that the High Speed rail service stops here on it's way to Paris, Nice, Brussels and Amsterdam etc. 

    Route: Canterbury - Chartham - Shalmsford Street - Wye - Ashford - Tenterden (White Lion Hotel).

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

Sunday, 1st October 2023. Margate to Canterbury 45 kms.

    Route: Margate - Reculver - Herne Bay - Whitstable (Bubble Cafe) - Blean - Hampton By Hilton Hotel, Canterbury.

   A well signposted ride, even though we still got a little lost at Reculver where there is an old Roman fort. Unfortunately, our luck with the winds didn't continue today. We had a steady headwind the whole day which slowed us down. The cycle paths were very good though.

  Canterbury is a beautiful historic city, which was once the centre of power in England.

      

        

Saturday, 30th September 2023. Dover to Margate 52 kms.

    Route: Dover - Kingsdown - Deal - Sandwich - Ramsgate - Broadstairs - Botany Bay - Walpole Bay Hotel, Margate.

   We expected Dover to be just a busy commercial port, and were pleasantly surprised at how attractive and peaceful it was. There is obviously a lot of history here, going back hundreds of years.

   The ride out of Dover back up to the top of the white cliffs was very steep, but after that it was pretty easy going. 

   We have now crossed into Kent, which is a beautiful County with lots of nice architecture and well-maintained roads and cycle paths. There are lots of well-kept farms and good infrastructure, which is reminiscent of old Rhodesia.

   We came across an original US Navy P22 Patrol Boat in Sandwich, which has been fully restored. 

   Good weather and once again a good tailwind.

   Our hotel in Margate, The Walpole Bay Hotel is literally a museum piece. The lift is an original steel cage Otis Lift from 1927. There is just enough room in the lift for two people, so I had to take all the panniers off and then stand the Bike up on it's back wheel in order to fit it into the lift. The hotel was completely restored by it's owners back to it's original 1920s condition, and is furnished with antiques throughout.

   

   

   

 

            

 

                        

          

                            

                           

 

                 

       

Friday, 29th September 2023. Rye to Dover 69 kms.

    Once again we had nice weather and remarkably a good tailwind all day again.

   We did need the help, because it was 69 kms and the section from Folkestone to Dover was a very steep and long climb. We cycled up Dover Hill and along the top of the famous white cliffs. The views were very good looking south towards the French coast, which we could see clearly.

   We also came across the Battle Of Britain Memorial which was very thought-provoking. It was quite moving to think that at the time of the battle (10th July to 30th October 1940), one could have stood at this spot and witnessed the dogfights and seen the planes being shot down. It was a crucial turning point of the war, and the British tenacity and success was such a critical factor which apparently decided the Nazis to postpone invasion plans indefinitely. 

   Route: Rye - Camber - Lydd - Old Romney - Hythe - Sandgate - Copt Point - Farthingloe - Premier Inn, Dover Central.

   

   

   

                        

                                      A stainless steel sculpture of a crashed Stukka.