Sunday Walk along the White Cliffs of Dover

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Sunday 6 January - We felt like a stroll around the south coast today and so opted to head down to the white cliffs of Dover. The weather was so beautiful - at times it was so warm and sunny, it almost felt like a summer's day; we even spent some time on the beach! We couldn't believe it was a winter's day in January. It is always amazing to feel the warmth of the sun beating down on your face as you enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. At 350 feet high, our ridge coastal walk was strenuous in parts, especially the energetic climb up the cliffs from the beach. The cliff-edge walk was magnificent - the views were splendid and we were able to spot France in the distance owing to the cloudless and bright blue skies. Let's hope we are this lucky with the weather in April and May when we do our fundraising hike!

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Photos

Start of walk - St. Margaret's Bay. Dover, Kent
Starting out for our cliff-edge walk in the historic village of St. Margaret's at Cliffe and St Margaret's Bay.

St. Margaret's at Cliffe. Dover, Kent
Pretty cottages in the quiet village of St. Margaret's at Cliffe.

"I can see France!" Dover, Kent
Steve was very proud to spot France - but was also blinded by the bright sunlight!

Lavinia with the White Cliffs in the distance. Dover, Kent
It has been a while since either of us have been to the coast, so it was lovely to breathe in that sea air again.

Hidden windmill. Dover, Kent
It was a pleasant surprise to see this ancient windmill.

Steve striding out... Dover, Kent
...along the long distance Saxon Shore Way Path. It is 262km (163 miles) in total - we decided to take it easy and just walk along a few miles of it!

South Foreland Lighthouse. Dover, Kent
Lovely lighthouse now owned by the National Trust.

Lav takes a break. Dover, Kent
The views from the lighthouse were fantastic and so Lav took the time to soak in it all in.

Steve leads the way! Dover, Kent
Steve takes the lead with the map reading - as long as we stay away from the cliff-edge, I think we are fine!

Dramatic cliff-edge drop. Dover, Kent
The cliff-edge drops were amazing! We read afterwards, you are supposed to remain a good 5 metres away from the edge at all times, due to parts of cliff breaking away without warning. 5 metres was fine with us too - no plans to go bungy jumping here!

Coastal Flora. Dover, Kent
It was lovely to see these colourful bursts of yellow, from these gorse flowers growing along the coastal path.

White Cliffs. Dover, Kent
Both the sea and sky looked absolutely amazing against the backdrop of the white cliffs.

Very steep cliff-edge path. Dover, Kent
We wanted to check out the beach, but there was only one way down! Down a very steep path (seen here to the right of the photo). We couldn't miss the beach, so we had to do it!

Oh no, no-one mentioned a ladder! Dover, Kent
Steve takes on the next adventure down to the beach - descending a rusty ladder. We were hoping after all of this the beach would be worth it!

The ladder was so steep! Dover, Kent
As you can see, as Steve climbs down the ladder - it was almost vertical!

Lav's turn! Dover, Kent
Lavinia who has an amazing sense of adventure loved climbing down this ladder to the beach. It was not quite as adrenalined filled as our previous adventures sky-diving, bungy jumping, caving or white-water rafting - but it was still good fun!

Going down! Dover, Kent
Nearly there!

Stony beach. Dover, Kent
It does not exactly bring back our memories of sitting on Bondi Beach in Sydney (don't worry we did keep our expectations fairly low). But, it was beach! In the stony sense of the word.

Old World War Defence Control hut. Dover, Kent
It was fascinating to see this old World War Defence control hut in the cliff face above the beach.

Boys will be boys! Dover, Kent
Steve decides that since he is at the beach, he needs to test the water...

Wet Feet! Dover, Kent
Steve quickly realises that not only has he now got sopping wet boots and socks, but guess what? The water is absolutely freezing! It shows all over his face.