Let me just make it clear, from the start, that I was sold this weekend under false pretenses! Lenore promised me a lovely few days in a cabin by the sea, with a swimming pool on site and room to cycle, and what did I get? A wet weekend in Folkestone! Okay it didn't actually rain but the potential was always there.
On the other hand we did end up in a lovely sea-front apartment, with a view over the waves, and a chance to enjoy the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway - it's a steam railway you know with a name like that!
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| All aboard the Halloween special |
What I didn't realise was that if you travelled to the end of the line then that meant Dungeness and believe me the phrase "end of the line" was invented for this godforsaken place. I mean I know that I've ventured down this way before, to Romney Sands, on an ill-fated stag weekend but that place is a buzzing metropolis compared to Dungeness!
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| If you want to get away from it all and mean it... |
I guess that most people know the area, if they know it at all, as the location of a nuclear power station. For sure it's hard to escape its presence when you're there although I do recall an estate agent advertising a cottage slap-bang next to the facility that studiously mentioned everything but it. So I guess that it's possible to overlook the hulking monolith!
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| Can I photograph this? |
What's strange is that the beach seems inordinately popular with fishermen; there are loads of them camped out all along the shore. I suppose that this is rather fortunate as you can't swim in the water (because of the current rather than the radiation) and there's nothing much else to do. Even so I can't really see the attraction unless you're interested in fish - which it turns out Joshua is! He's just fascinated by them and he was happy to march off into the far distance and quiz every man with a rod over his catch; perhaps he should become a fisheries inspector?
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| Do you come here often? |
In the end though we tired of life at the end of the world and luckily for us there was a steam train handy for getting out of Dodge. Once aboard we got a very striking view of the endless marsh - especially when we opened the door in total contravention of any possible Health & Safety legislation! You've got to love these old-school outfits....
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| All that's missing are the Cowboys & Indians! |
Later in the weekend we turned our attention to Dover and St Margarets Bay - the perfect location for some sea-cliff action. The port itself is no great shakes but down the coast the scenery is much more impressive and, to be honest, much more dangerous. There's nothing like walking a few feet from the edge of a 300-foot chalk cliff with nothing between you and oblivion but a sturdy pair of shoes and a strong sense of preservation! However when the opportunity to clamber all over a Second World War gun emplacement came up how could we refuse?
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| Don't look down... |
Suitably impressed we finished off our trip with lunch at a transport cafe in Deal. It wasn't cuisine worth three Michelin stars of course but there'll always be a place for a greasy breakfast in my life I hope (well until the coronary-bypass that is) and we fell on the plates like crows. With a bit of a trip up to the pier and back (more fishermen) we ended by learning that Joshua should never be given a motorbike - it will end in tears:
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| Great handling but terrible suspension! |