Ashford to Canterbury
- Start point: Ashford International railway station (domestic side)
- Start time: 11:00, Saturday 11th June 2011
- Distance: 19 miles
- Ride leader: Peter Taylor-Gooby (07879 572840, ashford-ride@bigwheelofkent.org.uk)
Getting to the start point
The start point is the Ashford Domestic (north entrance) railway station car park.
The ride
The Ashford ride crosses the North Downs along quite country lanes. The ride is paved apart from a 2 mile section between Chartham and Canterbury which is compacted grit. The ride includes only one steep hill and is rewarded by long gentle descents.
After leaving Ashford the route meanders through gently raising countryside through the villages of Hinxhill and Brook with its Kent Agricultural Museum that is housed in a manorial barn dating from 1374. From Brook the southern escarpment of the Downs looms up before. The road soon skirts along the foot of the Downs for 2 miles before a sharp left turn into the only major climb from 400ft to the top of the Downs at a height of 606ft. The climb will be worth it as you will then have a long gentle downhill ride skirting Waltham and descending through Denge Wood down to Shalmsford Street and Chartham.
From Chartham the ride follows the new cycle route along the banks of the River Stour into into the heart of Canterbury, approaching Dane John Gardens past Canterbury’s Norman castle.
Getting back to the start point
For the return journey there are direct trains running from Canterbury West Station to Ashford.
