Deal to Canterbury via Sandwich
- Start point: Deal pier
- Start time: 10:00, Saturday 11th June 2011
- Distance: 24 miles
- Ride leader: Brian Hood & Phil Dunford (deal-ride@bigwheelofkent.org.uk)
Getting to the start point
The ride will leave from Deal Pier/Beach Street. This is a short ride along Queen Street from Deal Railway Station.
If you are travelling to Deal by car follow signs to the Town Centre and Seafront. There are several car parks in West Street (near the station).
The ride
The first part of the ride follows National Cycle Route 1 to Sandwich. From Sandwich the route continues along NCR1 to Canterbury. Most of the route is along country lanes. The section from Fordwich to Canterbury is off-road and has a compacted grit surface. The route is suitable for all types of bike. Those with road bikes may wish to do this last section along the A28 Sturry Road into Canterbury. The route is flat with only very minor hills.
From Deal Pier the route heads north along the seafront for 1 mile and then turns inland to pick up the Ancient Highway past the Chequers pub and through golf courses to Sandwich. Part of the route goes along the Sandwich Bay Estate toll road, but luckily there is no charge for bicycles. The NCR1 signs will take you to the picturesque Sandwich Quay.
At the Quay in Sandwich you can have a look around the “Tour de Sandwich” event that is also happening on June 13th before joining riders from Sandwich and Deal for the second leg of the ride.
Sandwich is one of the best-preserved small towns in Britain and you will be able to appreciate it as the ride follows the one-way system. You will then pass Richborough Castle. Although now over a mile from the sea it was in Roman times the main port into Britain. It is also the start of Watling Street that went through Canterbury and on up to London. The ride then meanders along small lanes across reclaimed marshland, through villages of Westmarsh, Elmstone, Preston and Stodmarsh. After Stodmarsh the route climbs a low ridge before dropping down to Fordwich. You will then follow a cycle track into Canterbury.
Getting back to the start point
For the return journey there are direct trains running from Canterbury West Station to Ramsgate, then change onto the Dover line for Sandwich and Deal.
