Day 55- Dunkirk to Sandgate ( near Folkestone)

It was a really early morning this morning as we had about a 16 km ride to catch the 8.00am ferry to Dover. So we were awake at 5.00am and on our bikes to the ferry terminal in the dark at 5.30am!

I must say that I was awake at 4.00am as there was a baby crying in a room near ours and it did not stop for a long time.

The ride was interesting in we did not follow the “well used” route and I must admit I had thoughts we might be headed in the wrong direction. But no we arrived at the ferry terminal at about 6.30 am. The process to board the boat was fairly simple and straightforward with us passing from France to the UK at Dunkirk. We were the only cyclists so we were first on the boat.

On the ferry we helped ourselves to a breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausages and coffee which was great as we had waited about 3 hours for a meal.

The crossing on the ferry was very smooth and took about 2 hours. Getting off the ferry was a bit more challenging as the Dover terminal is having extensive renovations and the bike exits were a bit difficult to navigate.

The destination for us was Sandgate for the night and almost immediately after going through Dover we were on a 150 metre climb up the White Cliffs. On the way up Steve and Chris came across an Englishman on his bike who rode with us to the outskirts of Folkestone and pointed out various places of interest. We stopped for lunch at the Battle of Britain memorial which was quite impressive. It celebrates the wonderful RAF pilots who stopped the Germans during WW 2 from their preparations for the invasion of the UK. It is right on top of the cliffs where many of the air battles took place.

After this we continued on to Folkestone and had a look at the sea wall/jetty that was a railway station and is now a tourist hub. As it is now school holidays here in the Uk there were a lot of people enjoying the good weather and hospitality offerings along the foreshore.

We continued to Sandgate along the coast and arrived at the Royal Norfolk Hotel at about 2.00 pm. Luckily we were able to get into our room early and enjoy a shower and rest after a longish day.

Today we said goodbye to Continental Europe and enter our 6th country on this journey.

The day today started quite cold when we left our hotel…. Around 12 degrees. As the day went on the weather warmed up to around 20 degrees. There was some clouds but they were high up. There was a real haze which made visibility of France from Dover impossible.

We are now on our final leg of this journey which has us travelling along the southern coast of England towards Southhampton. Then we head north to the Cotswold’a then on to London ahead of flying home. All up I think we might be travelling about 800 kms further.

The accommodation tonight is very comfortable and we can enjoy a lovely English dinner tonight I am sure!

The one thing we need to watch is travelling on the other side of the road…. After travelling in Europe for so long this is going to take some adjusting.

The photos today are the route on both sides of the Channel.

My bike at the ferry terminal waiting to get on the ferry

Steve and I waiting as well

The White Cliffs of Dover from the Ferry

Welcome to England and watch out to ride on the left…. Good they speak the same language as well…. Well almost!

The beach in Dover looked inviting!

2 photos of the Battle of Britain memorial…. Very well done!

The cliffs again… in the foreground they are doing an archaeological dig near a wall that was built to defend an invasion by Napoleon

Our home for the night at Sandgate