| Cycle Route Details |
| Route Name | East Kent Loop (part 2 Of 2) |
| Distance(miles) | 33.84 |
| Duration(hh:mm) | 03:18 |
| Difficulty | 6/10 |
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| Cycle Route Location |
| Country | England |
| Town/City | Deal |
| County/Region | Kent |
| Start Location | Golf Road, Deal |
| End Location | Northgate, Canterbury - The Penny Theatre |
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| Cycle Steps |
| 1. Picking up where we left off, follow the road which runs past both the Cinque Ports and Royal St. Georges Golf clubs - this is a nice section on barely used roads into Sandwich. Head past Phizer and join the cycle route along the A256 (watch out for the silly barriers) which peels off into Pegwell Bay Nature reserve. Your best bet to avoid traffic is to go towards Cliffs End before heading up onto the Thanet Way by Manston Airport. Go through Acol into Birchington/Minnis Bay and pick up the Viking Coastal path which takes you all the way into Herne Bay. Best to use the promenade where possible and follow that into Whitstable. Head up Millstrood Hill, Past Tesco to pick up the Crab and Winkle Trail. This is an excellent way to finish the ride, and the view from the University of Kent's campus over Canterbury is great.
In total this route is approximately 120 miles - which is doable in a day if you start early (0730) and want to finish for about 5pm. I recommend it for a decent cross-over or mountain bike as road racers would have to modify the route to cut out some of the off-road cycle path sections. It's a wonderful ride! |
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| Landmarks/Sites to see? |
You initially pass the Royal St Georges Golf club which hosted the open a couple of years back. Pegwell Bay Nature reserve is worth a stop and has an interesting history (also, the river Stour meets the sea here). Along here you also pass the defunct Richborough Power Station. Manston Airport is used mostly for cargo and lies to the north/east of the route. On the Viking Trail route to Herne Bay you pass Reculver Towers - the remenants of a monestary, and in Herne Bay itself is the re-worked bandstand and Pier. Whitstable is a great place with many good pubs and is synonimous with sea-food. The Crab and Winkle Trail is itself a land mark being the FIRST passenger steam railway (despite errenous claims by other railways at being the first!). The view of Canterbury from the UKC is excellent, as is the path into the town. Finish up the day with a Scream Burger in the Penny Theatre, and a well deserved pint.
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