{"id":2482,"date":"2022-07-16T03:40:13","date_gmt":"2022-07-16T02:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2022-07-09T08:55:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-09T07:55:27","slug":"kingsdown-st-margarets-at-cliffe-kent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/?p=2482","title":{"rendered":"Kingsdown &#038; St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe, Kent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">function popwalk(walk) {var url = \"\/Walks\/amap.php?f=\"+walk; varwalkwindow=window.open(url,\"walkwin\",\"height=740,width=1230,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes\"); if (window.focus) {walkwindow.focus()}}<\/script><br \/> First published in: The Times <a href=\"javascript:popwalk('Kingsdown.jpg');\" rel=\"nozoom\" title=\"Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window\">Click here to view a map for this walk in a new window<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003419797_03d2698787_z.jpg\" title= \"Coast path near Kingsdown\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003419797_03d2698787_s.jpg\" alt=\"Coast path near Kingsdown\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003420127_47c18b398f_z.jpg\" title= \"The beach at Kingsdown\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003420127_47c18b398f_s.jpg\" alt=\"The beach at Kingsdown\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003420107_cc4818e11b_z.jpg\" title= \"coast path along the cliffs between Kingsdown and St Margaret-at-Cliffe 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003420107_cc4818e11b_s.jpg\" alt=\"coast path along the cliffs between Kingsdown and St Margaret-at-Cliffe 1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004966975_9a011dfb81_z.jpg\" title= \"path over the downs\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004966975_9a011dfb81_s.jpg\" alt=\"path over the downs\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004502093_2985fb1880_z.jpg\" title= \"coast path along the cliffs between Kingsdown and St Margaret-at-Cliffe 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004502093_2985fb1880_s.jpg\" alt=\"coast path along the cliffs between Kingsdown and St Margaret-at-Cliffe 2\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003419617_ff89cc6fb3_z.jpg\" title= \"St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52003419617_ff89cc6fb3_s.jpg\" alt=\"St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe 1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004966450_047c09796a_z.jpg\" title= \"Coast path, looking to the Dover Patrol memorial 1\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004966450_047c09796a_s.jpg\" alt=\"Coast path, looking to the Dover Patrol memorial 1\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004501933_a5144e1ab8_z.jpg\" title= \"St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004501933_a5144e1ab8_s.jpg\" alt=\"St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe 2\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004695144_1b246dd64c_z.jpg\" title= \"Coast path, looking to the Dover Patrol memorial 2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004695144_1b246dd64c_s.jpg\" alt=\"Coast path, looking to the Dover Patrol memorial 2\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004437721_d8473b90cf_z.jpg\" title= \"St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe 3\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm66.static.flickr.com\/65535\/52004437721_d8473b90cf_s.jpg\" alt=\"St Margaret\u2019s at Cliffe 3\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"javascript:pwindow=window.open('\/Walks\/prn.php?f=2482','pwin','height=700,width=1000,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes');\" title=\"Click for printable version\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/Walks\/print.gif\" align=\"right\"><\/a><br \/>\nA glorious day of blue sky over the coast of East Kent. At Kingsdown the white chalk cliffs shone in clear light polished and sharpened by sea and sunshine. Along the pebbly shore stood old iron winches, rusted into immobility by salt-laden water and winds. Decades have passed since the village fishermen used them to haul their boats up the steeply shelving beach.<\/p>\n<p>We climbed the steps at the end of Oldstairs Bay and set out on the cliff path with a stiff north breeze pushing us along. A kestrel balanced on the wind, infinitely fine adjustments of wings and body keeping it in place. Looking back, we saw a line of white cliffs curving east beyond the murky waters of Pegwell Bay, Ramsgate\u2019s buildings lying low along the shore, the red roofs of Broadstairs cresting their rise of ground beyond.<\/p>\n<p>The green sea heaved gently below, reflecting a light clear enough for us to pick out the coast of France some twenty miles off \u2013 field shapes, woods, radio masts and a long pale line of sandy beaches. Air balloons, stringbag aeroplanes, greasy swimmers and long-range shells from coastal guns \u2013 all have crossed that narrow stretch of sea, but never an invading army for the past thousand years.<\/p>\n<p>One dastardly enemy of England did launch a deadly stroke against the capital from these Kingsdown cliffs \u2013 arch-villain Sir Hugo Drax with his ogre\u2019s-teeth and sweaty ruin of a face. Lucky for all of us that James Bond was on hand to frustrate his knavish tricks and redirect the London-bound Moonraker rocket to plunge to its destruction in the sea.<\/p>\n<p>Ian Fleming, Bond\u2019s creator, had a holiday home at St Margaret\u2019s-at-Cliffe, just along the coast. We came by the spot where Fleming had Drax\u2019s men collapse the cliff onto 007, near a tall obelisk commemorating the brave Great War deeds of the Dover Patrol. Just beyond we found a magnificent view over the tight, cliff-encircled bay that cradles St Margaret\u2019s, and a zigzag of steps running down to the pebbly shore.<\/p>\n<p>The homeward path led across inland fields sown with winter cereals, a landscape of long parallel valleys and tufts of woodland, with the sea diminished to a green backdrop caught in a vee between one slope and the next.<\/p>\n<p>How hard is it? 6\u00be miles; easy; cliff and field paths<\/p>\n<p>Start: Cliffe Road, Kingsdown CT14 8AH (OS ref TR 380482).<\/p>\n<p>Getting there: Bus 82 from Deal<br \/>\nRoad: Kingsdown is signed off A258 between Walmer and Dover.<\/p>\n<p>Walk (OS Explorer 138): Coast Path south for 2\u00be miles to St Margaret\u2019s-at-Cliffe. \u00bd mile past Dover Patrol monument, left down steps to shore (369446; yellow arrow). Right to seafront. Up road beside Coastguard PH (368445). On right bend, ahead up steps (367444, fingerpost\/FP).   Fork right at top to road (366444); right, in 150m, fork left on Hotel Road. In 100m, left (368445, FP) up steps; on up Cavenagh Road; on up grass path (FP) to The Droveway (366448). Right; follow road for \u2154 mile to Bockhill Farm. 150m beyond farm, left at path junction (372455). Keep ahead up field margin path; in 600m it bends sharp left, through kissing gate; in 100m, right down tarmac track (367459, cycleway No 1). In 400m\u00a0pass tall pole on left (368464); in 100m, left through hedge; half right on path across field. In 1 mile keep left of houses (373478) to road (374481). Left; right down Upper Street into Kingsdown.<\/p>\n<p>Lunch: Coastguard PH, St Margaret\u2019s, CT15 6DY (01304-853051, <a href=\"http:\/\/thecoastguard.co.uk\">thecoastguard.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Accommodation: Five Bells, Ringwould CT14 8HP (01304-364477, <a href=\"http:\/\/fivebellsringwould.co.uk\">fivebellsringwould.co.uk<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>Info: Dover TIC (01304-201066)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A glorious day of blue sky over the coast of East Kent. At Kingsdown the white chalk cliffs shone in clear light polished and sharpened by sea and sunshine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walks","category-3-id","post-seq-1","post-parity-odd","meta-position-corners","fix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.christophersomerville.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}