OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
We took the coastal path. Quite a few chunks of chalk and gravel to avoid!
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England : Kent Very late Christmas Whitstable Night Ride - Isle of Thanet - 10th January 2014
- Thread starter Flying Dodo
- Start date
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CharlieB
Junior Walker and the Allstars
- Location
- Therivermeadowatthepileofstones
Quiet little beaches in the middle of the night that appeared out of nowhere.
A quatrefoil castle.
A medieval toll gate.
An abandoned hoverport.
A Viking ship.
A model village.
A Dickensian house.
Preserved railways.
Spooky woods.
A mis-spelt tourist attraction.
A lighthouse in action.
Shut amusement arcades.
Chalk cliffs.
A City council that disapproves of naturism.
Beach huts large enough to accommodate the Von Trapps AND the Jacksons.
A Roman fort.
A ruined abbey.
Driving rain.
A huge breakfast at The Waterfront.
It was all there in spades last night and made for a night ride with probably more to see than most.
Thank you FD for comng up with this one and dogtrousers for the coffee to keep me awake on the homeward train.
A terrific night out - you missed a treat.
A quatrefoil castle.
A medieval toll gate.
An abandoned hoverport.
A Viking ship.
A model village.
A Dickensian house.
Preserved railways.
Spooky woods.
A mis-spelt tourist attraction.
A lighthouse in action.
Shut amusement arcades.
Chalk cliffs.
A City council that disapproves of naturism.
Beach huts large enough to accommodate the Von Trapps AND the Jacksons.
A Roman fort.
A ruined abbey.
Driving rain.
A huge breakfast at The Waterfront.
It was all there in spades last night and made for a night ride with probably more to see than most.
Thank you FD for comng up with this one and dogtrousers for the coffee to keep me awake on the homeward train.
A terrific night out - you missed a treat.
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OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
As a night ride, its one flaw is that we had to keep the average speed down, so that we didn't arrive back at Whitstable too early, due to them only opening at 8:30, and starting food at 9:30.
So a later start could be better. The last 2 trains get into Whitstable at 00:51 and 01:32. Would either of those work?
Or I could make the ride longer..................
U
User10571
Guest
Each line you have written, CharlieB, takes me to a place I have been to before.
Only the preserved railway causes an eyebrow to rise.
Where is that?
Only the preserved railway causes an eyebrow to rise.
Where is that?
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
The 00.51 arrival is impossible without a night off, but the 1.32 would work- if I missed the 2124 train up I could still get the Three Bridges service at 2144 (either change and into London Bridge or change and into Clapham).
OP
OP
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
I didn't know at the time, but it was the East Kent Railway, as we approached Shepherdswell. I hadn't been on that particular road before, so it was interesting to read up about it.
CharlieB
Junior Walker and the Allstars
- Location
- Therivermeadowatthepileofstones
Ah, you got there before me, FD. I saw the signpost shortly after the track we went over, and looked it up last night.
Stu, you remind me of Alex Lomax, aka the Railway Man, as played by Colin Firth in the recent release! An important movie, btw.
StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
The last time I rode along the sea wall between Whitstable and Margate I rode in an Easterly direction, into the teeth of an Easterly wind, with no hope of shelter. This time it was different, we rode in a Westerly direction … into the teeth of a Westerly wind. You just can’t win.
That was an excellent start to the year.
I don’t have much else to add to what others have said. There was the fire just outside Aylesham. A chap came out to talk to us and explained that someone had set fire to a load of brushwood on is property about midnight. The fire brigade had told him to let it burn itself out, so he had a sleepless night ahead of him watching it.
I don’t think the council actively disapprove of naturism. They just don’t condone it. So if you take your clothes off on the beach at Whitstable, and the Town Clerk happens to be present, he won’t offer to mind your clothes for you while you frolic.
Some pictures here: http://www.cyclechat.net/useralbums/isleofthanet-20140111.424/view
That was an excellent start to the year.
I don’t have much else to add to what others have said. There was the fire just outside Aylesham. A chap came out to talk to us and explained that someone had set fire to a load of brushwood on is property about midnight. The fire brigade had told him to let it burn itself out, so he had a sleepless night ahead of him watching it.
I don’t think the council actively disapprove of naturism. They just don’t condone it. So if you take your clothes off on the beach at Whitstable, and the Town Clerk happens to be present, he won’t offer to mind your clothes for you while you frolic.
Some pictures here: http://www.cyclechat.net/useralbums/isleofthanet-20140111.424/view
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Further thoughts.
A longer ride could start at Faversham, and go over the marshes before turning South. That might also be a bit more gettable-to. And the route has a fine array of train bail-outs if necessary.
Oddly enough my legs were fine, and no stiffness afterwards, but the bike-specific bits were suffering a bit - backside (especially on that bumpy concrete sea wall), wrists, neck (I couldn't shoulder check when riding after breakfast). Also I got "hot foot" briefly - approaching the supermarket near Dover it felt like someone was pouring boiling water on my feet.
I've also looked up the poem that I was struggling to remember all the way round. It's "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell" by W.S. Gilbert. It begins:
'Twas on the shores that round our coast
From Deal to Ramsgate span,
That I found alone on a piece of stone
An elderly naval man.
His hair was weedy, his beard was long,
And weedy and long was he,
And I heard this wight on the shore recite,
In a singular minor key:
"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig,
And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,
And the crew of the captain's gig."
A longer ride could start at Faversham, and go over the marshes before turning South. That might also be a bit more gettable-to. And the route has a fine array of train bail-outs if necessary.
Oddly enough my legs were fine, and no stiffness afterwards, but the bike-specific bits were suffering a bit - backside (especially on that bumpy concrete sea wall), wrists, neck (I couldn't shoulder check when riding after breakfast). Also I got "hot foot" briefly - approaching the supermarket near Dover it felt like someone was pouring boiling water on my feet.
I've also looked up the poem that I was struggling to remember all the way round. It's "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell" by W.S. Gilbert. It begins:
'Twas on the shores that round our coast
From Deal to Ramsgate span,
That I found alone on a piece of stone
An elderly naval man.
His hair was weedy, his beard was long,
And weedy and long was he,
And I heard this wight on the shore recite,
In a singular minor key:
"Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold,
And the mate of the Nancy brig,
And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite,
And the crew of the captain's gig."
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