Anyone toured Kent?

[dellzeqq]

the essentials are

1. It's not that big - so you can concentrate on quality of miles rather than quality. And there's plenty of quality. Kent, like Essex, is very under-rated. There are bits which are just very, very pretty.
2. You need 1:50,000 OS maps - there are a lot of roads running at strange angles, and it's very easy to get it wrong.
3. Around major towns there will be bits of crap road that you can't do much about
4. Hills are often small, but very steep. If you're carrying a load then you'll need some low gears.
5. Accommodation is expensive.

 

[BalkanExpress]

the essentials are

1. It's not that big - so you can concentrate on quality of miles rather than quality. And there's plenty of quality. Kent, like Essex, is very under-rated. There are bits which are just very, very pretty.
2. You need 1:50,000 OS maps - there are a lot of roads running at strange angles, and it's very easy to get it wrong.
3. Around major towns there will be bits of crap road that you can't do much about
4. Hills are often small, but very steep. If you're carrying a load then you'll need some low gears.
5. Accommodation is expensive.

I'd certainly agree about it being pretty and about the steepness, just outside Wye there's a place called Crundale and as I type the name my legs are locking up at the memory:very short but VERY steep

 

[Proud2Push]

I'd certainly agree about it being pretty and about the steepness, just outside Wye there's a place called Crundale and as I type the name my legs are locking up at the memory:very short but VERY steep

Thanks for all the suggestions made a few months ago (although I'm not sure that Crundale will be on the itinerary).

Anyway we are getting close to leaving for our Tour de Kent, early on Sunday. We plan to set off from north London following the Thames then the coast around to Brighton-ish before heading back up to London (NCN 1, 2, 21 or something), with ventures into the interior.

We intend to wild camp as much as possible and have invested in a discreet green tent with a tiny footprint, because we love camping but hate campsites.

So I have a question - can anyone suggest places on the coast where we could have showers? The Scottish Highlands and Islands often have showers at the harbours and ferry piers and I wondered if there are similar facilities in Kent/E. Sussex. If absolutely necessary we will use campsites, so any recommendations would also be most welcome - preferably cheap, quiet and with unlimited hot water!!

Any suggestions will be very helpful. Thanks.

 

[rich p]

Just have a dip in the ocean - very bracing!

 

[Proud2Push]

Just got back from our little tour.
We decided to follow NCN 1, 2 and 21 to explore a coast neither of us had visited before, perhaps going inland later. Having toured north Norfolk and the Suffolk coast, we felt Kent and East Sussex certainly matched or exceeded them for interest. Lots of history, from Vikings and Romans to World War II antiquities, and beautiful towns like Faversham, Broadstairs, Sandwich and Rye.
There were some excellent cycle paths and some very poor signing (only a small percent of the route, but when it lets you down it's very hard to find your route again) - one sign, near Sittingbourne, took us into a Gipsy camp, and it was only with the guidance of two little girls and by pushing the bikes up a steep grassy bank past a wall of garbage that we eventually got back on route. But thanks to the efforts of Sustrans and the Kent local authorities, it was possible to safely negotiate some of the busiest parts of England.
The wild camping worked very well and of the five nights we only used a campsite on one night (Kloofs near Bexhill that gives a substantial discount to backpackers and cycle tourers, and has free showers!).
Thanks for all the encouragement about taking this trip, we had a great time and I can really recommend it as ideal for beginner tourers as so much is flat and safe.