Camber to Folkestone
KC3 ECP Leg Number 25
8th October 2021 – 9th October 2021
29.0 official miles
30.9 miles walked
Guest walkers:
None on this leg!
A thirty mile stretch, from Camber, inland to Lydd to avoid the MoD firing ranges, around the Dungeness peninsula, past the power station, and then along the beach (if low tide) and the sea wall or promenade, passing Greatstone, Littlestone, St Mary’s Bay, Dymchurch, Hythe (where there is a short detour inland, again to avoid the MoD ranges), Sandgate and finally Folkestone.
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Day by day
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How we approached this leg
We originally planned to walk this leg over three days, but ended up completing it in two long legs of around 15 miles each day. Three days might have been a bit more comfortable, and this could be done by parking on the first day further down towards Dungeness – the 102 bus goes as far South as The Pilot pub, which is 12 miles walking from Camber. There is no public car park there but one could probably park in the car park at The Pilot if out of season and buying a coffee or a beer. Day 2 could finish between Dymchurch and Hythe, approximately 9 or 10 miles from The Pilot, leaving a reasonably gentle 7 or 8 miles into Folkestone for day 3.
Where we stayed
We based ourselves in Rye for three nights, which is a charming historic town with many good restaurants and pubs to choose from. A lovely place to stay but in hindsight quite some distance from Folkestone at the other end of the walk. It occurred to us that it might have been better to stay nearer the middle point of the walk eg Dymchurch or Hythe would work well. We stayed in a one bedroom self catering apartment and brought with us pack lunch food and breakfast – pack lunch is particularly important for day one round Dungeness as not much to buy en route. Day two has more options for food if you want to stop somewhere.
Maybe Someday?
Folkestone
Stayed here
Useful links
Places to stop
Webbe’s at the Fish Cafe - Rye
This was our favourite eatery, classy fish dishes, you’ll need to book, especially Friday night when we were there.
Tatner’s Street Kitchen - Rye
Trendy street dishes, no bookings, we went on Thursday and had no problem getting a table
Globe Inn Marsh - Rye
We ate here on our last night in Rye
The Ship Inn - Rye
We didn’t eat here, just a beer, as it was right round the corner from our apartment
The Neptune
Just a diet coke here, it is well positioned halfway through the second days walking.
The Pilot at Dungeness
We didn’t actually stop here as we’d walked forever and still had two or three miles to go, but it looked like it would be a great refreshment point towards the end of the first days walking.
Resources & information
The Kent Ramblers Guide to the Kent Coast Path - Part 1: Camber to Ramsgate
Useful book full of interesting information
England Coast Path map - Camber to Folkestone
Link to a map of the route on gov.co.uk - scroll down and click index map
Rye Castle
We didn't get to visit the castle, but we wish we had!
102 Bus timetable
Link to bus timetable