Dover
Keith has a desktop screensaver on the computer at home with a photo of the White Cliffs of Dover that takes my breath away every time it comes up. It was one of THE places I wanted to visit on this trip and so we found ourselves driving to Dover which is located in the county of Kent. Feedback from Trip Advisor users, when asking about route recommendations for this five week road trip, were along the lines of the following: 1.) Why do you want to go to Dover and 2.) If you want to view the White Cliffs of Dover, its best done from a ferry crossing over from France. We had just come from France a few weeks before and while it was lovely, I wasn’t ready to go back so we took our chances of seeing what we could see from the shore.
The day we arrived it was sunny and warm and we tried to find the beach and were given directions which had us driving past the particular section of coastline that is designated an Area of Outstanding National Beauty. And I quite agree with that assessment. I am sure the sunny weather helped. We walked out, explored and Reece and I lounged in the sun while Keith took a tour of the South Foreland Lighthouse.
Margate
Since we didn’t find the beach the day before, we decided to drive north about 20 miles to Margate. When doing research, it was listed as one of the ten best beaches in the area. The day was again sunny, but breezy, on the coast. Not so much so that Reece didn’t feel the need to strip to her bathing suit and dip her toes in the water.
The highlight of our day was lunch at the Red Bus Café where we each got a deliciously and bulging burrito that filled us to the gills.
Hastings
After a couple of days in the Dover area, we are off to Brighton, our last official stop before making our way home via London.
We headed West along the shoreline, much to Keith’s annoyance. He is getting tired of all the driving and sitting in the back. But really that is the best solution for all involved. We’re almost done. Hang in there!
We were on the road during the lunch hour and our route had us driving through Hastings, famous for the Battle of Hastings which actually took place about 8 miles away. We were all hungry and tired from driving and so we found some parking and went to find something to eat.
Let me say that finding food to eat has been THE most difficult part of this trip. First of all, it is MORE expensive to have a sit down meal at a restaurant than it is to take food to go, which I think is unusual. There is actually an added tax for dining in. In addition, while Reece is quite adventurous, Keith is not. And it doesn’t help matters that I am not only hard to please but also cheap. My experience is the meals we purchase are rarely as good as the price would indicate. Which means we rarely all agree on what to eat and when. Being that we were in coastal England and after debating the merits of finding a pub, we settled on fish and chips, which we can all get behind, and found a small store front where you could belly up to the counter and order takeaway. We did just that and then crossed the road to sit at the best seat in the house. We were not disappointed.
After lunch we headed back to the car for another half hour drive to our little apartment just outside of Brighton in Lancing. We settled in, picked up supplies and planned for our time there.
Lancing
By this time in our trip, we had been traveling for 15 weeks and had been driving for the last five. We had reached the end of our rope and decided to lay low for the day, so while Reece stayed “home” and studied, Keith and I went exploring. And since it was so close, we headed to the beach. The skies were clear but it was breezy. There was a nice beach path on which we probably could have walked all the way to Brighton. We didn’t go that far.
Brighton
I was done with driving any more than was absolutely necessary and I had heard that Brighton was difficult to maneuver for motor vehicles … lots of traffic, not a lot of parking. England has a lot of Park and Ride lots where you park your car for free and then ride the bus (for a price, but usually cheaper than parking downtown) into the City Centre and ride it back to your car when you are done for the day. In all my research, I could never get a straight answer as to whether or not Brighton had a service such as this. In our meanderings of the day before, Keith and I happened upon the train station which was very close to our apartment. I asked a young woman what the cost of a round trip train fare would be and was told it was less than five pounds. That seemed reasonable to me, so we planned for a train ride into Brighton. It actually ended up being less than what she quoted me because we were going at off-peak times (non-commuter times) and we were a party of more than two all traveling together. I think it worked out to less than ten pounds for the three of us.
It was a gray, drizzly and foggy day. We were on the seaside so it was windy but it was a pleasant way to kill a few hours. We made sure to visit the famous Brighton Pier. It was built in the late 1800’s and mostly finished by 1899. It has been used as a setting in several movies and commercials. You can find out more about it here.
From the pier, where we found a tourist information booth, much to Keith’s delight, we headed inland to see some sights. The weather never did improve but we did a lot of walking.
We called it an early day and headed “home” for dinner. Our last night in coastal England called for, what else? Fish and chips! Luckily there was a little takeaway shop 20 feet from our apartment. I am going to miss the cheap fish and chips and delicious cider. I guess that means we’ll have to return.
On to London!
Cheers!
Teresa