A walk near St Margaret's at Cliffe
St Margaret's at Cliffe and Kingsdown

Description: A short, generally easy walk, with a short climb for the return leg. Pick a fine day to enjoy the views from the cliff-top, to the French coastline. The walk uses well marked paths and navigation is a breeze!

The start point of the walk is the Dover Patrol Memorial. The Dover Patrol was formed just before the First World War. One if its many functions, was to prevent German shipping entering the Atlantic Ocean via the English Channel. Click here to learn more. The return leg is a cliff-top adventure!

O/S ref: TR374452
Length: 5¾ miles.
Approximate time: 2½-3 hours.
Parking: By the Dover Patrol Memorial. This is at the end of Granville Road, an extremely rough road, with crater-like potholes – beware!

Refreshments: The Rising Sun, Kings Head or Zetland Arms in Kingsdown, along the route. Restaurants in St Margaret’s at Cliffe.


The walk


Start by walking along the road that you used to get here, with the sea to your left. At the end of the estate road, where there is a fork with the left branch going down the the sea, turn right along Victoria Avenue (a rough track). Turn left at the top, then right at a public footpath signpost a short distance after to walk along an enclosed path with a fence to the left. Turn right at the end of the path onto a road, following it round to the left.

Where the road bends right and becomes rougher, carry on along a public footpath in a north-westerly direction, leaving the road (1). Start off along the right edge of a field, the path becoming enclosed after a while (sometimes a bit overgrown), later with wire fences to the sides. The path descends, before ascending to go through an avenue of trees. Bear slightly left on coming out into the open, soon to turn right onto a single track road.

After about 300 metres, turn left onto a public footpath at a way-marker. Follow the path down one side of a valley, then up the other side. At the top, at a tee-junction, turn right, then soon follow the track to the left. Walk to the right of a wooded area, eventually coming to a junction. Turn right into Free Down Wood (2), staying just inside it for about 250 metres, before emerging from the wood.

Keep along the left edge of a field briefly, before walking along the boundary between two fields in a north-easterly direction. Later on, a hedgerow appears to the left – cross a track by way-marker soon-after. Follow the path for another 500 metres, looking out for a footpath signpost to the right (3). Follow it, in a ESE direction, walking along the left edge of a field, ascending slightly. Keep along the path as it weaves its way around the edge of Wood Hill.

At the far corner, by a barrier, turn right. Go through a gap in the corner of the field, then turn left immediately after. Walk along a bridleway which is lined with trees initially, keeping ahead at a stone bridleway marker. When the bridleway comes out onto a road, turn right along it (The Avenue).

Bear left at a speed hump, near a camping site sign. At a three-finger public footpath sign, take the middle option to walk along an enclosed path in an easterly direction. Continue ahead at a junction with a path joining from the left. Follow the path to the right soon, to walk along a cliff with the sea to the left and a camping area to the right (although you won’t see much of the sea for a while).

Turn left down a flight of steps, turning right at the bottom along Undercliffe Road. Turn right at a footpath signpost (4) and ascend steps arranged in a zigzag fashion, to make the climb more manageable. After the steps, keep ascending the path, which becomes a cliff-path soon. The navigation from here is simple for the return leg. It starts with the Walmer and Kingsdown Golf Club to the right.

After a while, if the weather is fine, you will see the Dover Patrol Monument in the distance. Just follow the path back to it, going through a couple of gates, arriving at the parking area. On a clear day, the coastline of France is visible.




Click here to get an OS map with the route highlighted.
Click here to get a GPX file to load into your GPS gadget.
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