Wednesday, April 19, 2006

C&M Easter Tour

Easter Tour to Canterbury
Thursday: A Day of Strong Tail Winds.
We met at the Knights garden centre at Godstone. Pete M, Joanne Fricker, Pam Jones, Don Clarke, Jake Dodd and Terry Lowe. One idea was to have a stop at Shoreham Museum but it only opens on a Sunday! Lunch at The Kings Arms went down very well and so onward past Lullingstone Castle (only open at weekends) to cross the busy A20 on to Meopham gently rolling down to the M2 Medway crossing. The cycling track has turned into a fast railway since my map! Fortunately the cycle track is now on the opposite side of the bridge. Rochester for a tea stop & on to a warm friendly welcome from Margaret the manager at Medway YH. Highly recommended for its showers and above average food.
Friday dawned overcast turning to steady rain. Cycle route 4 was diligently followed to Sittingbourne & its steam train providing great interest but no tea bar! Coffee in the town at a nice cafĂ© & onward still in the rain onto Cycle route 1. A complete disaster to start with – poor signs (none) to start with, dead end in a brick works, Don punctured, through a mucky travellers site complete with rubbish and eventually onto good lanes well signed to lunch at Faversham for a pub feed: 9 of us having sandwiches and coffee! The cycle route & weather improved all the way to icecreams in the warm sun at Whitstable Harbour followed by the undulating "Crab & Winkle" route - 7 miles off road into Canterbury, where finally all 22 of us got together for an Italian meal in the evening.

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