When we got to the station, though, the car park was packed and there was no other parking nearby so we headed off to Dymchurch, which mum used to visit when she was a child. The seaside towns along this stretch of coast are a bit sad and neglected, but Dymchurch was quite pretty with some thatched cottages and a nice beach, albeit hidden behind a huge defence wall. I bought a family ticket to the train and tried to summon up some enthusiasm in the rest of the family who were not really keen on this sort of outing! I'm reading Paul Theroux's book, The Kingdom by the Sea, at the moment and he takes the train from Hythe to New Romney, but the children weren't really interested in that! There were a few families on the tiny train - actually it's the world's smallest railway - which is pulled by a steam engine. Some of the carriages were open to the elements but we chose a closed one and it was exceptionally small!
The railway runs along to the remote outpost of Dungeness and most of the scenery along the way is back gardens and fields rather than a view of the coastline as we were hoping. As the train travels out to Dungeness, the landscape becomes bleak and windswept and the soil changes to gravel but it's home to lots of wildlife and plant species. We marvelled at the black wooden houses dotted about and imagined what it was like at night with no street lights.
At the end of the line is the huge Nuclear Power station, which dominates the skyline, and a lighthouse. We stayed on the train as the afternoon was getting on but a few people got off, presumably to have a look around before the last trains ran back to Hythe later. Although desolate and remote, there was a strange beauty about the place and next time I'd love to go back by car and take some photos of the beached fishing boats which are dotted about.
Back at the car we drove along the M20 to Dover and checked into the Premier Inn which overlooks the busy port. After a quick wash and change we were back out and heading towards Deal in search of a nice pub for a drink before dinner. We saw a sign for the village of St Margaret's at Cliffe which had not one but three pubs! The Smugglers looked the best so we parked the car and went in and were not disappointed. It was a lovely old country pub, full of beams, fireplaces and books. Although the menu looked inviting, we read about another pub right on the beach at St Margaret's Bay. The road down to the bay was very steep but we were rewarded with a fantastic sea view with steep cliffs on either side. The Coastguard pub was not very pretty looking (it reminded me a of village hall) but the smells were very enticing! Unfortunately they were a little snooty about the children in the bar area so we were forced outside onto the terrace where we watched the ferries coming and going from Dover. The menu specialised in local produce but we decided to push on to one more pub before going back to the hotel to eat.
It was a beautiful evening with blue skies and sunshine and before long we found ourselves in Kingsdown and the wonderfully quaint King's Head pub. Again, they weren't happy about children in the bar area but we had the whole pub to ourselves as there was no-one else in. The walls were festooned with old antiques, fishing nets and coloured floats and Keith discovered an old pub game called "Win-a-fag" which he used to play when he was younger!
We liked it so much we had two drinks there and then headed back in the dusk to Dover and a meal before bed.
2 comments:
Cant see the problem with your children in pubs? Did they not want your business?
It doesn't seem to be a problem here in Northamptonshire, but all three of the pubs we visited in Kent did not want the children (and mine are 14 and 10 so hardly likely to run amok!) in the bar area. The Coastguard was the worst as there was simply nowhere else to sit but the terrace or the restaurant! The terrace was lovely, but at 7pm a bit chilly!
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