The Epic Folkestone to Dover Twin Harbours Trail

What a walk.  In just over 3 hours you can walk from the beauty of Folkestone Harbour to Dover and over the iconic White Cliffs that line this stretch of the English Coastline.

• Length:  15.2 km
• Duration:  Approx 3 to 3.5 Hours
• Difficulty:  Easy to Intermediate (fine for non-experienced hikers)
• Food Stops:  Cliff Top Cafe and Battle of Britain Memorial Cafe.
• Plenty of Seating benches along the route.

• Cliff Top views of the famous white Limestone Cliffs.
• Martello Towers (Napoleonic-era fortification).
• The Battle of Britain War Memorial.
• World War 2 Gun Placements.
• The Abbots Cliff Sound Mirror.
• Samphire Hoe - a unique man-made park, made of chalk marl from the Channel Tunnel excavations.
• Shakespeare Cliff leading down into Dover with a view of Dover Castle.
• The Western Heights 19th Fort Settlements in Dover.

• Folkestone Harbour - walk along the path and past the sandy beach 'Sunny Sands'.

• Dover Town Centre - walk from the town centre to Western Heights and follow the 'North Downs Way all the way to Folkestone. 

In Folkestone Harbour there are plenty of nearby cafes and restaurants if you want to fuel up before the walk.  The nearby 'Creative Quarter' is a quirky street full of independent restaurants, cafes, galleries and shops.  For a great coffee head to 'Steep Street'.  In the harbour itself there are a number of pubs, seafood shops for fresh 'fish and chips'. Over in the 'Harbour Arm' (where the Lighthouse is located), you'll find a selection of unique dining options in shipping containers with glorious sea views. 

Leaving the harbour, follow the path alongside the sandy beach, 'Sunny Sands', until the end of the path where you'll ascend a set of steps.  At the top, tum right and head past the East Cliff Pavillion venue and past the first of two Martello Towers (Napoleonic-era fortification) keeping the tower on your left.

Continue over the parkland area, heading towards the 2nd Martello Tower in the distance.  As you approach the tower, there is a private road that quickly leads to a red gate and a steep set of steps up to the Cliff top.  This is the hardest part of the trail.  Once you reach the top there is a signpost - make sure you turn right following the sign for 'North Downs Way'.

From now on, it's mainly flat with sweeping views of the famous white limestone cliffs and the English Channel.  On a clear day you'll get good views of France.  As you continue along the trail, you'll soon pass by the Battle of Britain Memorial, " dedicated to the heroic and selfless deeds of the men who won the Battle of Britain,10 July to 31 October, 1940."  The grounds and cafe are free to enter (cafe open from 10.00am) while there is a very modest fee to enter the visitor centre. 

Continuing along the trail you'll soon pass by another food stop, the Cliff Top Cafe. The trail splits here, so to remain on top of the cliffs, just continue straight on the 'North Downs Way'.

Once you pass the cafe there are a few modest climbs before reaching a fascinating series of World War II installations and a rare sound mirror (an early form of aircraft detection that was superseded by radar), and some large gun emplacements.

As you continue further along the trail, you'll pass by Samphire Hoe – a nature reserve created located at the foot of the cliffs.  The park was created from 4.9 million cubic metres of chalk marl from the Channel Tunnel excavations and is located at the bottom of a section of the White Cliffs of Dover.

Soon after, you'll ascend and descend the impressive Shakespeare Cliff.  It's said to have inspired a passage from Shakespeare’s King Lear as Shakespeare was a frequent visitor to Dover at the time of writing it.  The walk then flattens out alongside the not so glamorous A20 before, descending down with dramatic views of Dover Harbour.

At the foot, take the turn underneath the A20 and follow the 'North Downs Trail' to the 19th Century fort settlements of Western Heights.  The vast defences were designed to protect Dover from French Invasion.  As you carry on through Western Heights, you'll see Dover's “upside-down castle”, Drop Redoubt which is one of two forts on the Western Heights. Dover Castle on the Eastern Heights is a spectacular view! 

Finally, take the path down to the town centre of Dover.

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