The Carter Company - A Kent Seaside Jolly

Day One – Arrive Dover

Arrive at Dover Ferry Port anytime to suit you and we will meet you so you have no need to bring your car. We will transfer you to your cosy hotel in a nearby village that sits on top of the cliffs. Settle in and enjoy England!

Option for arrival transfer to visit Creative Folkestone with its many artists, galleries, and quirky shops and the UK’s largest urban outdoor exhibition of contemporary art.   Either stay in Folkestone and add an extra night or spend the day and transfer back to Dover ready to start your trip.

Day Two – Dover to Sandwich

Your host will meet you after breakfast with your cycling equipment and run through your tour itinerary. Then you are off - to freewheel down to the characterful old ports of Deal and Sandwich. Cycle adjacent to the shore, take in the castles, and explore the fascinating history of these Cinque port towns. Your overnight stop is an old inn in the heart of beautiful Sandwich.

The Bell Hotel – twin room

10 miles (16 km)

Day Three – Sandwich to Canterbury

Pedal through orchards and pretty villages today and you will discover wonderful pubs and Roman antiquities. Your route leads you traffic free into the heart of Canterbury where your hotel awaits you.

17 miles (27 km)

Day Four – Canterbury to Whitstable

Take a long morning to explore this astounding heritage city with its magnificent cathedral, and many museums. Then pedal along the old Crab and Winkle railway line to Whitstable and savour its famous oysters. There's a bustling harbour here and some cute shops to explore too. If you fancy more pedalling, then head towards Faversham along the coast, turning around at any point that suits you. Enjoy an award winning restaurant stop perhaps for lunch en route and Faversham's historic brewery and barge lined creek. The town also boasts the best medieval street in England.

8 miles (13 km) or up to 24 miles (38 km)

Day Five - Whitstable to Margate

This is idyllic safe cycling along the seashore and the dramatic chalk cliffs. There are sandy beaches, a Roman Fort and a long sea wall for you to ride along.  This is one of the best rides you could imagine - riding beside the sea with the cliffs at your elbow and the wind in your face. Think breakwaters, bandstand, Roman towers and tidal swimming pool. It's a gentle jaunt to Margate where The Turner Contemporary crosses your path and welcomes you in for free.

Turner’s connection with Margate was the founding inspiration for the gallery. He loved Margate for the sea, the skies, and his landlady Mrs Booth!  Turner first came to the seaside town aged 11, having been sent by his parents to school in Love Lane in Margate Old Town. He returned to sketch here aged 21 and from the 1820s onwards became a regular visitor.  For Turner, location was of great importance. He remarked to the influential writer and art critic John Ruskin that “…the skies over Thanet are the loveliest in all Europe”. The unique quality of light in this part of Kent drew Turner back time and again.

More than 100 of Turner’s works, including some of his most famous seascapes, were inspired by the East Kent coast. Margate was the starting point for his visits to Europe, and a love of the sea stayed with him all his life.  From the gallery, you will be able to see the fine views over the harbour that Turner saw, capturing the same unique light that inspired his works.

This is idyllic safe cycling along the seashore and the dramatic chalk cliffs. There are sandy beaches, a Roman Fort and a long sea wall for you to ride along.

17 miles (27 km)