Complete clifftop walking tour

For lovers of walking, history and natural beauty. Always with myself to guide and maintain the offer of a support vehicle along the way.

This tour offers the walking experience of the full length of the White Cliffs of Dover which are sections of The English Coastal Path, The North Downs Way, and The Old Saxon Shore coastline. They are all areas of outstanding natural beauty and each offer something unique to anywhere else. This full day's excursion and can take as long as is required. It can be completed in 7 hours but more is often required. Significant extension of time beyond 7 hours will mean an additional charge which would be proportionate.

Even if you have your own vehicle or are confident using public transport, making the most of and experiencing the full beauty of all three sections of the White Cliffs of Dover is not easily possible.  

Unless you are supported, you are bound to park, walk and the return to your car, halving the distance you can travel and always needing to repeat the same bit but in reverse. The alternative is either taxis or public transport. Both can be unreliable and tricky to organise and navigate.

The beauty of the tours that I offer, is that it allows you to experience every stretch of the White Cliffs of Dover from Kingsdown to Caple, in sections, always supported and guided by myself and a vehicle so you don't need to carry everything all day and you've always got the reassurance of having support close at hand if it’s needed.

The rich history, points of interest and natural features present along the route wouldn’t be evident to you without a guide. I promise I’ll make your day a much much more relaxed and richer experience.  

From the point of collection, we drive to Kingsdown. This is the most Easterly point of the White Cliffs of Dover and the start of our walking experience.  This section is much less commonly walked, is quiet and extremely beautiful.  It is possible to include a little walk past Deal Castle and Deal sea front if chosen.

After climbing a few quite steep steps, you are afforded views back along the Easterly coastline, of Kingsdown Bay and Deal Pier.  With Kingsdown Golf course and farm lands to your right, we walk westwards towards St Margret's Bay.  Natural vegetation and meadow flowers including wild sweet-peas and grasses provide habitats for a multitude of varied insects, birds and wildlife along our route.  

When we reach the Dover Patrol Cenotaph, a memorial to WW1 battle fought in the English Channel, with a twin in France, we drop down in to the famous, St Margret's Bay.  The views down to the bay are breath-taking and featured in many articles.  The bay itself is charming and beautiful. Houses on the beach have been homes to Noel Coward and Ian Fleming. We can stay and relax on the beach for a while.

A pathway up-hill from St Margret's Bay slightly inland from the cliff-top to the South Forelands Lighthouse. The Pine Tree Gardens can be walked through along the way.  

Flat Tarmac or cliff-top terrain is available depending on your preference.

As well as breath-taking and dramatic views, this section passes Fan Bay Deep Shelter and offers views of the recently excavated Fan Bay Sound Mirror, Big Gun (Jane) WW2 fortifications, Dover Coastguard Head Quarters as well as Dover port and harbour.  It concludes at the National Trust Tea Room/visitors Centre with views of Dover Castle itself. You might want to take lunch here?

Two choices are then available...

This would be an unaccompanied section of the walk down from the cliffs on to Dover sea front which could be an alternative, ideal place to stop for lunch.  Several pubs, hotels, restaurants, fish and chip shops, ice cream kiosks and seafood stalls are all available.  I'd meet you at the bottom.

Short stops at Bleriot's Memorial, close to the Dover Castle's perimeter, allows a close-up view of Dover Castle on our way to the sea front.

This section, if completed from Dover to Caple, is predominantly uphill and for this reason I offer this section in either direction; Dover to Caple or Caple to Dover, depending on preference.  Regardless of the direction we will drive out of Dover dock lands area, to pick up the English Coastal Pathway which is both the Saxon shore and North Downs Way.  Your walk along this less trodden, quiet cliff-top pathway is dramatic and exhilarating.  The National Trust Pathway passes through farm land and near livestock, sheep, cattle and horses.  Again, slightly inland, a tarmac pathway is available as an alternative to the unmade 'cliff-top' route, depending on your preference and ability.  This route, over Round Down and along Abbott's Cliff, affords spectacular views or the coastline back to Dover and towards Folkestone.  This cliff section has many WW2 fortifications still intact and able to be explored as well as a well-preserved example of a sound mirror.  

A visit to Samphire Hoe can be included and a visit to the Battle of Britain Memorial is free, included and is a recommended stop in this section of the Cliff Top Tour.

Collection can be from a location of your choosing.  The tour can conclude at a point of your choosing too providing it is no further than the point from which you were collected at the start of the day although this can be offered for an additional charge.

Perhaps you would choose to finish your day at one of the stops and make the most of your time outside of the tour arrangements.  This is fine too.