Author Topic: Crowded Britain(I mean England)  (Read 3348 times)

WhitstableDave

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Re: Crowded Britain(I mean England)
« Reply #15 on: 18:59:51, 17/07/19 »
Hi. Much has been written in this topic about the south-east of England, and of Kent in particular. As a walker who lives in Whitstable on the north Kent coast I'd like to contribute my thoughts...

I've been recording my walks and plotting them on Google Earth for almost three years and in that time I've walked about 7,000 miles on Kent's footpaths, bridleways, byways and country lanes. My aim is to walk in every part of the county and see it all!

The map shows my progress to date, although I must point out that I've walked the routes near Whitstable many times whereas I've only walked some of the furthest routes once. I tend to do five walks a week, one or two of which will be new to me. 



My point is this: anyone who drives on Kent's motorways and A roads, or who visits the bigger towns might well have an image of Kent as being a busy, built-up, over-developed county, but as soon as I began to explore some of our 4,500 miles of PRoW, I realised just how empty of humanity the great majority is. Even in my immediate area, I can walk six of the seven miles to Canterbury through woods and farmland and not meet anyone - or, at least, fewer people than I usually see on a walk in Snowdonia!

I believe it's all a matter of perspective. Walk in the week, walk in woods, walk in all weathers, use footpaths that aren't part of some named route, and you'll walk for hours enjoying the Garden of England in near-perfect solitude.  :)

 
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Dovegirl

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Re: Crowded Britain(I mean England)
« Reply #16 on: 22:44:55, 17/07/19 »
Interesting to see the map of your walks, WhitstableDave.  All the best with your project! This summer I walked the coast from Hythe to Dover and from Deal to Dover, and Littlestone to Lydd via Dungeness.  In the spring I walked from Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells.

I very much agree that one can find solitude in the south east.  I live in Sussex and often get off the beaten track when I'm walking on the South Downs and in the Weald, finding places that have something of a feeling of remoteness.

WhitstableDave

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Re: Crowded Britain(I mean England)
« Reply #17 on: 23:07:33, 17/07/19 »
Interesting to see the map of your walks, WhitstableDave.  All the best with your project! This summer I walked the coast from Hythe to Dover and from Deal to Dover, and Littlestone to Lydd via Dungeness.  In the spring I walked from Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells.

I very much agree that one can find solitude in the south east.  I live in Sussex and often get off the beaten track when I'm walking on the South Downs and in the Weald, finding places that have something of a feeling of remoteness.

Hi Dovegirl. Having joined quite recently, I've been browsing the forum a fair bit and I recall your mention of those walks. Deal to Dover is one of my favourite areas with its spectacular clifftop views - especially near St Margarets. By contrast, trudging across the 'pebble desert' between Lydd and the coast is something I won't be repeating!
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Jim Parkin

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Re: Crowded Britain(I mean England)
« Reply #18 on: 20:02:58, 18/07/19 »
I see that you have Ashdown Forest to look forward to pretty soon nearby. 


 

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