We had grand plans of getting up early to get an early ferry back to England.  We were both so shattered we decided not to. We were on the road by 9.30am though, and that is early for us.

We wanted to make the 2pm ferry, but we had to cycle about 52 kms first. We stuck to main roads and we rode hard ( well for us anyway), only stopping for a quick snack, drink and to check directions. We managed to cycle an average speed of 20km/hr over a 3 hour period, which is excellent for us. Usually it is about 12 to 15 kms/hr.

We arrived at the ferry at 12.30. That’s 30 mins ahead of schedule! We had a nice calm ferry crossing and when we arrived we were first off the boat.

It was really well set up for bikes getting out of dover. There were special cycle lanes so we didn’t have to cycle amongst the trucks and we managed to pick up the cycle route straight away.

We will follow national cycle route 2 back to bournemouth (it goes all the way to cornwall along the south coast). It was pretty steep getting out of dover and I was regretting putting some Belgium beer in my panniers when we left Belgium. You can probably buy it here but I wasn’t taking any chances. I love my westmalle tripel.

We stopped in folkestone and contemplated stopping. A couple stopped and told us there was a campground on the beach to our left. They said it was probably best to stop in folkestone as hythe was more expensive and there was nothing for miles after that. It was 5pm so we decided to stop.

The camping was down a steep hill and the thought of pushing our bikes up in the morning didn’t really appeal. As well as that, it was going to cost 30 pounds! That’s criminal just to put up a tent. We found a seaside hotel for only 40 pounds and it had a seaview and included breakfast. You can take your overpriced campground and shove it!

We went out for a curry and had a good nights rest. Must remember the tent was packed away wet.

Arriving in dover

View from hotel