With the new year upon us, I was itching to explore.
I’ve wanted to hike along the Dover coastline for some time now, and with the sun shining I had packed up lunch for the three of us and told Adam the plan.
I wanted to start at Dover Castle and walk along one of the walking trails.
Baby Carrier, Pushchair, Change of clothes (in case Pollyanna has an accident), lunch, reins, and gloves, we were set to go.
But I’m getting ahead of myself here.
If I was to tell you this was on our doorstep and we had both never done it before would you be ashamed of us?
You should be.
It is terribly true that we all take our home for granted.
I have vowed to explore and share more of ‘home’ here.
I spend so much time sharing and writing about places all over the world when we are in fact living in a lovely little part of it.
Meet Dover.
Dover is a coastal town in the South East of Kent and is the home to a major ferry port.
Built to repel invasions from across the English Channel.
The town is overlooked by the medieval Dover Castle which we had planned to visit. Just wanting to have a look around the ground rather than go inside as Pollyanna is a little too young to understand anything. But was disappointed that it would have cost us just over £50 to do that.
We jumped back into the car and drove a little further up the iconic White Cliffs.
We parked for £5 at The National Trust’s White Cliffs of Dover car park and headed round to the left.
There is a choice of three trails;
One closet to the cliff edge.
The one in the middle which we took.
Or one above which is more open and has a few benches along the way.
Even the middle trail ends up quite close to the edge.
It reminded me so much of Cornwall.
With every corner we turned, Dover was beaming in all her glory.
Who knew we had a little hiker on our hands too.
It was the most beautifully bright sunny day, but the clouds added a drastic twist.
When the sun dipped behind the clouds for a break, we saw Dover in a different light, literally.
One minute moody.
The next like a summers day.
We followed the trail with no idea where we were going and which three of the paths we should have taken.
Brown Coat, PLT (18% off) // Paper Bag Trousers (last years similar here) // Chunky Boots Public Desire // Jumper PLT (40% off) // Sunglasses Celine
Listening to the sound of the crashing waves below us.
See where those people in the bottom right of the photo below. That’s where I wanted to head to.
We clambered down steep, wet, muddy steps
I really wasn’t expecting this.
The mud was so thick Pollyanna’s feet were getting stuck with every step.
She made it halfway before Daddy came and threw her over his shoulder.
Gone are the days when he can do that to me.
The stairs led us to an open area of grass, overlooking rolling golden-green fields.
We both carried our babies.
Alfie was wrapped up in a Timberland Snowsuit
The sun was quickly setting behind the horizon.
We popped Pollyanna back into the pushchair and headed down closer to the point I mentioned earlier.
We made it.
It is probably the most picturesque point on the walk.
After a quick family photo, we thought it was time to head back before dark.
Walking into one of the brightest sunsets.
We didn’t have time for a picnic, so we had a drink on the go.
A quick cheers and we were on our way.
Past the hustling port, watching as ferries go to and from France.
We took the public footpath back up.
Squeezing by.
I really wouldn’t recommend taking a pushchair.
The skies ever-changing colours distracted us and we must have missed a path because we ended up walking towards Dover Castle.
With a little help from some friendly strangers down a very steep rocky hill, we had to make it back up the hill to the car park.
Adam and Pollyanna beat us to the top this time.
We didn’t mind taking a wrong turn, it just meant we got to spend more time with the sunset.
We jumped in the car, feet tired and hungry and made our way to The White Cliffs Restaurant.
Greeted by a real log fire, it was just what we needed.
We sat on a large wooden table, underneath a surfboard. Would you expect anything less from a seaside restaurant?
Pollyanna and I perched ourselves onto the wooden bench, along with a pillow seat for baby.
For starters, we ordered Olives shipped from Portugal and garlic sourdough.
Glazed coats cheese with pickled pears and walnuts.
We pulled out the Peppa Pig activity book in between courses.
For mains we went for the same thing;
Chargrilled Kent steak, covered in the softest pearl onion, bacon and wild mushroom sauce. It’s a sauce that keeps on giving.
Rosemary fries on the side.
Blue could not resist.
Alfie eventually woke up and joined us.
Dessert was a Daddy and Daughter affair, I was too full.
Sticky toffee and date pudding in a toffee and marzipan ice-cream
White Cliffs is the perfect place for food or a cosy drink playing board games. Its also only a short walk away from the beach.
It was straight home and into bed for us all. Ready for the next adventure.
