North Downs Way 15 : Folkestone to Dover

Prepare yourself for one of the most epic clifftop adventures Kent has to offer.

Admire aerial views over Folkestone, The Warren Country Park, Samphire Hoe Nature Reserve and Dover as you venture on top of the North Downs. A few miles into the walk you will pass the Battle of Britain Memorial. Take some time to reflect on the history of the German invasion by air that happened where you are  standing. The RAF’s brave actions helped protect the shores of Britain from the mighty German Luftwaffe. Churchill comments ring true ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much been owed by so many to so few’

Continue on your way and you will discover Abbotts Cliff Sound Mirror which was constructed in 1928. Due to its concave shape it had the ability to catch sound
waves of approaching planes and was used as an early warning system during the First World War.

Keep climbing and you will be rewarded with views over Samphire Hoe Nature Reserve. This unique area was created with chalk that was excavated during the
construction of the Channel Tunnel and opened in 1993. Since that date the plants and wildlife have flourished and there are now 200 species of plants and wildflowers and 220 species of birds found here.

Shortly before arriving into Dover you will descend the lofty Shakespeare Cliff. It is thought to have inspired a passage from Shakespeare’s King Lear who  regularly visited Dover at the time of writing it.