Biking and Dungeness ... worth the bother of taking them ?

January 1987, I'd been taking photos by the power station, rode back to Rye into the strongest and coldest headwind I have ever  ecountered in my life. Utterly grim, got to the point where I thought I'd just have to get off and push, etched into my mind forever!

Maybe I'm not the right person to ask

@avdave2
Sounds great

But, except for the winds. Sounds alright under the wheels for bikes..... even gravel bikes

The actual bit round the power station is gravel beach hell, but what I've ridden of the bridleways out towards Camber / Rye are run of the mill round-a-sheep-field bridleways. Gravel bike probably plenty for that area.

If you've a car, there's more fun to be had in some of the near(ish) woods - Covert near Canterbury has enough downhill runs to keep you entertained for an evening.

But yeah, Romney Marsh doesn't need hills to make a ride hard work in the wind! My record was over two hours to ride to Dungeness then 40 minutes home...

Its lovely riding on a fatbike if you can get one. See teh sound mirrors and everything. I have a couple of nice rides and a pint in the pub by the railway...

If you have one, take the road bike- really nice (imo), either roll along the coast (either direction) or north into the weild on really small backroads

Thanks guys.

So far:
Checking out the Sound Mirrors
The Pilot for Fish & Chips
The Power Station (why I'm there)
The remoteness...possibly.
Lighthouse and RSPB Bird Reserve.

Swimming ..... Instant Death ? More of paddle really.

Any more must sees ?

And defo Taking the bikes.

Misread this as 'Biking and Dungerees - worth the bother of taking them?' and assumed this was the next big thing after wearing flannel shirts.

Dungeness is on the Cantii Way route so we stopped off there.
Gravel riding was ok but as others have said, the headwind to Rye was savage.

The snack shack on the beach at Dungeness is worth a stop.

A few years ago, I cycled from Rye round past Camber and onto Lydd, then after heading towards Dungie, i kept to the western side of the power station, on a tarmac , then rough track, heading towards Dengemarsh beach, on left side of the firing range.
From previous fishing trips there, i recalled the shingle ridge running along the front of the powerstation was fairly hardpacked sand / shingle, but turned out it currently wasnt, though it does change over the years due to tides, storms , shingle management etc, So, i mostly pushed for a mile until i got towards the lighthouse on the east side.
I then looped back round to Lydd again via the road, as there are no bridleway routes anywhere, due to the powerstation supply routes, and the myriad of gravel pit lakes and waterways crisscrossing the dungeness peninsular.
So ride wasnt exceptional, but I still like seeing how bleak it can be out there, and the way the 'shanty town' beach shacks and gardens have evolved along the shingle foreshore.

I grew up nearby so know the area well, spent a lot of chilly nights there as my dad liked cod fishing in Jan/Feb.
It’s road bike territory or gravel/light MTB for paths.
If you want to avoid the hot-spots it’s worth a look at Fairfield church near Appledore, It’s quite unique. You can get the key which hangs up outside by the door on the cottage opposite if you cycle there go by the tiny backroads and avoid the main road to Brenzett.
if you are swimming then go on the Dymchurch side as it’s way more sheltered than by the power station or ‘the point’.
There is a very good crab shack just down from Jarman cottage, they do great lobster/fish/crab rolls.
if you venture further afield the Ferry in Stone-In-Oxney does great food and you can stroll up to Chapel bank, there’s no church, they moved it half a mile away.
There is a nice loop from Rye to Winchelsea (old town) and along Wickham rock lane stopping off at the fizz vineyard for a glass then to Pett level, Winchelsea beach and along the beach road/cycle route to Rye harbour.

You maybe interested in travelling on the mini steam train. Runs from Hythe to Dungeness.

Worth a watch:

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/along-for-the-ride-with-david-odoherty/on-demand/72423-001

theres a lot of army range activity around the area so it might be good to find out what access is like when open/closed. It's a cool and eery place though, well worth a visit.

IIRC there is a route along the sea wall south of Dymchurch.

Quite good beach cafe at camber last summer. I'm not sure if they are on the Dungeness side but around Rye Harbour(worth visiting) there are some small but very moving art pieces about the war that are worth experiencing

a bit more about the art here -

http://appliedcomicsnetwork.wordpress.com/tag/not-everyone-rises/

Misread this as ‘Biking and Dungerees – worth the bother of taking them?’ and assumed this was the next big thing after wearing flannel shirts.

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/biking-and-dungarees-worth-the-bother-of-taking-them/

You maybe interested in travelling on the mini steam train. Runs from Hythe to Dungeness.

Get on the right service and there's a bar too!

It is perfectly possible for two riders on the marsh to meet each other going in different directions and both have a headwind.
When I had a roadside, I generally avoided going round there. It is flat and the coast road can be very fast, otherwise I'd say go out and get lost inshore.

Sound Mirrors

Full report later

Thanks for your advice guys well worth the effort taking bikes.

Hard Core Flat Bar Gravel the area of Dungeness

Thanks.

I always thought the shingle was an SSSI but i may be wrong.