SUSSEX AND BEACHY HEAD
THROUGH THE KENT COUNTRYSIDE
26th May 1973 to 28th May 1973
A very hot weekend in which the objective was to reach the South Coast by cycle and return in three days overall. We camped each night.
Saturday 26th May
Set off very early to reach Kent for the Dartford Tunnel which took about one and a half hours. The journey through the tunnel was very strange as the bikes had to be loaded on a trailer and we travelled in the front of a Land Rover. We were not really looking forward to riding through Kent but were very surprised at the countryside which was quite hilly and very pretty with hop fields and guesthouses. The day was very, very hot with clear blue sky and we stopped several times to buy ice cream. Later on in the day, as we entered Sussex and were riding through a forest, the heat really took its toll and made it difficult to breathe. We staggered on to Rye which was an interesting town of narrow streets. Here we bought provisions before venturing on along the coast to camp just outside Hastings at Carters farm. It had been a long tiring day and to cap it all there was a 1 in 4 hill just before the site. Still, we were very pleased at having cycled further in the day than ever before - 85 miles.
Sunday 27th May
Today we visited Beachy Head before heading inland. We cycled through Bexhill and then by some pleasant countryside by the railway where we had to stop to fix my bike. We pulled into Eastbourne and then up the hill leading to the Downs above the cliffs at Beachy Head. We walked down a short way towards the cliffs and sat and had some drink and eats while watching the seabirds and the sea. Soon we had to press on and we enjoyed the long ride down to Birling Gap when we turned inland to Uckfield where we camped at a farm site. Unfortunately we had not kept a note of the mileage.
Monday 28th May
As usual, the "last day" feeling crept in and as we had quite a long way to go we kept to the main roads and just headed for the Dartford Tunnel is as straight a line as possible. Through the tunnel and picking up the familiar roads it seemed such a short weekend but we had cycled quite a way and it was enjoyable sitting at Beachy Head.