We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening resting and cooling down from our walk in the sun. We also made tea, of course, though I will admit that I allowed mine to become tepid before I drank it, rather than drinking it hot, as I usually do.

The gull returns

The gull returned to the balcony and walked up and down the rail while casting speculative glances in our direction. A possible explanation for this is that a previous occupant of the room had fed him and that he comes back from time to time, hoping for a repetition. After a while, no doubt disappointed, he flew away.

The chip shop

What should we do for supper? We did not feel like a big meal in a cafe or restaurant but what were the alternatives? Our first essay was to look at the shelves of a corner shop, hoping to find sandwiches or other snacks. We drew a blank there. Then, nearby, we spotted a fish and chips shop where they also offered deep fried halloumi. Perfect!

The inner harbour at night

Carrying our food in a bag we set off to find a bench to sit on to eat. (Fried food may be delicious but it has a strong smell and we preferred not to make our hotel room stink.)

Benches and tables in view

Tigger has an intuition for these things (I sometimes think she should try water divining as I’m sure the results would be interesting…) and set off as though she knew where she was going. I tagged along, confident in her abilities. We reached the old Harbour Railway Station and there found picnic tables perfect for our need. (They belonged to a cafe but as this was closed, there was no harm in our using their furniture.)

Feast in a box

We duly chomped our way through our meal-in-a-box in the pleasant and interesting surroundings of the refurbished station.

The station still looks like a station

Even though the station has been cleaned and repainted, it still looks like a station and, especially at night, I found myself half-expecting to see a train arrive. It gave me a jolt to catch sight, out of the corner of my eye, of people walking by on what my mind identified as the tracks.

Looking along the “tracks”

When we had finished our meal (and disposed of the the litter in the bin provided), we walked along the platform to the road at the end. When the station was working, there would have been a level crossing here but the gates were removed long ago. I took the above photo looking along what would have been the tracks but is now a two-lane path to town, which we followed earlier today.

A last look at the station

No ghost trains appeared, no phantom whistles blew and no shadowy figures in railway uniform flitted in and out of the boarded up doors. The station was peaceful and quiet though with an atmosphere all its own.

We returned to the hotel for the rest of the evening, content with our day. Tomorrow we have other things to do but let tomorrow look after itself.

The tide’s in

It was already past 2 pm by the time we bestirred ourselves to go out and prospect for lunch. The temperature, bearable this morning, had risen. The Met Office revised its mid-afternoon figure to 25°C but I think the local value was higher than that.

Balconies on our floor

Before leaving, I stepped onto our balcony to photograph the inner basin with the high tide (above). At the same time I photographed the balconies of this row of hotel rooms, including ours. As you can see, it would be easy for someone to step over the dividers and go to any room in the row. The sliding balcony window has a bolt but it is not very substantial. I think a determined person could break through it. Unlike some hotels, this one doesn’t provide a safe in the room. We take our few valuables with us when we go out.

The stairwell
Photo by Tigger

Only one lift serves our floor so there is a certain amount of congestion, especially during the day when the lift is used by housekeeping staff with big trolleys. There are two other lifts which serve floors up to 7. So one way to beat the congestion in our single lift is to walk down a floor and take one of the lifts from floor 7. We tried this (which was when Tigger photographed the hypnotic stair well), and it worked perfectly. A trick to remember when our lift is busy.

The Captain’s Table

We didn’t want to go too far to find lunch so when we came upon the Captain’s Table, we went in and asked for a table.

Inside the Captain’s Table
Photo by Tigger

The only criticism I would advance is that payment is by cash only. In my view, that’s unforgivable in this day and age. What stops them moving to contactless? I have my suspicions but had better not express them.

Sunny Sands

After lunch, we walked along the seafront, beyond the Harbour Arm where there is a beach rejoicing in the name of Sunny Sands. It probably isn’t always sunny (this is the UK, after all) but it’s certainly sandy. There were a lot of people doing what people do on beaches.

Stairs

The promenade ends here where there is a staircase that presumably leads to the street. I say “presumably” because we did not go up it and so I don’t know where it leads.

Beyond are rocks

Beyond this point the coast is covered with rocks and is unsuitable for beach activities.

Rocks on the beach

In fact, the rocks start on the sandy beach before this point, providing, as it were, an indication of what is to come.

Returning the way we had come

Ignoring the steps, we turned and went back by the way we had come. As you can see in this contre-jour photo, it’s no small distance.

Arcade

At one point, we walked along this arcade as it provided shelter from the sun.

Sea lapping rocks

I photographed the sea lapping the rocks. It looks so gentle – almost benign – here, but I know it can also be violent and destructive.

The Folkestone Mermaid
Cornelia Parker

This is not Den Lille Havfrue but is perhaps inspired by her. There’s more about this sculpture here.

In view of the heat and the good walk we had had, we returned to our hotel room to make tea and rest. We opened the balcony window and…

A gull appears

…a visitor appeared, strolling along the balcony rail. I just managed to snatch this photo before it disappeared from our view.

After our less than satisfactory encounters with the local bus service over the last couple of days, we are taking it easy today and staying in town. According to the weather forecast, it will be another day of heatwave with a high of 24°C this afternoon.

Sunrise
Photo by Tigger

Once again, Tigger was awake before me and took some pictures of the sunrise.

A juvenile gull visits our balcony
Photo by Tigger

Later, a juvenile gull appeared on our balcony, perhaps hoping to find food scraps.

Another sunny day in Folkestone

We at last set out into the sunshine. We went first to the Harbour Arm, once Folkestone’s gateway to Europe and today a place of entertainment and pleasure (allegedly).

The Harbour Railway Station

We crossed over what were once railway lines and passed the old Harbour Railway Station.

Holiday Home
Richard Wiods

We stopped to look at this object, called Holiday Home, a companion to the one floating in the harbour. Like all public art in this town, it is claimed to be part of Creative Folkestone Artworks. The artist is Richard Woods.

Cormorants

We spotted these cormorants hanging out together as is their wont. They have not been fishing recently: if they had been, they would be spreading their wings to dry them. Later they were joined by a black-backed gull.

Looking along the Harbour Arm

This photo shows the Harbour Arm with its lighthouse at the end.

The lighthouse

Here is a closer view of the lighthouse.

Looking along the Arm to Folkestone

We walked along the upper level of the Arm. On the left, in the picture, is the open sea. Straight ahead is a view of the town.

The old Harbour Station

Via a downward slope, our path led into the old Harbour Railway Station. All doorways are boarded up but the station signs, in both English and French, are still in place and as fresh and clean as new.

Rug People
Paloma Varga Weisz

This sculpture stands between the two railway tracks. The track bed, once filled between the rails with dirty pebbles, has been covered in with tarmac and the central area turned into a garden.

Bold gull

We reached a flight of steps leading down to the street and on the railings sat a young gull, calm and seemingly unconcerned by people passing by quite close. Perhaps he was hoping for a handout.

The Old High Street

We climbed (slowly!) up the Old High Street, stopping first at Folklore for coffee.

Stairway to… somewhere

Partway up the Old High Street, we came to this staircase. Were we tempted to climb it and see where it leads? In a word, no. Climbing the street was exercise enough.

Sandgate Road

At the top, we reached Sandgate Road, glad to be on the flat at last.

Old Burtons’ Store

We spotted this old Burtons’ store, which, unlike many, still has the trademark Burton name still in place. We looked for any foundation stones but could find none, unsurprising because the ground floor has been altered, no doubt removing them.

Sandgate Road

We walked along Sandgate Road which is pedestrian-only and has taken over the role of the town’s high street.

The Step Short Commemorative Arch

This brought us to a hilly road that was renamed Road of Remembrance in honour of the fallen of World War One. At the top is this arch by Philip Gearing. (“Step short” is the command given to marching soldiers to shorten their step when marching up a hill.)

Looking back up the Road of Remembrance

We walked down the Road of Remembrance, which is fairly steep, though, of course, it is easier going down than up!

Crocheted poppies

Down the righthand side of the road is a metal fence. (Beyond it the ground slopes steeply downwards.) Thousands of poppies have been made by individuals with crochet and affixed to the fence.

At the bottom of the hill, we were fairly near our hotel to which we now returned for rest and recuperation. The next item on the agenda will be lunch but I will post this now.

Brunch

We hunted around for somewhere to have lunch but without much success. In the end, we plumped for this place which offered, among other items, an all-day veggie breakfast.

Crossing the Dour

We then made our way to the stop for the bus back to Folkestone, once more crossing the Dour as we went.

No shade at the bus stop

We knew what time our bus should arrive but of course, that was not when it actually arrived. The bus app behaved as though generating random numbers. The published timetable was a work of fiction.

Another view from our room

After what seemed a surprisingly short journey, we reached the bus stop near our hotel. The above photo shows a section of beach and the Folkestone Harbour Arm, built during Victorian era. Ferries to Europe departed from here but with the cessation of those services, the Arm has become a public pier. The curving roof visible on the left is that of the old harbour railway station. The line was closed down in 2009 (officially in 2014), though there is a group trying to have it reopened. Find more about it here.

We made tea, sponged ourselves down and rested for a while, recovering from our long exposure to the sun while awaiting the delayed bus.

——————————

Riding the bus

Later, we went out and caught another bus. I knew this would be a longish ride but not how long it would turn out to be. I photographed a couple of items along the way.

A Penfold pillar box

Beside a bus stop we spotted this antique pillar box, according to the design of John Wornham Penfold. Relatively few still exist “in the wild”.

A crossroads in Dynchurch

At Dymchurch (see here for an etymology of the name), we were still in Kent but we had been travelling so long I was beginning to wonder if we were going to fall off the edge of the world.

Martello Tower

We passed several Martello Towers, built to strengthen our coastal defences against a possible invasion by Napoleon.

Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway

As time was passing, we eventually decided to call a halt here, at the terminus of this light railway than runs antique locomotives and rolling stock.

A view of the tracks

We had a view of the tracks of the RH&D Railway where the road crosses them by a bridge.

At the bus stop

We found a bus stop and settled down to patiently await the next (no doubt delayed) bus. Contrary to expectation, it was more or less on time.

On the bus

We boarded the bus with a feeling of relief, at least on my part. Curiously, the return journey felt quicker than the outward leg.

We left the bus at our usual stop near the hotel and, as we had not eaten since lunch, looked around to see what cafes or restaurants in the area were open. The short answer is none. Even the pubs we tried had stopped serving food by now. Yes, at 8:30 pm.

Herbert’s

This is when we chanced upon an establishment called Herbert’s. You are served through a slot in the transparent screen and there are a few tables and chairs outside on the cobbled road.

Our elegant repast
Photo by Tigger

The hot food on offer consisted of a range of toasties. We both had cheese and Marmite toasties, with ice cream to follow. To drink, I had green tea and Tigger coffee. The ice cream is not visible in the photo because the lady kindly kept it in the fridge for us until we were ready for it.

Having dined thus, we retired to our temporary home on the 8th floor and there, saving unforeseens, will we remain until tomorrow.

Good night, all!

Dawn in Folkestone
Photo by Tigger

Tigger was up uncommonly early this morning to take this photo of the dawn.

Morning in Folkestone

I followed much later with a photo of my own. As the title indicates, today is my birthday but that’s all I will say about it. Neither of us slept particularly well, so we are making a fairly late start. We have plans to visit that other famous Kentish port, Dover. How will that go?

——————————

The tide is rising

Salt water and fresh

On the left is a freshwater river which is covered by the sea at high tide but exposed between tides. Pigeons and gulls come to it to bathe and drink.

The Old High Street

We went a little way up the old High Street (now rebadged as the Creative Quarter).

Folklore

We entered a cafe called Folklore.

Breakfast

Here we had breakfast.

Aboard the bus to Dover

We caught a bus for Dover which arrived almost on time (just s little bit late so as no to create a precedent).

A castle on a hill

We passed through sometimes picturesque landscapes.

Pencester Gardens

In Dover, the bus dropped us at this park, called Pencester Gardens. We sat for a while on a shaded bench, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

The River Dour

To one side of the park runs Dover’s river, the Dour.

Museum and Visitor Information

We paid a visit to the museum in Market Square. There follow just a few examples of what was on view.

Model showing the invasion of Britain by the Emperor Claudius

Remains of an Iron Age boat

WW2 “V1” Flying Bomb

Manning the cannon in defence of Dover

An Anglo-Saxon citizen of Dover

Market Square and Dover Castle

Market Square is not looking its best at present but provides a good view of the castle that still dominates the town.

La salle Verte
Photo by Tigger

We went for coffee in this coffee house with a French name, La Salle Verte. We are drinking a fair amount because the heatwave is still with us. The temperatures down here are a few degrees lower than in London, for which we are grateful.

And now for lunch…