A great choice of walks

"But the sea is very fine, and the walks quite remarkable."

Charles Dickens (1852) in a letter to Miss Mary Boyle, while he stayed in Dover while writing part of Bleak House.

"I walked by the cliffs to Folkestone and back today, when it was so exquisitely beautiful that, although I was alone, I could not keep silence on the subject. In the fourteen miles I doubt if I met twelve people."

Charles Dickens (1861) in a letter to Wilkie Collins while staying in Dover.

There are 525 miles (840 km) of public rights-of-way in Dover and Shepway, including the national trail, the North Downs Way.The White Cliffs Countryside Project (WCCP) has done a lot to encourage walking and improve walking facilities in East Kent.  

You can explore the 17 nature and history trails, 57 country walks in 6 walks' packs, 8 town walks and 7 long distance walking trails, In addition, there are many countryside sites where you can walk freely.To help you discover all these walking routes, the WCCP organises one of the largest programmes of guided walks and other events in Britain.

The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership has organised two guided walks on 25th and 26th July 2009 to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Louis Bleriot's first heavier-than-air crossing of the Channel.

There is also a walk you can follow from Dover town centre to the Bleriot Memorial, learning more about other cross Channel crossings such as Captain Webb and Henry Rolls.

The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership organsises a walk most Sundays throughout the year.  Collyer's Companions organise a walk on most Saturdays.  New for 2010 is a programme of mid-week walks on Wednesday afternoons.

Walking is a great way to maintain fitness and health; the current recommendation is for 30 minutes a day of brisk activity. 

If a French walking group wishes to join one of the WCCP walks then it may be possible to provide a translator if sufficient notice is give.