101 km | 62 mi from Hollingbourne feat. Whitstable, Chilham & the Kent Downs.
Hop on the train to Hollingbourne, a cute village on the edge of the Kent Downs AONB, in order to ride all 100 km on beautiful quiet roads. On this ride you will discover the beauty of the Downs sceneries with the highlight possibly being scampi and chips at Whitstable harbour.
Rating > Difficult
Terrain > Rolling hills and country lanes
Elevation Gain > 900m | 2,952ft
Expect a pretty punchy hill to get out of town, but being just on the edge of the Kent Downs AONB makes Hollingbourne the perfect starting point. Within minutes we were already riding in some lost lanes and getting that weekly dose of nature we were craving.
After 30kms, we arrived in Chilham, a quaint Kent village where there was a street party to celebrate the Queen's’ Platinum Jubilee. Mini Union Jacks everywhere, roasting hog, people cheering and dressing up…quite an experience for a French person, and it made my day!
Another few kilometres and we finally saw the blue horizon: sea ahead! It was then (almost) only downhill all the way to Whitstable harbour where we had the classic scampi and chips; another kind of coffee stop.
Not that easy to get back on the bike after such a feast…
Thankfully the next 25kms were flat so it was great to get some speed (and digest). We’ve entered the Downs again late afternoon, probably our favourite time of the day to ride in the Spring / Summer: perfect temperature and soft golden light giving the green wheat cobs a velvety texture.
Finally, we got treated with a nice 17% climb 4 km before the end - the perfect seaside escape for a sunny day.
Enjoy the ride!
Download the gpx file here:
Getting there:
By car: Hollingbourne Station Car Park, ME17 1TX
By train: Hollingbourne Train Station
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Disclaimer
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Only follow route if safe and legal to so, local traffic laws take priority over any routing.
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