Farthing Common is an area of common land about 10 km northwest of Folkestone in East Kent. It is one of the highest points of the North Downs at 185 metres above sea level, and was the junction of the ancient trackway along the Downs from Folkestone, with the Roman road (now the B2068 Stone Street) between Lympne and Canterbury.
Folkestone is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent. Westerham Heights, at the northern edge of the North Downs, near Bromley, South London, is the highest point in London at an elevation of 245 m (804 ft). The North Downs lie within two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), the Surrey Hills and the Kent Downs. The North Downs Way National Trail runs along the North Downs from Farnham to Dover.
Portus Lemanis, also known as Lemanae, was the Latin name of an ancient Roman fort, settlement and port in southern Kent. The modern village of Lympne derives its name from the ancient port.
From the common there are extensive views across Kent and on a clear day it is possible to see as far as the Cliffs at Fairlight in Sussex and even the South Downs. Just east of Farthing Common are Postling Downs which is a rich area of semi-improved chalk grassland with a variety of plant species including orchids.
Fairlight is a village in East Sussex, England within Rother district, three miles (5 km) to the east of Hastings. Fairlight is also the name of the civil parish forming part of the Rother district which includes the villages of Fairlight and Fairlight Cove. The village of Fairlight lies on a minor road between Ore, Pett and Winchelsea. St Andrew's Church has a tall tower and beacon turret, and can be seen for some distance around. The church is one of three in the United Benefice of Fairlight, Guestling and Pett. Richard D'Oyly Carte, founder of the Savoy Theatre, Savoy Hotel, and D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, which produced the Gilbert and Sullivan light operas, is buried in the churchyard. So also are Thomas Attwood Walmisley, and Sir James Roberts of Saltaire and his wife.
Sussex, from the Old English Sūþsēaxe, is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English Channel, and divided for many purposes into the ceremonial counties of West Sussex and East Sussex. Brighton and Hove, though part of East Sussex, was made a unitary authority in 1997, and as such, is administered independently of the rest of East Sussex. Brighton and Hove was granted City status in 2000. Until then, Chichester was Sussex's only city.
The South Downs are a range of chalk hills that extends for about 260 square miles (670 km2) across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, in the Eastbourne Downland Estate, East Sussex, in the east. The Downs are bounded on the northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose crest there are extensive views northwards across the Weald. The South Downs National Park forms a much larger area than the chalk range of the South Downs and includes large parts of the Weald.
Farthing Common saw the final King of the Mountains climb during the first stage of the 2007 Tour de France, which was held in Kent. The climb was taken by Stéphane Augé. [1]
The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours, it consists of 21 day-long stages over the course of 23 days.
Stéphane Augé is a French former road racing cyclist. He is currently a sporting director for UCI Professional Continental team Cofidis. While he had a contract to ride competitively with them in the 2011 season, he chose instead to retire as a cyclist and fill an opening in the team's management. He was known to be part of the escapees in every first stage of the Tour de France.
