Viking Coastal Trail

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Viking Coastal Trail
Viking Coastal Trail at Beresford Gap - geograph.org.uk - 1035486.jpg
Marker Viking Coastal Trail at Beresford Gap (National Cycle Network 15)
Length25 mi (40 km)
Location Kent
Trailheads St Nicholas at Wade
51°21′15″N1°15′07″E / 51.3541°N 1.2519°E / 51.3541; 1.2519 (Viking Coastal Trail)

Reculver Towers
51°22′45″N1°11′53″E / 51.3792°N 1.1981°E / 51.3792; 1.1981 (Viking Coastal Trail)
Margate
51°23′14″N1°22′41″E / 51.3871°N 1.378°E / 51.3871; 1.378 (Viking Coastal Trail)
Broadstairs
51°21′30″N1°26′33″E / 51.3582°N 1.4426°E / 51.3582; 1.4426 (Viking Coastal Trail)
Ramsgate
51°19′56″N1°25′15″E / 51.3323°N 1.4209°E / 51.3323; 1.4209 (Viking Coastal Trail)
Pegwell Bay
51°19′33″N1°21′58″E / 51.3258°N 1.3661°E / 51.3258; 1.3661 (Viking Coastal Trail)

Contents

Minster
51°19′51″N1°18′58″E / 51.3309°N 1.3161°E / 51.3309; 1.3161 (Viking Coastal Trail)
Use Cycling and Hiking,
Highest point42 m (135 ft)
MonthsAll year

The Viking Coastal Trail is a 25-mile multi-user route around the Isle of Thanet, keeping as close as is possible to the coast. It is also Regional Route 15 of the National Cycle Network. From Reculver (going clock-wise), the trail passes through Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate to reach Pegwell Bay, where Vikings first landed in Kent. The Trail then, uses an inland route on quiet lanes (except the short section beside the A299), passing through a couple of villages with ancient churches including Minster-in-Thanet Abbey and St Nicholas at Wade, to return to Reculver.

History

The trail was devised by a collaboration of Douglas Bush (the Thanet representative for cycling tour club Right To Cycle, the local secretary of the Thanet Cycle Forum and a member of the East Kent cycle campaign group Spokes), Sustrans (British charity to promote sustainable transport) and Thanet District Council. [1]

Olympic athlete Kelly Holmes MBE opened the Trail, on Sunday 10 June 2001. Total cost of the trail (including design, construction and marketing) is about £500,000 divided roughly equally between Kent County Council and Thanet District Council. [2]

Route

It is largely traffic free (especially along the coast). On-road 46% - Off-road 54% . [3] The coastal route also follows (in most sections) the route of the Saxon Shore Way (long distance footpath). But the inland section of the trail is still being upgraded and improved, such as the section between the A299 Thanet Way and Reculver. [4] At Sandwich it connects to National Cycle Route 1 to head to Canterbury. [5]

At Reculver, the trail links to Wantsum Walk to Upstreet (following an old river route) and Oyster Bay Trail (leading to Whitstable, along the coastline).

Viking Coastal Trail at Herne Bay (National Cycle Network 15) National Cycle Route 15 to Reculver - geograph.org.uk - 1129683.jpg
Viking Coastal Trail at Herne Bay (National Cycle Network 15)

The Trail forms the route for many charity local cycle rides, including Thanet Road Runner mountain bike duathlon, which starts as a short 2.4-mile road run from Minnis Bay and continues with nine miles of cycling before another run of 4.5 miles. It is also used by the British Heart Foundation for its annual Viking Bike Ride. [1]

Usage

Canterbury Christ Church University College studied the economic impact of the Viking Coastal Trail in 2003. 364 cyclists were interviewed between May and August. They concluded that the overall economic impact of the Trail equates to around £293,297 per year. The Trail is Kent’s No. 1 cycle route. Used by at Ramsgate – 27,965, Westgate – 39,616 cyclists in 2003 during June and August. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isle of Thanet</span> Peninsula in Kent, England

The Isle of Thanet is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the 600-metre-wide (2,000 ft) Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsgate</span> Seaside town in Kent, England

Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to the Census, there was a population of 40,408. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline, and its main industries are tourism and fishing. The town has one of the largest marinas on the English south coast, and the Port of Ramsgate provided cross-channel ferries for many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herne Bay</span> Town in Kent, England

Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is 6 miles (10 km) north of Canterbury and 4 miles (6 km) east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government district, although it remains a separate town with countryside between it and Canterbury. Herne Bay's seafront is home to the world's first freestanding purpose-built Clock Tower, built in 1837. From the late Victorian period until 1978, the town had the second-longest pier in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadstairs</span> Coastal town in Kent, England

Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about 80 miles (130 km) east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of about 25,000. Situated between Margate and Ramsgate, Broadstairs is one of Thanet's seaside resorts, known as the "jewel in Thanet's crown". The town's coat of arms's Latin motto is Stella Maris. The name derives from a former flight of steps in the chalk cliff, which led from the sands up to the 11th-century shrine of St Mary on the cliff's summit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reculver</span> Seaside village in Kent, England

Reculver is a village and coastal resort about 3 miles (5 km) east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsdown, Dover</span> Human settlement in England

Kingsdown is a village immediately to the south of Walmer, itself south of Deal, on the English Channel coast of Kent. Parts of the village are built on or behind the shingle beach that runs north to Deal and beyond, while other parts are on the cliffs and hills inland. The village church of St John the Evangelist was built by local landowner William Curling in 1848. Curling's former residence, Kingsdown House, was acquired by the Brightstone Holiday Centre in 1934 and a holiday camp, now known as Kingsdown Holiday Park, has operated in the grounds up to the present day. It is in the civil parish of Ringwould with Kingsdown. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 1764.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thanet District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Thanet is a local government district in Kent, England. Formed under the Local Government Act 1972, it came into being on 1 April 1974 and is governed by Thanet District Council.

The Wantsum Channel was a strait separating the Isle of Thanet from the north-eastern extremity of the English county of Kent and connecting the English Channel and the Thames Estuary. It was a major shipping route when Britain was part of the Roman Empire, and continued in use until it was closed by silting in the late Middle Ages. Its course is now represented by the River Stour and the River Wantsum, which is little more than a drainage ditch lying between Reculver and St Nicholas-at-Wade and joins the Stour about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) south-east of Sarre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birchington-on-Sea</span> Village in Kent, England

Birchington-on-Sea is a village in the Thanet district in Kent, England, with a population of 9,961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Thanet (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

North Thanet is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since its 1983 creation by Sir Roger Gale, a Conservative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandwich Bay, Kent</span> Inlet in Sandwich, Kent, England

Sandwich Bay is a long sweeping inlet of the sea between Ramsgate and Deal, on the east coast of Kent, England. The coastal area consists of sand flats with their associated salt marshes and coastal sand dunes. The Sandwich Flats stretch for about five miles (8 km) along the coast. The coastal habitats are of high ecological importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A299 road</span> Road on the northern coast of Kent

The A299, better known as the Thanet Way, is a major road of 22 miles (35 km) in the county of Kent, England, and runs from Brenley Corner near Faversham to Ramsgate via Whitstable and Herne Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stagecoach South East</span> Bus operator based in Canterbury

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saxon Shore Way</span> Long-distance footpath in England

The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, 163 miles (262 km) in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the route runs significantly inland from the modern coastline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A256 road</span> Road in Kent

The A256 is a major road running along the east coast of Kent between the Isle of Thanet and Dover. It is operated by Kent County Council as a primary route, and has seen investment in the past to connect traffic to the Port of Ramsgate, and to the Pfizer research centre in Sandwich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliffsend</span> Human settlement in England

Cliffsend is a village and civil parish situated almost 2 miles (3 km) west of Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom, in the Thanet local government district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton-on-Sea</span> Former British settlement

Hampton-on-Sea is a drowned and abandoned village in what is now the Hampton area of Herne Bay, Kent. It grew from a tiny fishing hamlet in 1864 at the hands of an oyster fishery company, was developed from 1879 by land agents, abandoned in 1916 and finally drowned due to coastal erosion by 1921. All that now remains is the stub of the original pier, the Hampton Inn, and the rocky arc of Hampton-on-Sea's ruined coastal defence visible at low tide. The site is notable for sharing its history with the eccentric Edmund Reid. Reid was previously the Metropolitan Police head of CID who handled the Jack the Ripper case. In retirement he chose to champion the plight of the beleaguered residents of the settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales Coast Path</span> Long-distance footpath following the coast of Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord of the Manor, Kent</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 "Saddle up to see unspoilt scenery". Isle of Thanet Gazette. Isle of Thanet: www.thisiskent.co.uk. 20 January 2002. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  2. 1 2 "VIKING COASTAL TRAIL – USE AND ECONOMIC IMPACT" (PDF). thanet.gov.uk. Thanet District Council. 23 March 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  3. "The Viking Coastal Trail". www.kent.gov.uk. Kent County Council. 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  4. "Users of our Oyster Bay Trail can now extend their rides to the East from Reculver". www.canterbury.gov.uk. Canterbury City Council. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  5. "Explore Thanet" (PDF). Kent County Council. Explore Kent. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2013.