Another early start and I am rewarded with another spectacular sunrise which makes my four hour sleep after finishing work all the more worthwhile.

One of the joy’s for me is walking on the sands along the beach and seeing the Turnstones, they are not shy and quite happy for people to get close to them making them one of my firm favorites.

After about six miles and luckily only finding one sand covered bait diggers hole which results in my right leg getting muddy up to my knee, I turn slightly inland avoiding the big banks of stones washed up onto the beach at Dungeness. I have timed my turn perfectly and reach the RNLI station, which I know very well having competed in the Tronixpro World Dab Fishing Championships held here for the last four years. My thoughts are drawn to the four hundred anglers that help raise money that goes towards the upkeep of this fine station, it’s a great event for both experienced anglers and amateurs alike.  Check it out in December if you like sea fishing.

Dungeness, meaning headland in Norse, has the largest expanse of shingle anywhere in Europe. It also has over 600 different types of plant: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find insects such as moths, bees,  beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain. Dubbed Britain’s only desert due to the amount of rainfall it receives yearly.  It’s well worth a visit and complemented by a ride on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway that terminates here. It is a photographer’s delight made more special due to the ghostly fishing boats and their fishing boat rails used to launch fishing boats long ago in the past. Having walked up the vast shingle beach I can not imagine launching a boat here in a gale, even with their powered winches to help.

Dungeness has two wonderful lighthouses, the current modern one warning the ships of the World to stear clear and the older more traditional type now used as a home. Pictured by the first is walker and photographer Ken Scott from Sussex another Coasting Britain who is raising money for Parkinsons & the RNLI please visit his page at www.touchingthelight.co.uk/coast to read more about his UK adventure. I met Ken and walked a small distance with him to exchange ideas from New Romney to Dungeness.

Then it’s on to Lydd shooting Ranges and the end of today’s walk. This part of the walk consists of walking around the perimeter fence of the power station and a large shingle beach towards Lydd Shooting Ranges and it’s Dengemarsh lookout tower. I could post an image of the power station, but it’s not a pretty complex, so I will give it a miss. I do know the importance of the Dungeness Nuclear facility and I appreciate it’s definitely needed, but I would like to to see safer Thorium reactors in the future. After the power station I reach my objective and the views out towards neighbouring Sussex are wonderful. 10.54 miles.