On Sunday 25th February 18, I decided to walk the small section between Sandwich St George’s Golf Club to Deal Pier. This small section needed doing due to the fact that if this section was added to the previous section it would be too long. So using the day to spend some quality time with Mandy, my partner, we set off towards Deal with the promise of a Sunday lunch at the end. Sandwich Bay is a gem in Kent’s crown, with long shingle beaches, salt marsh and wild sand dunes. It is a place of national and international nature conservation and ecological importance. A large part of the sand dunes have given way to links golf courses including the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Prince’s Golf Club and the famous Royal St George’s Golf Club which opened in 1887. This course is part of the Open Championship rotation  and was the first course outside of Scotland to host it in 1894, it will be holding the event again in 2020. During the summer months you can find a nice quiet spot all to yourself to relax, fish or take to the water whether bathing or windsurfing, on this long 8 mile stretch of beach.

At low water much of the foreshore here is sand and an ideal playground for children or walking your dog. You can actually wade out into the water for some distance before your feet leaves the bottom, making it an ideal area for anyone wishing to learn windsurfing.

Adjoining Sandwich Bay is Deal Beach which is only punctuated by the pier which dates back to the 1950s. This beach stretches from the remains of Sandown Castle, through Deal and past its many amenities, past Walmer and onto Kingsdown. This area is full of history including the Deal Timeball Tower, Deal Castle and Walmer Castle.

The very attractive Royal Cinque Port club house, founded 126 years ago in 1892. Its name derives from Deal’s membership of an ancient group of trading towns granted special privileges by the medieval English monarchs, known as the Cinque Ports. The course runs along the coast of Sandwich Bay, on the same stretch of coastline as Royal St George’s Golf Club and Prince’s Golf Club, adjacent to the north.

Some might say that Deal Pier is not the most attractive pier, but I love it and from below on the beach it looks almost futuristic. When open it has a cafe at the end and can be fished along some of its length or from its lower fishing decks at the end, for a nominal fee. A short walk across the wild choppy sea just adds to any visit to Deal.

The view from the pier along the beach to Walmer at the end of today’s walk reminds me of how far I have yet to walk around the British Isles. Having started my walk from Dover to Folkestone last year the section ahead Deal Pier to Dover will be my last official section to walk at the end of my epic journey in six years time. 5.08 miles.