Samphire Hoe

It was a reasonably bright morning, though clouds were gathering; the woods and canal walks would be very muddy after the week's rain and snow, the wheelchair accessible seafronts tend to be very populated at weekends. Samphire Hoe is not too far, spacious enough not to feel crowded and has firm paths, so it was chosen by elimination. It wasn't too cold but the wind was ferocious. The Channel looked extremely choppy, and France was obscured by mist and haze. We walked the usual circuit, down the steep slope to the sea wall, along the wall to the beach at the end, then back up the sloping paths through the grassy downland. There were lots of dogs being walked in an interesting variety of coats and woolly jumpers, spray from breaking waves was drifting over the sea wall, and the view along the coast from the beach was soft and misty, with Folkestone harbour arm just visible on the horizon. 

The Hoe is a man-made nature reserve below Dover's famous white cliffs, formed from the spoil removed from the excavation of the Channel Tunnel. I've blipped about it before, in different light and weather: we were last there in December, in gorgeous evening light, and in June 2021 it was our first real outing after fifteen months of isolation, a sunny morning walk with a more detailed description.