Napoleon’s Backroad Battleground

A scenic, mostly flat circular ride from Ashford to Dymchurch and back. The route utilises quiet country lanes across Romney Marsh and traces historic defensive waterways and coastlines, making it a perfect, leisurely Sunday pedal.

This event is aimed at new and experienced riders with a reasonable fitness level who can ride at an average pace of 12mph. This ride is almost 60 km, so please be sure you are able to complete this distance comfortably.

Route Overview

Setting off from the busy transport and commercial hub of Ashford, the outward route is defined by the extremely flat, windswept, and sparsely populated coastal wetland called the Romney Marshes. This reclaimed agricultural land is characterised by open green fields, a grid of historical drainage ditches and long, straight, quiet roads. 

We will cross over the Royal Military Canal and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch train line and loop around a Martello Tower to access The King Charles II English Coast Path that runs along the sea wall. The Martello Towers form a chain of defensive forts built across the south coast in the early 19th century to resist potential Napoleonic invasions.

Our ride will pause in Dymchurch to get lunch which can be from one of the many traditional fish and chip shops and eaten looking out over the English Channel.

We will continue along the coastal path (as far as possible on road bikes) towards St Mary's Bay before turning inland towards New Romney.  Here we will cross The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway again. This famous one-third full-size steam railway, known as "World's Smallest Public Railway" runs along the coast connecting Hythe to Dungeness.

We will then make our way back across the marsh towards Ashford crossing back over The Royal Military Canal. This 28-mile historic waterway stretches from Seabrook near Hythe to Cliff End in East Sussex. It was built between 1804 and 1809 as another defence against Napoleon's invasion forces, it features a unique zigzag, "kinked" design to provide interlocking fields of defensive fire.

Near the end of the return leg, we will cross from the Marsh Edge to Hamstreet Woods where the terrain begins to rise as we pass up the ancient shoreline that was a former sea cliff.

We return to the station through Victoria Park, where we can access the platforms through the empty and quite eerie International Station terminal.

Weather Conditions 

If unfavourable weather is forecast, I will postpone the ride. I’ll notify participants as early as possible. Please check messages before leaving for the event.

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