Samphire Hoe walk

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Walk information

2 miles (3km)

Enjoy magnificent views along this coastal walk through the newest part of Kent.

Samphire Hoe has been created from the spoil excavated during the construction of the Channel Tunnel.

Maps and guides for this walk:
Download our guide for this walk (PDF, 248kb)
View this walk on the interactive map
Get directions to start point on Google maps

 

The Samphire Hoe picnic site has been sympathetically landscaped and is already well established.

The park is a mass of wildflowers throughout spring and summer. Visitors in April and May can seek out the early spider orchids. Samphire Hoe has also become a key site for ground-nesting meadow pipits and skylarks.

View of Samphire HoeLook east towards Dover for a good view of the dramatic outline of Shakespeare Cliff. It is this cliff which is thought to have inspired a pass in William Shakespeare's tragedy, 'King Lear' - "there is a cliff, whose high and bending head looks fearfully in the confined deep..."

Early Spider OrchidThe walk has two distinct one-mile (1.6km) sections. One follows the sea wall along smooth concrete, while the other passes through the middle of Hoe with good paths and some steep gradients. There are a number of resting points along this section.

When the sea is rough, waves can come curling over the sea wall. When it is too stormy, the sea wall may be closed to the public temporarily.

View a 360 degree image of Samphire Hoe

How to get there

Postcode starting point: CT17 9EL

Car: Access from tunnel signposted from A20(T), 1 mile east of Dover.

 

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Kent, ME14 1XX

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Telephone 08458 247 600 (open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday)


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