Right, the route is just about sorted as per this
amended version. It includes highlights such as the QEII bridge in daylight, quite a few tanks and tracked vehicles, deserted marshes, lots of horses, quaint churches, an abandoned submarine, rolling Downs, fields of poppies, a ford near a Bridge, and of course the White Cliffs. 82 miles down to (almost) sea level and around 3,200 ft of climbing, but on the plus side there's the same amount of descending. Nothing more than about 10% slope or so......
Time for a rollcall.
Me
Jurek
PippaG
Kats
plus some Cyclechatters -
Davywalnuts
Ianrauk?
Wigsie?
Origamist
Topcat1
Departing Cutty Sark Gardens at 8am, then (on the assumption most people will have had breakfast before they left home), get a second breakfast at either Andy's Snacks or Piggy's Diner in Rochester at around 10, then grab some sandwiches/drinks for early lunch if required from the Asda in Sittingborne, have some more food/drink at a nice pub in Selling around 1.30-2-ish if required and arrive in Dover after 5.
From the
Dover 2009 web site:-
3:00pm to 6:00pm Series of vintage aeroplanes processing over Dover together with flying displays at Duke of York’s Royal Military School and at Dover Seafront
6:00pm to 6:30pm Arrival of Blériot XI aeroplane flown by Mikael Carlson supported by 3 Blériot XI aeroplanes from France, Luxembourg and NL (replicas I think)
6:45pm Flypast over Dover by the RAF Red Arrows and La Patrouille de France.
The Lancaster from the Battle of Britain Memorial flight will also be doing a flypast but I can't track down a time for that so far, but I should think it would be between 5 - 6 pm judging by the other displays it's doing in the south east on the Saturday.
The Blériot planes will be landing at the Duke of York's Military school playing fields, but they're charging £10 admission to that, so I think we'll skip that and stay on the sea front.
Due to engineering works, the only trains out of Dover are the (slightly) slower ones to Victoria which take 1 hr 45 mins to 2 hours, as the other route to Charing Cross which takes 1 hr 30 mins is closed for engineering works on the section between Dover & Folkestone.
In view of this, it may be prudent to bring some lights if people stay until 7-ish.
Mind you, if there's more than 15-20kts of wind, I shouldn't think the Blériot planes will be flying, plus if it's going to rain all day, I won't be going either!
Edit - weather now looking rather nice.
