The roads were quieter this morning and the NCN 1 took us neatly to Sittingbourne. Kent is like cycling through one big orchard, although agriculture is in decline, the Garden of England still seems to be producing.
Saying hello to a passer-by often gets a reply in another language as migrant workers remain key to harvesting in the county.
Oast houses which once dried hops were a distinctive part of Kent's landscape and have now been converted into exclusive cottages.
The Sustrans route markers are an essential accompaniment to a map. They speed up the navigation but are often our only assurance that access is possible on, what can sometimes seem, a very improbable track. The totems that occasionally appear are a great reminder of distance travelled, Inverness is 1151 miles away and a lot of memories in the journey.
Good cycle tracks cleverly linked lanes all the way to Seasalter where we met my mum for a very nice lunch at the home of a friend of the family called Jill.
We then settled into Crab cottage on Island Wall in Whitstable. The town has been synonymous with Oysters for over 2000 years and after the industry lay dormant for most of the last century it is now enjoying a great revival and is a trendy retreat for the DFLs (Down From Londoners).
Today we crossed the 5000km mark!
Figures:
Distance:- 44.0 km
Cycle Time:- 3 hours 2 minutes
Average speed:- 14.5 kph
Total Distance:- 5015 km
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