October 2026.
Off to west Folkestone (or possibly Hythe) for a penultimate Kent GBG27 tick, and a little stretch of coast I knew nothing about.
We start our descent to the Fountain at the serene military cemetery next to Shorncliffe Army Camp.
This is a busy bit of OS map.
Place names to conjure with; Shorncliffe, Cheriton, Horn Street, Seabrook, Martin’s Plain (never !!!).
From cemetery to Sandy Lane and an exciting decscent that’s inexplicably muddy despite no rain falling for six months. Look at Mrs RM sprint to the pub !
On the 10 minute descent Google Maps tells me of nearby Martello Towers, Unbounded Tribe, and “The big green garden of Elliott”, of which we see precisely nothing.
Hard to miss the Fountain,
an Old School pub of the first order, recovering after a massive water leak outside.
The landlady is apologetic that the water issue has prevented deliveries from Southwold, Chiswick and Lewes,
but of course Yorkshire dray horses are made of sterner stuff and ensure a stellar pint of Landlord Dark (VERY GOOD); cool, rich and chewy.
On our way out we commend the lady on her beer, and she again apologises for the limited range. “One good beer is plenty” says Mrs RM, who has learned well.
Open all hours, and notionally with a simple food trade, we stick to Scampi fries and get our entertainment from Eagles and Eurythmics (no definitive article) and the loo signage.
Loads of donation boxes for the lifeguards, which Mrs RM finds “ironic” given the TV is tuned to GB news.
“Do you mean ironic in an Alanis Morisette way ?” I ask her, as we stare out to sea.
