The Viking Coastal Trail is a 25-mile multi-user route around the

Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in anc ...

, keeping as close as is possible to the coast. It is also Regional Route 15 of the

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...

. From

Reculver Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location ...

(going clock-wise), the trail passes through

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and Westbrook, Kent, ...

Broadstairs Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 of ...

and

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

to reach

Pegwell Bay Pegwell Bay is a shallow inlet in the English Channel coast astride the estuary of the River Stour north of Sandwich Bay, between Ramsgate and Sandwich in Kent. Part of the bay is a nature reserve, with seashore habitats including mudflats and ...

, where

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

first landed in Kent. The Trail then, uses an inland route on quiet lanes (except the short section beside the A299), passing through a couple of villages with ancient churches including

Minster-in-Thanet Minster, also known as Minster-in-Thanet, is a village and civil parish in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is the site of Minster in Thanet Priory. The village is west of Ramsgate (which is the post town) and to the north east of Cant ...

Abbey and St Nicholas at Wade, to return to Reculver.

History

The trail was devised by a collaboration of Douglas Bush (the Thanet representative for cycling tour club Right To Cycle, the local secretary of the Thanet Cycle Forum and a member of the East Kent cycle campaign group Spokes),

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United Kin ...

(British charity to promote sustainable transport) and

Thanet District Council Thanet may refer to: *Isle of Thanet, a former island, now a peninsula, at the most easterly point of Kent, England *Thanet District, a local government district containing the island *Thanet College, former name of East Kent College * Thanet Cana ...

. Olympic athlete

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...

MBE opened the Trail, on Sunday 10 June 2001. Total cost of the trail (including design, construction and marketing) is about £500,000 divided roughly equally between

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs most of the county of Kent in England. It is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council h ...

and Thanet District Council.

Route

It is largely traffic free (especially along the coast). On-road 46% - Off-road 54% . The coastal route also follows (in most sections) the route of the

Saxon Shore Way The Saxon Shore Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England as it was in Roman times as far as Hastings, East Sussex, in total. This means that around Romney Marsh the ...

(long distance footpath). But the inland section of the trail is still being upgraded and improved, such as the section between the A299 Thanet Way and Reculver. At Sandwich it connects to

National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal , Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, Regional route 16, and Regional route 17 in Dover. Leaves Dover passing Dover Castle. S ...

to head to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. At Reculver, the trail links to Wantsum Walk to

Upstreet Upstreet is a village in the civil parish of Chislet in Kent, England. It is in the local government district of Canterbury, and the electoral ward of Marshside. It is about 62 miles away from London. Upstreet is a ribbon development along the A2 ...

(following an old river route) and Oyster Bay Trail (leading to Whitstable, along the coastline). National Cycle Route 15 to Reculver - geograph

The Trail forms the route for many charity local cycle rides, including Thanet Road Runner mountain bike duathlon, which starts as a short 2.4-mile road run from Minnis Bay and continues with nine miles of cycling before another run of 4.5 miles. It is also used by the

British Heart Foundation The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a cardiovascular research charity in the United Kingdom. It funds medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and runs influencing work aimed at shaping public policy ...

for its annual Viking Bike Ride.

Usage

Canterbury Christ Church University College studied the economic impact of the Viking Coastal Trail in 2003. 364 cyclists were interviewed between May and August. They concluded that the overall economic impact of the Trail equates to around £293,297 per year. The Trail is Kent’s No. 1 cycle route. Used by at Ramsgate – 27,965, Westgate – 39,616 cyclists in 2003 during June and August.

References

External links

Flickr Gallery of photos

Walkers Association page (also includes height profile of the route)

Kent Cycle Trails
{{NCN Cycleways in England National Cycle Routes Transport in Kent Thanet Kent coast