Day 3 Herne to Deal

Rude awakening at 2.05am as the rain lashed down,  the sky lit up with lightening and thunder rolled around us. The first gust of wind swiftly demolished a structure sold to us as a 'wind break' but was quickly renamed as 'useless'. Unfortunately as rain was not forecast, I'd left our wet weather gear in the car, but fortunately rain in reality is never quite as bad is sounds from inside the tent. 'Useless' had taken the aluminium table, gas burner and kettle with it and thrown them against the tent creating an almighty racket that would have been enough to wake the whole campsite if they hadn't already been woken by the storm. The guy lines remained firmly tethered and held well down by the tent pegs so it was a question of hastily removing the poles, taking the table apart and shoving them all -lock, stock and barrel - under the car before disappearing at great speed back into the tent. The storm probably only lasted about 20 minutes but it was quite an adventure and apparently Molly's first experience of rain from inside a tent!

A fond farewell to friends for Molly and we were off by mid morning. A perfect campsite for our purposes and one that was popular with many of the other campers, some of whom were in for the long haul. One couple camp there in their tent for 2 or 3 months each year, only setting back off home to Whitby at the beginning of October - a good solution for those wishing to visit their offspring without imposing on their homes.

Our tent was still wet when we started pitching it at lunchtime at Kingsdown near Deal but soon dried off in the wind and hot sunshine. Molly quickly made friends with our new neighbours - Ruby and Tilly - whilst I set up camp and thought that I might get to read the paper. What a view! We camped in a massive field, part of a former Scout campsite now privately owned and open to members of the public as well as Scout, Guide and other groups with a stunning view of the English Channel - who could ask for more!

We were soon joined by Rosemary, a guiding friend of mine, who arrived with a BBQ and the wherewithall for  a delicious BBQ supper and 'camp doughnuts' to share with our neighbours.

The campsite boasts a direct pathway to the beach, a very popular draw for many campers - and us! Rosemary led the way and we were soon budond sandcastle s and racing tohd the rapidly advancing tide back in a predictably impossible battle! 

Molly and Rosemary at Kingsdown

..... and the race against the tide

......go back!!!

Going, going ......