Sat 22 August 2026 - WESTERN HEIGHTS AND SAMPHIRE HOE - DOVER CIRCULAR  - Nick W

A brisk walk around the fortifications of the Western Heights and a visit to Samphire Hoe. Begun during the Napoleonic Wars and completed in the 1860s, the vast defences of Western Heights were designed to protect Dover from French invasion. Samphire Hoe Nature Reserve is land reclaimed from the sea at the base of Shakespeare Cliff using spoil from the excavation of the Channel Tunnel. There will be several steep ascents and descents and some uneven surfaces. Samphire Hoe is accessed through a vehicle tunnel on a segregated footpath.

 Through he tunnel to Samphire Hoe

Towards the Hoe

Dover harbour

Napoleonic fortifications

Photos: Jill G