The run where I have a great signal

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Most of the time I run during my lunch break or on Saturday mornings so it was nice to get out for an evening run last night. I left the house at 7:30 and ran towards Dover Priory station. The old road to Folkestone runs from here out towards, yes you guessed it, Folkestone.

While running over Western Heights I had looked across to another long hill running parallel to me. There are three of these between Dover and the village of Capel-Le-Ferne. One along the cliffs, one the other side of the A20 and this particular one the other side of the Old Folkestone Road. Three hills intersected by two valleys containing roads.


This particular hill is identifiable by a massive 800 feet tall aerial on its peak. This is the Dover Transmitter which broadcasts throughout the South East of England and further afield. I wanted to run to the antenna.

After heading out of Dover for a mile I turned off at Cow's Lane, a narrow road which eventually led to an off-road trail which ascended steeply through long grass, nettles and brambles. Wishing I had worn my long socks, I jumped and scraped my way up path until my lungs were burning. After a brief rest I continued to climb until I had reached the top 384 feet above sea level.

I was now on the flat and ran past a farm with horses, sheep and cattle until I reached the village of Church Hougham (pronounced Huffam). Here there is a beautiful Norman church called St Lawrence the Martyr. It dates from the late 11th Century and is Grade One listed.

The British History Online website describes the Parish of Hougham like this:

THE PARISH of Hougham lies among the high eastern hills of Kent,
in a healthy though a very rude and wild country.

Apparently the Channel Tunnel runs directly beneath the village.

I turned around when I reached the church and doubled back on myself. The downhill was great fun as I let my legs go and did a control fall to the bottom. I had to concentrate hard as there were roots and stones across the path but I enjoyed the challenge of dodging them while retaining my momentum.
Safely at the bottom I did a lap of Dover in order to reach ten miles. Incidentally this also gave me 100 for the month in just 17 days, an average of 5.8 miles per day. Another encouraging stat was that this also brought up the 500 mile(stone) for the year so far.

Next stop parkrun on Saturday followed by a long run with my friend John. The plan is to show him the run along Western heights.

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