Today we try out the wet weather gear…

Today was cold and wet. Our first attempt at trying out the rain gear. (1) Waterproof jacket? For a while, but eventually it got wet through. But not too bad. More like damp through. (2) Waterproofed backpack (2 layers of camp dry). Not a chance. Wet all they way through. Not a problem except that I thought it’d be a good idea to bring fudge in paper bags. What happened? Hint: paper disintegrates when wet. (3) Waterproof shoes? YES!!!! Even walking through puddles and muck all day. Traction with said shoes? Good on asphalt and gravel. Not great on brick, cobblestones, and algae-covered rocks. (4) Wet pants that are supposed to dry quickly? Yes! So, we are very happy with most of our clothing. I only wish the bag had stayed dryer. But at least we weren’t the crazy kids hiking in white tennis shoes! Or a mini skirt and black flats…. Where did we go? To Dover!

After conquering some of the trail along the cliff edge, we walked the 2 miles back along the cliffs, all the way to the bottom, and then hiked back up to the top of the hill in town to see Dover Castle. There were tunnels built when they were afraid Napoleon was going to invade that were expanded in WWI and WWII to protect England since Dover to Calais is the shortest channel crossing. We saw all about Dunkirk. We also learned a lot about Henry II’s medieval castle.

All told it was a long day of walking! Wet but not too bad. Hit a new high with the step count (more than 10 miles today). Definitely going to bed early! On to Exeter tomorrow.

P.S. Reason #14 why Canterbury is awesome… they have a creepy castle that is closed to the public because it’s falling down, but you can still get into it and look around.