Chatham to Faversham: Saturday Adventure Ride

Overview

** Please read the ride description carefully, to decide if this is the ride for you.**

** Please read the Travel Arrangements carefully.**

Please note: -

- This ride is shorter than our Saturday Adventure Rides over the summer months, and is less hilly than some rides we have done this year. But it is still challenging, with frequent ascents and descents throughout the ride.

- There are approx. 10km of off-road tracks, which are quite rough and stony in places, some areas might be muddy after wet weather. Road bikes with skinny tyres will not be suitable; hybrid or gravel bikes with good quality/condition tyres will be best.

Most of our route follows National Cycle Network Route 1. We ride on quiet country roads, shared use cycling/pedestrian paths alongside busy main roads, and on unsealed tracks alongside rivers and across marshland. We have some busier roads to navigate in Sittingbourne and Faversham. Our lunch stop will be in Sittingbourne, just over halfway through the ride (33km, approx. 1pm).

The Ride

From Chatham station, we navigate our way out of town on well-marked cycle routes, with a sharp climb and descent, alongside the Medway estuary and onto St Mary’s Island. The shared pathway here gives us a wonderful view across the Medway to Upnor Castle, close to where we rode on our Medway Adventure Ride earlier in the year. After another section of shared path alongside a main road, we come to an off-road track through a country park alongside the wide mouth of the Medway estuary. We will pause to admire the views and learn about the history of Horrid Hill (which is neither horrid nor a hill…).

We leave the waterside and rejoin the road at Rainham. We ride on along quiet lanes, lined with orchards, with a roller coaster of ascents and descents. Reaching the outskirts of Sittingbourne, we navigate a series of cycle tracks of varying quality, to reach the centre of town for our lunch stop.

After lunch, we make our way through the outskirts of Sittingbourne and onto the marshlands of the Swale estuary, with more waterside views. After riding over some rough tracks, we rejoin the road at Conyer and make our way through more rolling hills into Faversham. We ride through the centre of the town and out again to Faversham Creek, for a last encounter with this landscape of marshlands and water, before circling back into Faversham and making our way to the train station.

We expect to reach the train station by 5.30pm-5.45pm.

Travel Arrangements

As Chatham and Faversham are on the same train line, it is cheaper to buy a day return to/from Faversham.

South Eastern trains run two services to/from this area: the High Speed service from St Pancras and the regular service from Victoria.

A Super Off Peak Day Return on the St Pancras service is currently £36.99. Senior Railcard discounts are available.

A Super Off Peak Day Return on the Victoria service is currently £31.89. Oyster is valid to/from Orpington. Senior Railcard discounts are available.

Please do not buy Advance Single tickets which are valid only for a specific train, as we cannot guarantee the time of our return journey.

Outward Journey
From St Pancras, the 08.20 service reaches Chatham at 09.00. From Victoria, the 08.10 service arrives in Chatham at 08.56.

Return Journey
Trains from Faversham to St Pancras run hourly, on the hour, journey time 1 hour 8 mins. We will aim to catch the 18.00 service.
Trains from Faversham to Victoria leave at 04 and 37 mins past the hour, journey time approx. 1 hour 15 mins.

Train-assisted ride from Chatham to Faversham.

Off road tracks across marshlands and alongside river estuaries. Shared cycle paths alongside main roads. Quiet country roads.

Lunch stop in Sittingbourne.

Lock for your bike. Money/card for lunch stop. Water & snacks. Buy train tickets in advance.