If I were challenged to name my favourite tour, it would have to be this one.
Folkestone and Sandgate, indeed the whole coastline, has a rich literary heritage, one that is celebrated in this three to four hour tour.
Meeting at the Step Short Arch at the eastern end of The Leas, site of the former Bristol Hotel where Nobel Prize winning writer, Samuel Beckett, was married to his long time French lover in 1961, we proceed through The Bayle, Rendezvous Street, The Old High Street, Folkestone Harbour, Sunny Sands, Mermaid Beach, The Riviera and Radnor Cliff, before returning to The Leas.
At each location I read an extract from a writer linked to that spot. While H.G. Wells and Dickens are the biggest names, I read also from Wilfred Owen, Carol Ann Duffy, Thomas Ingoldsby, Jocelyn Brooke, Henry Williamson, Noel Coward and Robert Morley. I might even throw in a poem or two of my own – though please don’t let this put you off joining me!
A pitstop (or two) takes the heat out of an admittedly long but, I hope, enjoyable, tour. As with all my other tours, I supplement my commentary and readings with a large range of photographs of the authors and locations we visit.
To make a booking go to the Tour Booking page.