Cantii Way in 3 day-rides

The Cantii Way cycle route was launched by Cycling UK in May 2022. Having completed their challenging King Alfred's Way around central southern England, I was keen to try out this new route. It is a gentler ride than the KAW, taking in a large part of the Kent coast from Whitstable round to Rye in East Sussex, then does a sort of coast-to-coast from Rye via Canterbury to Whitstable. It's an area I've grown to know and enjoy over the years and I have already cycled most of the route, but it was great to revisit it on a complete circuit.

Although promoted as a multi-day trip with overnights, those living relatively close by in the South-East might prefer to do it in day-rides. avoiding the need for nights away, and giving more freedom to cherry pick the best weather and ride direction (according to wind direction). I did it in 3 day-rides (all 'clockwise'). Click the links for blogs for each individual ride, giving a map, more information and photos.

Canterbury to Dover: park at Canterbury (East) station, and get the train back from Dover Priory. 50 miles cycling. I took the 'inland' route from Reculver to Cliffsend via Minster, but if you have the time and energy, I would recommend the longer option sticking to the coast via Margate (see a previous ride); this will be slower going at peak times when the promenades are busier, and some short stretches are closed to cycling in peak season (so you must walk your bike), but it's great to stay close to the sea, which is a unique feature of the Cantii Way.
Dover to Rye: park at Ashford International station, and take the train to Dover Priory, and get the train back from Rye. 50 miles cycling.
Rye to Canterbury: park at Ashford International station and take the train to Rye, and get the train back from Canterbury (West). I included the loop through the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve to Winchelsea, and also the optional excursion to the viewpont above the Wye Crown. 60 miles cycling in total.

Thus the total mileage is 160 miles (longer than the official total of 146 miles, but my total includes the 7 mile excursion to Wye Crown, and also getting to/from the route from/to my start/finish points. Omitting the Wye crown excursion would save 7 miles (and quite a climb!), whilst doing the coastal route via Margate would add about 8 Miles, and omitting the Winchelsea loop would save 10 miles.

I found navigating easy using the GPX file downloadable from the Cycling UK website. I overshot a few times, but soon realised and regained the route.

Although Cycling UK recommends to start at the village of Wye, it's worth noting that Ashford is a great rail hub with an excellent service to London, and trains to Wye, Canterbury, Margate, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Deal, Dover, Folkestone and Rye. It also has a large secure 24x7 car park.

Here's sample photos of the route, plenty more in the individual blogs.