The footpaths of Dungeness

Dungeness is a shingle promontory on the south coast of Kent. Technically a desert and the largest expanse of shingle in Europe, it’s not a traditionally beautiful location. Its vast flatness gives the illusion that nothing much grows there, two nuclear power stations dominate the skyline, and debris from the fishing industry litters the beaches, all of which act in stark contrast to the area’s nature reserve status. Here are just a handful of the compelling sites This Way explore on their Dungeness map.

Image courtesy of This Way

1 Dungeness A and B

Two nuclear power stations and their trail of pylons dominate the skyline. Dungeness A has now been decommissioned, after being switched on in 1965, and is slowly being demolished. Its huge neighbour, Dungeness B, remains operational, powering 1.5 million of London’s 3.5 million households. As a visitor, the sheer proximity of the power stations can add an unsettling undertone, a reality that becomes especially stark when reading the ‘emergency procedures’ boards dotted around the estate. However, if you are lucky enough to spend a night in Dungeness, there is a gentle beauty in the mass of twinkling lights.

2 The Boil

Out to sea, just in front of the power stations, The Boil is a bubbling mass of water. It’s easy to spot as it’s usually surrounded by a cloud of seabirds. Nuclear power stations use 100 million litres of water per hour; when the water has run through the cooling system it’s pumped back into the ocean, now a warm 12ºC. Sadly small fish get caught in the filters and are pumped back into the ocean through the same pipes, creating a rich feeding ground for seabirds.

3 Old Lighthouse

The drift of shingle has reshaped the land enough times that five lighthouses have been and gone since the 1600s. Historically, lighthouses have been vital on this headland, which has been a hotspot for shipwrecks. Today, two lighthouses remain. A walk up the 169 steps to the top of the no-longer operational Victorian ‘Old Lighthouse’ gives impressive views across the shingle ridges.

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The Dungeness Map, by This Way, is a double-sided map detailing 11 points of interest in this curious place, £5. This Way also offers six- and 12-month map subscriptions where every month a postcard featuring a walk and stories from across the UK is delivered to your door; this-way.co

Forging ahead

Forge Creative combine traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design to create beautifully unique items that can be enjoyed for generations

Trees
These handmade wooden tree toys are crafted from a wide variety of wooden off-cuts or reclaimed timber to make use of material that would otherwise be wasted. From £16

Droplet Boards
Beautiful solid wood boards made from a choice of maple, oak or walnut. Great for serving cheese, bread or antipasti, they can also be used in the kitchen as a chopping board. £50

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Coffee Tamper
Our tampers are made with a charred oak handle and solid copper base which develops a rich hue over time. The perfect addition to any morning coffee ritual. £48

Corrosion
This handmade jewellery/keepsake box is made from walnut and maple and has carved textures on the outside, made to resemble weathered coastal rocks. £695

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Salt and Pepper Mills
Made from walnut and English sycamore, these salt and pepper mills are crafted on a lathe before being finished with a tactile hand carved ripple texture. £160

The Grid
This coffee table gets its name from its geometric metal frame. The crisp black lines make it look as though it has jumped off the pages of an isometric sketch pad. From £295

Lighthouses of the British Isles

Britain’s coastline is punctuated by over 300 lighthouses, built in some of the most inhospitable places. Illustrator Ben Langworthy embarked on a mission to draw every single one of them and tell their stories – we shine a light on three.

Ardnamurchan Point

Ardnamurchan is the most westerly point of mainland UK. Local legends tell of premonitions, kings and great battles, and there may be a husk of truth in such tales – in 2011, archaeologists uncovered a Viking boat burial nearby. The lighthouse, built in an ‘Egyptian’ style, was designed by Alan Stevenson (one of the great Scottish engineers) and fi rst lit in 1849. Today you can call in for a cuppa at the keepers’ cottages.

Trwyn Du

Trwyn Du, meaning ‘black point’ in Welsh, was first lit in 1838 and stands at around 96ft high, overlooking Puffin Island. Its engineer James Walker, keen to pioneer new innovations, installed an early example of a water closet with a drain at the base of the tower. This proved a bad idea during storms, when seawater had a tendency to surge up the drain, giving a nasty shock to any unsuspecting keeper using the facilities at the time.

Bell Rock

The oldest lighthouse still in use in the world, Bell Rock is named after the rock on which it sits. How the rock gained its name is immortalised in the ballad ‘The Inchcape Rock’, written by Robert Southey in 1802. In the tale, the Abbot of Arbroath installs a bell on the rock to warn mariners of the reef, but a villainous pirate throws the bell into the sea. In a twist of fate, the pirate is himself later wrecked upon the rocks.

Follow Ben’s progress on Instagram @benlangworthyillustration or via his column at caughtbytheriver.net.

You can also buy signed A4 prints of Ben’s lighthouses on his etsy page.

Your TrailFit guide to Hampstead Heath

Running up Parliament Hill, stumbling upon a secret garden and taking a dip in the famous ponds: British adventure athlete and TrailFit ambassador Laura Kennington steps out in her KEEN Terradora to craft her own fitness routine in this iconic London park

Images by Conor Beary

The red buses, distinctive skyline and constant humming of movement, London can feel exhilarating and exhausting all at once. However, amid the chaos is an unmistakable charm. If you know where to look, London has some real hidden gems, pockets of wilderness that can be a sanctuary for those too busy to escape the city. Hampstead Heath is one such sanctuary. Surrounded by quirky coffee shops, characterful houses and historic buildings, it’s also home to 791 acres of ancient woodland and swimming ponds.

I’m between adventures at the moment, living nomadically, so I adapt my fitness routines to wherever I am so I don't need to go to the gym. This is the essence of TrailFit for me – making the most of wherever you are and being outside, even if you find yourself in a huge city like London. It's all about carving your own path to fitness. For me, the key to being active regularly is to make it easy, so it fits into your routine (such as your commute) and to make it fun.

My go-to shoe for when I know I'm going to be on my feet all day, even it's walking to and from meetings in London, is the Terradora. Its versatility means it works well in different environments, whether wild or urban.

Running up that hill

Even on a busy day, allowing a bit of extra time to walk, run or cycle not only keeps me fit, but it means I soak up, rather than insulate against, my surroundings. I’m constantly on the lookout for obstacles I can incorporate into my fitness routine: hills in the countryside and steps in the city. In Hampstead Heath I like to warm up against one of the ancient trees (below) before a run up Parliament Hill. At the top you’re rewarded to that quintessential London skyline – Canary Wharf, the Gherkin, the Shard and St Paul’s Cathedral – and feel a sense of almost smug contentment viewing frenetic city life from a peaceful park bench.

Laura makes use of natural features, such as trees, for stretching and warming up against

A walk in the park

Roaming the ancient woodland trails of Hampstead Heath is akin to stepping foot into Narnia. You can walk for hours through undulating terrain and quickly forget that this small oasis lies within Zone 2 of the Tube network. I'm always on the lookout for natural obstacles that I can incorporate into my ever-changing fitness routine. Trees such as these (below) are ideal for a body weight workout and I can clamber along fallen trunks to improve my balance. This is what TrailFit is all about – making the most of your surroundings and seeing the city as your playground. It really helps you to explore more and unlock your creativity – so much better than a stifling gym.

Who needs a gym when you've got the park as your playground?

Secrets to be shared

Stroll through Hampstead Heath’s 791 acres of ancient woodland and you might happen upon the hidden Hill Garden and Pergola (below) – an Edwardian paradise built by landscape architect Thomas Mawson for Lord Leverhulme, who hosted many a summer party here. It was built around the same time as the Northern Line – in fact the spoil from digging the tunnels was used to landscape the gardens. The Pergola, with its classical stone columns creeping with vines and flowers, is a fine place to meander and pretend you're in a period drama. The Terradora boot is the ideal companion for spontaneous rambles such as this. They're so lightweight and comfortable, I barely feel them on my feet.

Spontaneous rambles in your city can reveal hidden gems, such as London's Hill Garden & Pergola

Space to stretch and be you

Seek out the sculptures in Golders Hill Park (below) and the nearby stumpery – a quirky Victorian garden craze in which ferns and woodland plants are arranged around tree stumps. There's even a free zoo to explore and get up close to rare and exotic birds and mammals, such as laughing kookaburras, ring-tailed lemurs and ring-tailed coatis.

There are plenty of wide open spaces in the park to lay out a yoga mat, or go barefoot! I’m doing more yoga at the moment; I love that you can just rock up and do it anywhere. This is TrailFit at its core – redefining fitness in a way that gives you confidence and a sense of freedom. It gives you permission to be you – you don't have to mirror what the media dictates about how you should look or dress or keep fit.

Yoga is the essence of TrailFit: you can do it anywhere, even barefoot in the park

The ponds and a well-earned coffee

We’re not designed to live our lives in a temperature-controlled environment, cushioned against the natural world. Take a detour and change the pace. Sometimes, that change of scene you’re craving is much closer than you think.

Instead of competing for lane space and counting laps, dive into any number of outdoor pools London has to offer and revel in bird song as you glide through the water. At Hampstead Heath Swimming Ponds (below) it’s just £2 for a day pass. After a bracing dip, you’ll feel your senses enlivened, and a flat white and a spot of brunch in one of the independent cafés in Hampstead Village, such as local haunt Ginger & White, is guaranteed to taste better. 

The Terradora: embracing the TrailFit movement

The Terradora is a robust, lightweight andwaterproof boot designed especially for women that combines the support of hiking footwear with the flexibility and vigour of a trail runner. 

• Specifically designed for women’s feet 
• Cushioned panels reduce pressure on the Achilles tendon
• Low-density EVA midsole provides lightweight support for high intensity workouts and steep descents
• KEEN all-terrain rubber outsole for high traction grip
• Dual-density PU foam footbed
• Lightweight mesh upper
• KEEN.DRY Waterproof breathable membrane. 

KEEN’s Terradora comes in a mid (£109.99) and low (£99.99) style. Head to keenfootwear.com/trailfit-eu for more information, watch the Terradora video at bit.ly/ErnestTerradora and check our online directory for more stories from KEEN.

Follow on Instagram and Facebook @KEENEUROPE. Tag your pics #Terradora and #TrailFit to join the TrailFit movement. 

Winter adventures

Make the most of starry skies and frosty mornings this winter and get out into the wild. Wynnchester is your guide to three essential elements of adventure kit: your bed, your shelter and your pack 

Patrol Pack, £150

Wynnchester was born out of a passion for beautiful design, a respect for simplicity and a love of nature. Today, they design heritage-inspired outdoors equipment for modern-day adventurers. Their customers include former and serving military, professional cowboys, scout masters and bushcraft instructors. Let's take a look at their expedition inventory:

Adventurer Bedroll

The bedroll is a simple solo shelter that sets up in seconds. Fully enclosable, it requires no ground sheet, no guy ropes and no pegs. Built to last, the bedroll is manufactured in the UK using only the finest, military-spec materials. The all-canvas construction is robust and durable, pre-treated for water, rot and fire resistance. Wynnchester’s bedrolls are used by hundreds of professionals and recreational campers the world over. £525

Adventure Tarp

Made from the same material as the bedroll, this tough canvas tarp won’t catch fire or be ruined by flying embers from your campfire or cooking stove. Measuring 3m x 1.85m, it is the perfect size for a one-man shelter. With a total of 10 reinforced attachment points, the setups are limited only by your imagination. £225

Patrol Pack

After many years restoring vintage Norwegian Army patrol packs in their workshops, the design was a natural choice for Wynnchester’s line of new-made bags. Their modern version, the 18L PATROL, remains true to the original and is constructed from military-spec canvas and 100% cowhide top grade leather.  Each bag in the limited edition run is individually numbered and available in a choice of a fully waterproof, modern dry finish or a traditional hand-waxed finish using Wynnchester’s own all-natural wax formula. £150

Get 10% off these items using code ERNEST10 online at wynnchester.com