After the Marathon Calais XXL: Kent and London

The Route: Calais → Dover → Canterbury (optional stop) → London → Home Logistics: Foot-passenger ferry across the Strait of Dover, then UK rail inland. No car required at any stage. Marathon Month: June Duration: 3 nights

Calais Port ──(90 mins P&O ferry, foot passenger)──> Dover ──(1hr 7min Southeastern)──> London St Pancras
                                                          │
                                          (optional stop: Canterbury, ~20 mins by train)
                                                                                             │
                                                          Heathrow (LHR) ◄──(45-60 mins Piccadilly Line/Elizabeth line)──┘

Marathon Calais XXL runs its final kilometres facing the same stretch of water this trip crosses, so the White Cliffs a runner glimpsed across the Channel from Blériot-Plage or the Calais seafront are, a day or two later, close enough to stand beneath. The pedestrian ferry crossing makes this one of the more straightforward international extensions available from any race on this coast.

June across the Channel means long evenings on both sides of the water and a reasonable chance of a dry crossing, though the Strait is exposed enough that a breezy day is worth expecting rather than hoping against. Canterbury's cathedral gardens and Dover's clifftop paths are both at their best with the extra daylight June provides, and London's parks are in full early-summer leaf for anyone spending the later nights of this trip in the capital.

Foot passengers must book the P&O Ferries crossing online in advance; there is no walk-up ticket sold at the port. Check-in at the Dover-bound terminal in Calais closes 90 minutes before sailing, the crossing itself takes around 90 minutes, and a shuttle bus carries foot passengers from check-in to the ship and, on arrival, from the ship into the Dover terminal building. There are no local shuttle buses around the port itself in Dover, so a taxi or a walk of a little over a kilometre covers the gap to Dover Priory station.

Night One: Dover

Dover is a working Channel port first and a destination second, and the White Cliffs are the reason to stop here rather than pass straight through. The National Trust's White Cliffs of Dover visitor centre sits a short walk or drive east of the town, with a network of clifftop paths running along the grass above the cliffs themselves. The main path from the visitor centre out toward South Foreland Lighthouse is largely flat, grass and gravel underfoot, and open enough that a short stretch or the full return walk can be chosen depending on how the legs feel; benches appear at intervals along the way.

For a lower-effort version of the same view, the cliffs are visible without any walking at all from several points along Dover's own seafront, including near the harbour, for anyone whose legs have had enough of paths for one week.

Where to eat: Dover's harbourside carries a handful of straightforward fish-and-chip and pub options suited to a single low-key evening; nothing here demands advance booking, and a short walk along the front from the station turns up several reasonable choices without needing to commit to one in advance.

Canterbury makes a worthwhile stop en route inland rather than a separate overnight: around 20 minutes from Dover by train, its cathedral, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site and the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury, is open to visitors outside service times for an adult admission in the region of £18 to £21 depending on the season. The cathedral precinct and the surrounding lanes are paved and largely flat, with only short cobbled stretches, manageable on recovering legs with ordinary care, and the city's compact centre is easily covered in a few hours between trains.

Nights Two and Three: London

London needs little introduction, and after a marathon and a Channel crossing, the case for it here is really about ease: frequent trains, flat parks, and enough indoor options to dodge a wet afternoon without losing the day. Southeastern trains run from Dover Priory to London St Pancras International in around 1 hour 7 minutes. Advance single fares booked ahead run considerably cheaper than the walk-up Anytime single, which sits at £48.60; booking through thetrainline.com or directly with Southeastern well ahead of travel is worth the saving on a route this length.

The primary recovery asset in London is one of the Royal Parks. St James's Park and Hyde Park both offer several kilometres of flat, paved or fine-gravel paths, entirely level, with benches throughout and no obligation to cover more ground than feels sensible. A slow loop of St James's Park, past the lake and up to the Horse Guards end, takes under an hour and sits within easy reach of central hotels.

Where to stay: Premier Inn London Victoria, on Eccleston Square, keeps St James's Park and Victoria's rail and Underground connections within easy walking range. Nearer St Pancras itself, the Kings Cross Inn Hotel on Euston Road puts arrival and departure from the Dover train a few minutes' walk from the door, useful for anyone who would rather not drag a bag across the city at either end of the stay.

Where to eat: Borough Market, near London Bridge, is a genuinely useful stop for a runner still eating for recovery: an enormous spread of prepared food stalls, much of it eaten standing or on nearby benches, with no need to commit to a sit-down restaurant or a long wait.

Getting Home

London Heathrow (LHR) is the most likely international departure point for this trip, reachable from central London by the Piccadilly Line in around 50 to 60 minutes or the Elizabeth line in around 45 minutes from central stations. London Gatwick (LGW) is the more likely alternative for some low-cost and charter routes, connected to central London by the Gatwick Express in around 30 minutes from Victoria. Check which airport the return flight actually departs from before booking onward transport, since the two are on opposite sides of the city.