Eight Days in UK Kent Overseas Tour

A rider's story from UK Kent Tour, 15 to 22 June 2026

"I almost did not sign up. Forty kilometres a day sounded like a lot for someone who had not cycled seriously in years. Eugene told me not to worry. He said the Brompton would do half the thinking for me, and the van would carry the rest. He was right on both counts."

We flew into Heathrow on a Monday morning. By lunchtime we had checked into the hotel in Ealing, unfolded our bikes in the lobby, and let the mechanic run through each one. There is something calming about watching your bike get a proper check before you ride it. You stop worrying and the excitement builds.

That first afternoon was a easy-going one. Eugene walked us through the road rules, which way to look, how to signal, how to hold a line in a group. After that, we rode out to the Brompton factory in Greenford. Twenty-five kilometres, no van, just us finding our legs. I remember thinking, if this is what the week feels like, I can do this.

London, from the saddle

The next day was the one I keep telling people about. We rode from Ealing into the middle of London and saw the city the way you never do from a coach tour. We stopped at Kew, rolled through Hyde Park, and paused at the arch by Hyde Park Corner for photos. We passed the Royal Albert Hall, crossed near Big Ben, and stood our bikes up by Tower Bridge.

Tour Participant near Big Ben UK Kent

At Trafalgar Square we took a group photo under Nelson's Column, bikes and all. We even wound through Chinatown and along the quiet canals. A Brompton is welcome everywhere. When the road turned dull or busy, we simply folded up, hopped across, and carried on. That is the part I did not expect to love so much. You only ride the good bits.

In the afternoon we folded the bikes, boarded a train, and were in Maidstone by evening. No fuss with luggage. It had gone ahead of us in the van. We washed up, sat down to dinner as a group, and I already knew the names of everyone at the table.

Wine, a castle, and country lanes

Kent is greener than I imagined. From Maidstone we rode out to Balfour Winery and had lunch among the vines. Eugene had arranged it so we met the people who make the wine, not just a waiter with a tray. After lunch we took the country roads past Leeds Castle. Long, easy lanes, hedges on both sides, and the odd tractor. I have a photo of our whole group pushing up one gentle rise, all of us laughing more than pedalling.

The days found a rhythm after that. After breakfast, we had our a morning ride, a leisurely somewhere nice, then an easy afternoon in a new town. Ashford one night, by way of Lenham. Then on to Canterbury, with a visit to the Domaine Evremond vineyard along the way. We stood in the rows there for ages, discussing chalk soil and bubbles, in no hurry to leave.

The coast, and the food

The ride I was most nervous about turned out to be my favourite. We set off towards the coast at Deal, past the reed beds and birds of the Stodmarsh nature reserve, and stopped at farms selling their own produce. Lunch that day was in a little seaside town. We ate slowly and watched the water. On the way back through the week we also went out to Faversham through Chesterfield. We had delicious, freshly caught fish. Thin slices of cured meat and carpaccio. Bread you keep reaching for because you knew you were going to cycle off those extra calories! We even had a birthday celebration for my daughter with a proper birthday cake and candles! Those are the meals you remember longer than the miles.

What I did not expect

I expected to enjoy the cycling. I did not expect the company. Our group was a mix of quietly interesting people, the sort you would never meet otherwise. By the third dinner we were finishing each other's stories. I also did not expect how little I had to manage. I did not book a hotel, read a map, or lift a suitcase for a week. When one of us tired near the end of a long day, the van was there, and nobody made a thing of it. Liang rode with us and had a way of appearing exactly when a there were mechanical issues or a point of interest.

We covered a little over three hundred kilometres in all but it never once felt like that. It felt like a slow, generous holiday that happened to be on two wheels. I have already asked Eugene and Liang where they are going next!

 -Nelson Hung, UK Kent 2026 Tour Participant

Join our next tour to Kent in June 2027!

Visit out UK Kent Tour Page: https://www.bromptonexperiences.com/all-tours/kent