It might seem optimistic for Kent Tourism to claim James Bond for themselves - after all, the supercharged spy managed to touch down pretty much everywhere on the world map. But Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, had a home in St Margaret's Bay, and the county featured in Goldfinger and Moonraker.
In Goldfinger, Fleming had Bond take the A2, not the A20, to Sandwich so that his creation could take a better look at "Goldfinger-land-Reculver and those melancholy forsaken reaches of the Thames." And Moonraker sees Bond admiring "the cliffs of Margate, showing white through the distant haze that hid the North Foreland".
The Goldfinger route
From St Margaret's, go via Deal and then take the A258 to Sandwich. Follow the A256 to Ramsgate harbour, and then it's on to the A253 and A299 to Reculver. Then take the A2 to Faversham, Chatham and Rochester.
Sandwich
Posh Sandwich makes an ideal stopover on this route. Fleming thought so, too, and would often visit his club, Royal St George's (Royal St Mark's in Goldfinger), in his Ford Thunderbird. The golf game in Goldfinger can be traced from the public walk that runs across Sandwich town right down to shingled Sandwich Bay, although the club itself is private.
It's a long stretch, and a few elderly golfers intervened to make sure I was keeping to the public path. I did get lost on the way back, and ended up having to walk through a field of sheep. Fleming, however, knew the course well, once calling it "the greatest seaside golf course in the world" - it was the venue of last year's Open Championship.
But there's more to Sandwich than golf. Its eccentric street pattern was purposely planned in medieval times so that archers could guard the town. A Dutch influence gives the former port an un-English appearance, with continental flavours now soaked up by many of the restaurants and cafes. Number Six Wine Bar and Restaurant (01304 614949) is informal and friendly, offering everything from moules to fajitas, with starters from £4 and mains around £10.
Grab yourself a slice of Sandwich history by eating at the Fleur-de-Lis (01304 611131, verinitaverns.co.uk), a former 18th-century coaching office, now a friendly, modern restaurant with rooms. All rooms are en-suite but book before you get there as they only have 12. £55 for a single, £65 for a double.
If Fleming were around today, I think he'd choose The Bell Hotel (01304 613388) on the quayside, which draws customers with its decadent stained glass porch and fancy tiling. Doubles or twins from £100; mini-suite with a riverside balcony, £155.
Reculver
It is easy to see why Fleming chose this remote, windswept location as home for one his überbaddies. It's a lonely edge of coast between Herne Bay and Birchington, and practically deserted. Bond visits Goldfinger here for drinks and dinner, and notes that the villain probably liked it because of its closeness to the port at nearby Ramsgate. Fleming referred to Kent in Moonraker as the "Eastern Approaches of England", and in Reculver it is not difficult to feel the isolation.
The Moonraker route
From London, turn off the M20 at junction 8 for the A20. Follow the A252 up Charing Hill to Chilham, then the A28 to Canterbury. Then take the A2 to Dover.
Canterbury and around "Bond did a racing change and swung the big car left at the Charing Fork, preferring the clear road by Chilham and Canterbury." Just outside Canterbury lies Bridge, where Fleming would regularly see the 007 coach make its journey between London and Dover. Canterbury makes an ideal stopover for this route with loads of cafes, bars and restaurants, including the Café St Pierre in St Peters Street (01227 456791) for continental patisseries and coffees served by authentically brusque French staff. For somewhere to stay, try the Chaucer Hotel on Ivy Lane (01227 464427, macdonaldshotels.co.uk), single rooms from £82, doubles from £124.
Dover and Kingsdown
Dover itself is not worth much attention, unless you intend to visit what Fleming described as that "wonderful cardboard castle". In Moonraker, nearby Kingsdown is home to Sir Hugo Drax's rocket research establishment, which is sandwiched on the edge of the towering cliffs between Dover and Deal.
St Margaret's Bay
St Margaret's Bay is a quiet enclave of coast with some great rock pools. In 1951, Fleming bought a house here - White Cliffs - from its previous owner, Noël Coward. Coward's circle - Gertrude Lawrence, Daphne du Maurier, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn - had regularly flocked to the dramatist's home to find themselves enchanted by the clear Channel views and seclusion of the Bay.
Handy for mainland Europe and London, other visitors and inhabitants of St Margaret's included Peter Ustinov and Peter Cushing, but its increasing popularity as a mini celebsville eventually encouraged Coward to sell it to the Bond creator. It would seem that he regretted this decision because on one of his many returns to the Bay - often as a guest of Fleming - he remarked "I really think I love White Cliffs more than anywhere else in the world."
When the Flemings weren't in Jamaica, they spent most of their weekends in White Cliffs. Somerset Maugham and Evelyn Waugh were regular visitors. Although his former home is not open to the public, you can get great views by making your way to the look-outs sculpted into the cliffs.
A kiosk at the Bay serves chips and bacon sandwiches, while the Coastguard pub offers fish 'n' chips (01304 853176, thecoastguard.co.uk).
St Margaret's Bay, and most of cliff-side Kent, is full of hidey-holes and secret rambles. They were good enough for Bond and bad enough for Goldfinger; now that they are gradually receiving the recognition they deserve, their secret is finally out.
Way to go
Further information: Kent Tourism Alliance, 12/13 Sun Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2HX (01271 336020, kenttourism.org.uk). See also ianflemingcentre.com, ianfleming.org. Ian Fleming's 14 James Bond novels are published by Penguin Books at £6.99 each.
