A bracing seafront stroll will mark a double celebration on Thursday of the English patron saint and the country’s greatest playwright William Shakespeare.

White Cliffs Countryside Project has organised the guided stroll on April 23, to mark St George’s Day and the Bard’s birthday, as well as the day he died in 1616.

The walk will start at 7pm from the site management office at Samphire Hoe, just outside Dover, and there will be a chance to hear stories about St George, Shakespeare and how Samphire Hoe got its name. There will also be the opportunity to see the early spider orchids.

WCCP project manager Kirk Alexander said: "St George has become the patron saint of England and it is fitting that William Shakespeare is thought to have been born in 1564 on April 23, and also died on that day.

"Shakespeare Cliff is named after certain important scenes in King Lear where there is a famous speech containing the lines "half way down Hangs one that gathers samphire: dreadful trade!". This referred to the people who used to climb down the cliffs on ropes to gather (rock) samphire.

"The rock samphire still grows on the cliffs and can easily be seen growing on Samphire Hoe itself, including a plant outside the site management office."

Shakespeare is thought to have visited Dover in 1605 when he was thought to be writing King Lear and it may be that he heard about samphire gathering from local people and incorporated it into his play.

Samphire Hoe is built from spoil from the construction of the Channel Tunnel and is managed by the White Cliffs Countryside Project on behalf of Eurotunnel. It has become an important site for wildlife, with 9,000 early spider orchids recorded in 2008.