Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Walk 25 : Rye (was Winchelsea) to Hastings
Fairlight Glen & a dip in the sea
| Length | 19km (11.7 miles), 5 hours 45 minutes. For the whole outing, including trains, meals, sights and a swim, allow at least 11 hours. |
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| OS Landranger Map | Nos.189 and 199. Winchelsea, (map 189) refe-rence TQ 899 184, is in East Sussex, 3km south-west of Rye. |
| Toughness | 9 out of 10. |
| Features | This is a delightful walk along the south coast, and is best done in summer if you would like to swim, otherwise in spring when the woodland floor is covered in bluebells and other wildflowers - and, in early May, the gorse is bright yellow. Starting below Winchelsea (once a seaside port, but storms have since stranded it 2km inland), the walk follows the River Brede and canals to an early lunch at a seventeenth-century pub near the church in Icklesham. Less than 5km (3 miles) of this walk is before lunch. From there, the route crosses two relatively clear streams, both with ill-fitting names: Pannel Sewer and Marsham Sewer. And so to the coast at Cliff End. A detour off the coastal route through the houses of Fairlight is required, as a result of severe coastal erosion (an average 1.4 metres of cliff-face is lost annually in these parts). Thereafter the walk is along the coastline through the Hastings Country Park, with steep climbs out of the wooded Warren, Ecclesbourne and Fairlight Glens. The latter has a nudist beach where you can drip-dry in fine weather, if you don't happen to have a towel. There is a descent down steps into the old town of Hastings, with its Net Shops on the beach (tall, black, wooden sheds that were built for hanging out fishermen's nets) and, inland, its lanes and twittens (narrow alleys) of half-timbered cottages. After tea, it is a 25-minute walk along the seafront beneath the Norman castle and up to the station. |
| Shortening the Walk | You could get a bus or taxi from near the pub at Icklesham to Hastings, or a taxi from the pub at Pett, or a taxi from a farm tea barn at Fairlight Place (to get to this, turn right at the point where to turn left would take you down to the nudist beach). |
| Route Change |
Rye To Winchelsea This walk now starts from Rye instead of Winchelsea as Winchelsea station is effectively closed. Rye has a much better train service. The route broadly follows the 1066 County Path, and then detours into the historic village of Winchelsea to a noted viewpoint. |
| History |
The part-Norman All Saints Church at Icklesham contains a variety of architectural styles, and has a nave and chancel that are not aligned with one another. A 1592 legacy notice in the church leaves over £3 a year 'for ever' for highway maintenance. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, who lives a few miles from Winchelsea, funded the renovation of Hog Mill windmill (see map) which is visible from the walk route. Iron Age chieftains had fortresses on both the east and west hills of Hastings. When the Romans left, the barbarian Haestingas tribe gave its name to the place, having to be subdued by King Offa in 771. William the Conqueror built his first castle here above the town. In 1287 large parts of Hastings were washed away in the Great Storm, the one that left Winchelsea stranded inland. In medieval times, Hastings was one of the Cinque Ports, supplying 25 ships for 15 days a year for defence purposes, in the days before the Royal Navy existed. |
| Lunch | The recommended lunch place is the Queens Head tel 01424 814 552), Parsonage Lane, Icklesham, which serves good food from midday to 2.45pm daily (3pm Sunday), but tends to be rather crowded. The new management at the Royal Oak Inn in Pett does do food, from 12 till 2pm, not Mondays. Groups over six should phone to book on 01424 812515. |
| New Walk Options |
Download and print the PDF file. Tip: In the Print screen, select Page Scaling : Multiple Pages per Sheet. Try 2 pages.
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| Major Updates | This walk now starts from Rye as Winchelsea station only has 2 trains a day. Download the new start from Rye. Leave earlier than the book suggests. The path to Fairlight Glen beach is closed, but you can easily reach it by climbing over the fence and following the well trodden path. [details] |
| Warning | This text was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk. |
Walking Instructions
For a map and detailed walking instruction, please see Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
