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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Saturday 4 March 2017

Saturday Walk -- An Exploration of Ancient Cinque Port Towns

SWC Walk 113:  Tenterden to Rye – Varied Landscape between Two Cinque Port Towns ending in Picturesque Rye T=SWC.113

Distance:  13.4 Miles or 21.5 km for those more metrically minded (with options to shorten by catching a bus en route)
Difficulty:  5 out of 10

Train:  Take the 9:40 AM Southeastern Dover bound train from London Charing Cross (9:43 Waterloo East; 9:49 London Bridge) to Headcorn, arriving 10:45; then take bus route number 12, leaving from the forecourt at Headcorn Station at 10:53, arriving at Tenterden at 11:19.   Return trains from Rye are at 56 minutes past the hour until 21:56. Buy a day return to Rye. 
This walk covers varied ground from the low hills in the eastern High Weald to almost the sea, largely following the High Weald Landscape Trail.  Starting in Tenterden, known as the “Jewel of the Weald”, the walk heads through a wooded valley and then onto the Isle of Oxney, an area of high ground which was once surrounded by the sea and rivers, before heading on into Rye perched up on a hill.  On the way, you pass by Smallhythe Place, originally the harbormaster’s house when Small Hythe was a major port town before the River Rother changed course.  You can find more information about the walk and download the walk instructions here.

The recommended lunch spot is the Oxney Gourmet Pie and Burger Bar (formerly known as the Swan Inn) (01797 270 913) in Wittersham. Tea and other late afternoon refreshments can be had at the Cock Inn in Peasmarsh.  Rye also offers a variety of refreshment spots.    

Enjoy the walk!

3 comments:

Walker said...

The cafe in Jempsons supermarket is the best place for tea

Unknown said...

I am thinking of doing this work arriving on the no 2 bus from Hastings getting to Tenterden at 1110.

Walker said...

N=15 on this walk. The weather started cloudy and at the very end turned rainy but late morning and for a chunk of the afternoon was w=fairly-sunny, which made a nice change.

The train-bus connection at Headcorn was very smooth: the kind of joined up public transport this country does not usually have. But the £4.50 fare was a bit steep. Tenterden was a lovely place to start the walk and the wild garlic wood in the early stages was coming on nicely. There was some cherry plum blossom and just before Wittersham the excitement of seeing a few wood anemones in flower. A few stopped at the vineyard in Smallhythe for what the French call a "degustation libre".

The dowdy Swan is now a trendy gourmet and pie place. Super friendly staff and the food was certainly pleasant, though personally I think "gourmet" is overstating it. In the afternoon after crossing another former seabed two of us were surprised to be the only ones going to Jempsons in Peasmarsh for tea. I understand other would be tea-ers were shanghaied by other walkers keen to get to Rye earlier. Some also went to the pub in Peasmarsh.

Sadly after we left Peasmarsh the weather went downhill: it was a bit wet and rather gloomy for the otherwise lovely descent to Rye. Eight of us had a quick drink in the Wipers Castle and got an 18.56 train.