Length: 20.1 km (12.5 mi) [shorter walk possible, see
below]
Ascent/Descent: 423/435m
Net Walking Time: 5 hours
Toughness: 5 out of 10
Take the 09.15 Hastings train from Charing Cross (via
Waterloo East and London Bridge 09.24), arrives Hastings 10.47.
Return trains from Rye are on xx.48 to St. Pancras via
Ashford (66 mins journey time). You can also travel to Charing X from Ashford
to avoid the High Speed surcharge on HS2, but the journey will be almost an
hour longer.
Buy a Hastings Return, incl. the High Speed Surcharge .
This rewarding walk starts in the Cinque Ports town of Hastings with a fine clifftop coastal walk with steep climbs along the way. This section is the most strenuous part of the walk. From Pett Level, the terrain levels out, before leading up through the New Gate into Winchelsea for (late) lunch. Just east of the town, you reach The Look Out, offering panoramic views across the whole of Romney Marsh to Dungeness, and to the Kent Downs beyond. From there it is down and along to Ferry Bridge, following an easy flat route north east to Rye.
Short Walk: finish at Winchelsea Station for the return train on xx.43 to Ashford or xx.52 to Hastings, or even take Bus Line 100 from outside the New Inn in Winchelsea to Rye (leaves 14.39/16.39/18.39).
Tea: More than 20 decent options in Rye, mostly
just a little off route in the interesting historic town centre.
For summary, walk directions, map, height
profile, some photos and gpx/kml files click here . T=2.29
2 comments:
4 of us arriving in Hastings at around 10.47
#8 gathered at Hastings station. The coastal path was quite busy as you might expect given the glorious #hot-sunny weather, but we all enjoyed the views. 3 decided to check the possibility of swimming at Fairlight Glen, but unfortunately it was high tide, so we decided to wait until Pett Level beach.
The remaining 5 had carried on and decided to go to the Cove in Fairlight Village, where some had tapas and a sticky toffee pudding was sampled. The food was good, but service on the slow side. In the meantime, after a short pause for a picnic, the 3 swimmers had a refreshing swim as planned at Pett Level. The whole group was briefly reunited at the beachside cafe aptly named eaters, which was serving excellent chocolate cake.
The remainder of the walk was relatively flat, and we made good progress through the pretty marshlands and fields in the late afternoon sun, pausing to examine the remains of the old mill at Winchelsea and reaching Rye in two groups in time for the 6.48 train. 6 of the group opted for the slower Charing Cross train from Ashford celebrating the end of a glorious day out with wine and snacks.
Given the hilly start to the walk it was probably unrealistic to list The New Inn as a potential lunch stop, we all passed through Winchelsea after 4.00.
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