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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.

Wednesday 4 July 2018

Wednesday Walk: Hastings to Rye - One Cinque port, two ancient towns, and some steep glens [with swimming opportunity]

Book 2, Walk 29 - Hastings to Rye

Length: 19 km (11.8 miles)
Toughness: 8 out of 10

Either 
London St Pancras: 09-37 hrs 
Arrive Ashford International: 10-18 hrs. Change trains
Leave Ashford International: 10-24 hrs   Eastbourne service
Arrive Hastings: 11-06 hrs

Or
London Charing Cross: 09-45 hrs    Hastings service
Arrive Hastings: 11-17 hrs
.......then walk quickly to catch up the Pancreatics

Return

Rye to London via Ashford International: 48 mins past the hour

Rail ticket:   Either a day return to Hastings - any route permitted - or a day return to Rye.


Last year in May mid-week walkers did the Book 1 version of this walk - Rye to Hastings via Winchelsea - and very enjoyable too. The advantage of doing the walk "backwards" (viz the Book 2 walk), by starting in Hastings, is you tackle the steep glens early in the walk, when you still have petrol in the tank. By contrast, the glens are very hard going and challenging when you reach them late in the Book 1 walk.
We will decide on the day whether to take the detour to avoid the closed Ecclesbourne Glen, or make our way around the land slip. But please note:  the official advice is to take the detour.
After the glens, you are reversing the Book 1 walk all the way to Pett Level. Your early lunch stop on this  walk (recommended for those intending to swim at Pett Beach) comes before Pett, near Fairlight. I am told the Coastguards Tea Rooms are pleasant. The tea rooms are located up the road from the Hastings Country Park Visitors Centre. Onwards then to Pett Level via Fairlight and its landslips. As those intending to swim head for the beach, please note - the pub next to the beach - The Smugglers - is now closed and up for sale. For a pub lunch you will need to reverse a bit more of the Book 1 walk uphill to stop at the Royal Oak Inn, in the village of Pett, which re-opened two years ago - and looks rather nice.
After lunch, depending on where you land up, you  make your way to the historic village of Winchelsea, then head across farmland and some vast fields to Rye.
This should make a good, energetic outing on America's Independence Day. I leave it to you to celebrate with our American cousins or commiserate over the loss of our American colonies.
T=2.29
Walk Directions here: L=2.29

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Please be aware that the Smugglers Inn at Pett Level looked as if was closed when I drove by last week.

Unknown said...

The New Inn in Winchelsea is another option. Also if wish to avoid the steep Glen's there is quite a pleasant route via Barley Lane.

Marcus said...

Thanks, Johnny - The Smugglers is indeed now closed, and up for sale. I will amend the posting.

Chris L said...

For south Londoners not wishing to head to St Pancras or to start the walk 10 minutes behind the others, another option might be to take the 09:14 service from Cannon Street, which calls at Orpington at 09:40 and Sevenoaks at 09:50, arriving at Hastings at 11:02.

Despite requiring a bit of energy, the steep wooded glens are one of the major attractions of the walk, and the path through the officially closed Ecclesbourne Glen was fine when I last tried it.

Unknown said...

My current health situation might prevent me from 'doing' the glens so I might just follow the path across the top and attempt to rendezvous for lunch somewhere. I will be waiting at the top of Tamarisk Steps near the East Cliff Funicular Railway about 1130.

Anonymous said...

N=10 W=very-hot-and-sunny