SWC 316: Hastings to Winchelsea (via Three Oaks) -- SWC 316 -- In reverse!
Distance: 16.4 Miles or 26.4 km for those more metrically minded (with options to shorten to about 8 miles by starting or finishing in Three Oaks -- see walk notes)
Difficulty: 8 out of 10
Train: Take the 9:15 AM train from London Charing Cross (9:24 London Bridge) to arrive in Hastings at 10:47. Return trains from Winchelsea via Ashford and St. Ps are at 43 past the hour until 22:43. Buy a day return to Hastings with a high speed upgrade for a quicker return journey.
I thought that it would be interesting to try this walk in reverse to catch high tide at the very Mediterranean cove of Fairlight Glen at the start of the walk; rather than low tide at the end.... with an atmospheric finish in the charming Ancient Town of Winchelsea. The walk is principally map or GPX-led and the recommended lunch pub is midway -- so it should work reasonably well in reverse.....You can find more information about the walk and download the walk instructions/gpx here.
The recommended lunch stop is at the Three Oaks Pub in, well you guessed it, Three Oaks (01424 813 303) about 8 miles/12.9 km into the walk and serves food all afternoon. A booking has been made for 2:30pm. The New Inn in Winchelsea is a charming country pub to enjoy post walk refreshments....
Look forward to seeing you on the walk!
#2026-05-30T09:15
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3 comments:
It is worth pointing out for those that want a shorter walk that lunch opportunities are available in Fairlight village, about four miles in,, after the swimming spot and the up and down part of the cliffs. The most obvious is a new cafe, the Bale House, by the car park, but when I looked last year the Coastguards cafe, doing meals, was still open up the road nearby.
You could then walk down to the Three Oaks pub for tea and get the train home from there, hourly to Ashford at 35 past and to Hastings at 00 past. This makes a walk of about eight miles.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/jan/30/winchelsea-by-alex-preston-review-a-ripping-yarn-of-sussex-smuggling
N=11, including 1 first timer gathered outside Hastings Station after a delayed departure. Conditions were w=perfect-sunshine-with-cooling-breeze. Group cohesion was good to Fairlight Glen where all made the slightly treacherous detour to the beach aided with strategic ropes. The tide was high, the water clear and all but 2 took a nice long swim in the picturesque Mediteranean setting. After the swim, 2 remained at the beach for a picnic and did their own route and 9 carried on to the 3 Oaks for a late lunch -- 5 taking a short cut with 4 completing the full main route. The two groups reconnected shortly before the pub. Most enjoyed a much needed late lunch and we were joined by a local friend. During lunch, one of tables (the unsupervised one) spent some time discussing short cuts! Two of these caught the train from 3 Oaks while the remaining 7 carried on to Icklesham where there was a rumor of a bus to Winchelsea....Arriving at the pub, with a lovely evening view over the valley, the last bit of conviction to complete the full walk faded away and all ended up sacrificing 2.5 miles of walking to relax and enjoy the peaceful and very lovely setting....we all caught the 7.45 bus and then enjoyed the longer more picturesque route to the station to catch the 8.45pm back to London, involving quite a stampede to make a very tight connection in Ashford. A grand day out in great company!
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