Royal Military Canal - Rye to Hastings (★★★☆☆)
Today I am back making my way along the south coast - but initially following the Royal Military Canal rather than the England Coast Path.
This castle used to overlook the Camber anchorage (with Camber meaning safe haven) and Rye Harbour - and an older (and smaller) fortification was built here in 1514 by Hentry VIII.
This will take us along the old route of the coastline until we reach Cliff End - and there we will revert to the England Coast Path, which will then take us to Hastings.
The starting point for this walk is Rye - and this is where we last left off whilst walking the Royal Military Canal, with the prior walking having been between Hamstreet and Rye.
But having reached Rye today, we have a short walk through the town, and then out across the dry fields - and our first notable highlight of the day comes in the form of Camber Castle.
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| Approaching Camber Castle |
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| Passing Camber Castle |
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| And from the far side |
This castle used to overlook the Camber anchorage (with Camber meaning safe haven) and Rye Harbour - and an older (and smaller) fortification was built here in 1514 by Hentry VIII.
During a period of increased tensions with France, Henry ordered the upgraded fortification that stands today to be built - and this was completed by 1544.
But we soon leave the castle behind, and start to head across what was once the sea - until we hit the northern tip of Winchelsea Beach - where we start to head inland towards Winchelsea itself.
This became an important port that was heavily involved in trade between England and France - and it was a reasonably wealthy town at the time of it's reconstruction in it's new location.
The reason for the move was due to the impact that storms were having upon the shingle spit that Old Winchelsea was built on - with the storms in the 1230s and 1240s wearing down that spit.
This stretch of the Royal Military Canal is it's best - and it is an enjoyable walk along this stretch between Winchelsea and Cliff End - where we cut through the village, and then take on a fairly steep climb up onto Fairlight Cliffs.
Here we are walking along cliffs made of a mix of sandstone and clay - and so this is a stretch of cliffs that are susceptible to coastal erosion - and they are surprisingly steep, given how flat the area has been to the east of this point.
Once freed from the vegetation, our views do not last for very long - for we soon drop down into Fairlight Cove - a village that in places seems very at risk from coastal erosion.
This section of the path has some lovely views out towards the sea - and soon we are diverting off the official route of the England Coast Path to head up to the radar station, to look out towards the sea from a higher elevation.
In the end it took three years to clear the beach of mines - and these delays resulted from an incident that occurred back in the 1940s (when the mines were being laid).
Having completed the last ascent, we reach a large plateau that is believed to have once housed an Iron Age fort (although not too much of it can be seen in the landscape today).
Just to the left of us runs the East Cliff Railway - which is a funicular railway that still operates today, and which is the steepest funicular railway still operating in the UK.
At the start of the 19th century the population of Hastings was fairly small, despite it's status as a relatively successful port and fishing town - with a population of a little over three thousand people.
But as the Camber started to silt up, this area became unusable for shipping (these dry fields are where the ships would have moored up) - and eventually the fort was too far from the sea route to be useful.
By 1626 permission was granted for the demolition of the fort, but although the fort was decommissioned, it was never actually knocked down.
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| The location of Camber Castle (with higher seas), Source: the excellent Saxon History |
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| An undated map that (broadly) aligns with the above map, Source: Saxon History |
But we soon leave the castle behind, and start to head across what was once the sea - until we hit the northern tip of Winchelsea Beach - where we start to head inland towards Winchelsea itself.
Just before we reach Winchelsea, we meet back up with the Royal Military Canal - and here we turn off, and start to head along it's course.
Up ahead, we have the best of this canal - and it is a pleasant walk along the canal in the summer heat, as we walk away from Winchelsea - and on towards the current coastline.
As we go on, we head directly past the town of Winchelsea (which we see little of on the far side of the canal) - with this town only dating back as far as 1288, and with this being the point at which it was relocated from it's former spot.
The older version of this town (Old Winchelsea) sat on a single beach (similar to the one Camber Castle was built on) - with that beach extending out from Fairlight Cliffs (which we will reach later in the day).
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| The shingle spit that would have run out from Fairlight Cliffs, Source: Saxon History |
This became an important port that was heavily involved in trade between England and France - and it was a reasonably wealthy town at the time of it's reconstruction in it's new location.
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| A simplified map of Old Winchelsea |
The reason for the move was due to the impact that storms were having upon the shingle spit that Old Winchelsea was built on - with the storms in the 1230s and 1240s wearing down that spit.
Around 1250 this shingle barrier was breached - and this shifted the tides so that they ran all the way up to Appledore (to the north along the Royal Military Canal), and made it increasingly hard to protect the town from the sea.
Eventually it wasn't worth continually spending money to repair the sea defences - and by 1288 the town had been abandoned after a series of major storms.
This newer town we are walking past was built further inland, but retained a tidal harbour due to it's position alongside the River Brede (which we followed on the final section of our walk towards Winchelsea).
And so the town continued to thrive - and by 1328 the town was the second most important port in the South East of England in the wine trade.
But in future years the town suffered from a mix of plague, French attacks (during the Hundred Years War), and by the 14th century was also starting to be impacted by the shifting coastline.
As the river silted up, the access to the habour reduced - and the town went from being one of the most important ports in the 1490s (and the second most populous town in Sussex), to having no ships by 1561.
By 1575 the town only had 60 houses inhabited (the original plans for the town back in 1288 included 802 plots), and these days it is a small village - but one with some lovely old buildings.
We don't see any of this history as we head down the canal - and instead have to content ourselves with what nature has to put on show (which is at least an ample alternative).
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| Heading out beyond Winchelsea |
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| The lowlands are soon coming to an end |
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| Looking back towards Winchelsea |
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| Towards cliff end |
This stretch of the Royal Military Canal is it's best - and it is an enjoyable walk along this stretch between Winchelsea and Cliff End - where we cut through the village, and then take on a fairly steep climb up onto Fairlight Cliffs.
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| View out towards the sea |
Here we are walking along cliffs made of a mix of sandstone and clay - and so this is a stretch of cliffs that are susceptible to coastal erosion - and they are surprisingly steep, given how flat the area has been to the east of this point.
This elevation does add quite a bit of variety to the day - as we continue to follow the England Coast Path on round to Hastings.
But the path itself is not an amazing one in this section - and although it has been cut back, it is bordered on either side by hedges, and whoever did the cutting was clearly not aware of the fact that hedges grow over time.
And so it is nice to finally break out of the hedges that line this section of path, to look out along this stretch of cliffs.
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| The crumbling cliffs (having broken free of the vegetation) |
Once freed from the vegetation, our views do not last for very long - for we soon drop down into Fairlight Cove - a village that in places seems very at risk from coastal erosion.
Whilst passing through the village we get diverted onto the roads - but we do eventually make it through, and out into more open country on the far side.
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| Out beyond Fairlight Cove |
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| With more open views |
This section of the path has some lovely views out towards the sea - and soon we are diverting off the official route of the England Coast Path to head up to the radar station, to look out towards the sea from a higher elevation.
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| The radar |
The radar station here dates back to World War II, and was subsequently used in the Cold War (complete with it's own small underground bunker) - but the radar scanner that is operational today, was installed in 1995, and is used by the coastguard.
From here we head back towards the official path - and then take on a section that has some steep descents and ascents - as we head into Hastings Country Park, and on towards Fairlight Glen.
Fairlight Glen turns out to be a heavily wooded section of this coastline - but one with a very rich history - and the most interesting part of that history is the fact that the beach below was a former minefield.
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| Clearing mines on the beach below Fairlight Glen, Source: Hastings Country Park History |
In the end it took three years to clear the beach of mines - and these delays resulted from an incident that occurred back in the 1940s (when the mines were being laid).
The people that created these minefields were smart enough to keep a record of each of their locations - but here they were not smart enough to make more than one copy. And the copy that did exist for this minefield was in the hands of a lieutenant, when he stepped on a displaced mine and blew up.
Whilst there were no mines on the section we are walking along - it took until 1958 until the last of the mines had been confirmed as being cleared - and it was common for mines to be stumbled upon for a period of time following the war.
But on our walk, we make it through without any unwanted discoveries - and as we clear the streams that run down to the sea we hit steep sections of path - and here we are heading past some very tired and worn out walkers, as we continue on towards Hastings.
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| A wooded stretch of cliffs |
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| Up steps in the shade |
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| Another down and up ahead (at Ecclesbourne Glen) |
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| Houses that once stood on Ecclesbourne Cliffs (now demolished) |
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| Following the last ascent on the way to Hastings (looking across Ecclesbourne Glen) |
Having completed the last ascent, we reach a large plateau that is believed to have once housed an Iron Age fort (although not too much of it can be seen in the landscape today).
From here we make our way round to look down upon Hastings Old Town.
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| Hastings Old Town |
Just to the left of us runs the East Cliff Railway - which is a funicular railway that still operates today, and which is the steepest funicular railway still operating in the UK.
But unlike some funicular railways (such as the one at Saltburn), it no longer operates via water balance - but was instead upgraded to electric operation in 1976.
As it is, we take the manual route down - and it is a lot of steps down before we step out into this old fishing town.
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| Hastings Old Town as painted by John James Chalon in 1819 |
Once at the base of the cliffs, we head on past the castle - and on towards the centre of the coastal resort that grew out during the 19th century.
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| Along past the castle |
At the start of the 19th century the population of Hastings was fairly small, despite it's status as a relatively successful port and fishing town - with a population of a little over three thousand people.
But by the end of the 19th century this population had grown to reach almost sixty thousand - with the modern day population now sitting at over ninety thousand - and so much of the growth of Hastings came in that period in the 19th century.
For for all it's role as a successful seaside town, it is after all the Battle of Hastings in 1066 for which the town is best known.
Here we will see little evidence of that event - with the battle itself having been fought in the handily named village of Battle (to the north-west of Hastings) - but it was here that William made his base ahead of that conflict.
But whilst William was only getting started on that occasion, here our walk comes to an end for the day - although tomorrow, we will be continuing on along the coast until we reach Eastbourne.
Total Distance: 12.4 miles (6.1 miles on Royal Military Canal, 6.0 miles on England Coast Path)
Total Ascent: 1,322 feet (62 feet on Royal Military Canal, 1,231 feet on England Coast Path
Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5
Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ ★ ★ / 5
It is a decent and varied walk - so this is a higher than usual three-star rating, but without that much in the way of wow-factor to bring you back. Falls into the category of being a good day of walking, but not one you'll go out your way to redo
Click for the next day of walking along the England Coast Path from Hastings to Eastbourne.
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