Near Winchelsea

July 2019

Winchelsea is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately 2 miles south west of Rye and 7 miles north east of Hastings.
It is part of the Confederation of “Cinq Ports” though now a mile or so from the sea.

Rye is an English town near the coast in East Sussex. In the centre, cobbled lanes like Mermaid Street are lined with medieval,
half-timbered houses. The redbrick Lamb House was once owned by writer Henry James.

In July 2019 we set out to walk the delightful Sussex environs of Rye and Winchelsea.
The weather was not merely fine but hot and humid - on the last day hitting a record 38.1 degrees (over 100 degrees F) in Cambridge. This was the second hottest day ever in the UK, the hottest in July,
and in our failed-air-con Volvo I recorded 39 degrees – for which I apologise to my passengers.

A clear run down to Kent on Monday lead to a good lunch at the White Hart in Newenden.

	Newenden is said to be the smallest village in Kent. It has an attractive church, from the entrance to which this photograph was taken of the White Hart. We went on to park in Winchelsea and to take a 4.5 mile walk from Winchelsea in the afternoon.
	We paused to view the grave of Spike Milligan on whose gravestone the epitaph is in Irish Gaelic: 'Duirt me leat go raibh me breoite' or “I told you I was ill”.
	We stayed at the quaint and comfortable Mermaid in Rye (all old oak and silverware with very good service) and ate and drank very well throughout our three day stay. The staff were very friendly and helpful and photographs of famous actors and other personalities were proudly displayed in the entrance. Here are three more.
	On Tuesday we walked directly from The Mermaid to Rye Harbour and wildlife reserve walk (some combination of WalkingWorld walks 3256 and 7643, of around 5-6 miles), passing a Martello tower (there are more than you think!) and the 16th century Camber Castle whose maritime purpose was rather lost when the harbour silted up and the sea receded. We took lunch at the William the Conqueror in Rye Harbour.  Supper on Tuesday was booked at the Ypres Castle pub in Rye which was comfortable though surprisingly empty. It is just beyond one of Rye’s ancient portals and we gazed over the town from fortified walls and cannon.
	On Wednesday we walked a modified version of the Pluckley, (WalkingWorld 7510) route, of around 5.5 miles.   The walk took us through huge netted enclosures of apples and of cherries (temptingly delicious).   We parked at The Dering Arms where we returned for lunch, which was excellent. Duncan’s crab deserves praise for presentation alone!

On Wednesday evening we sat in the courtyard of The Standard – busy with relieved primary school teachers and comfortably casual.

On Thursday we completed a 5-mile walk (WW6681) through Winchelsea and Icklesham, overlapping a bit with Monday's walk, in the Brede Valley, ending up in considerable heat at the busy The Queen's Head  at Icklesham  

The return journey was a bit of an ordeal, with traffic congestion leading up to the Dartford Tunnel and overwhelming heat in our furnace of a car. But we recommend Winchelsea and Rye – preferably on a cooler day.

There are plenty of walks around this area, even though some of the signing is a bit over the top….