BACK ROADS GREAT BRITAIN
WHERE TO STAYAROUND NEW ROMNEY
Haguelands Farm inexpensive
This is a comfy farmhouse B&B, off the
A259 near Dymchurch, with farm shop,
maize maze, restaurant and alpaca farm.
Burmarsh Rd, TN29 OJR; 01303 872
273; http://www.haguelandsfarm.co.uk
RYE
Rye Windmill inexpensive
Near the quay, this hotel offers rooms
with character and excellent breakfasts.
Mill Lane, TN31 7DW; 01797 224 027;
http://www.ryewindmill.co.uk; usually
minimum two-night stay at weekends
AROUND TENTERDEN
Barclay Farmhouse inexpensive
This 18th-century farmhouse, off the
A262, offers comfort and hospitality.
Woolpack Cnr, Biddenden, TN27 8BQ;
01580 292 288; http://www.barclayfarm
house.co.uk; usually minimum two-
night stay at weekendsBelow left The Old Lighthouse (1904),
Dungeness Below right Film director Derek
Jarman’s Prospect Cottage, Dungeness6 New Romney
Kent; TN28 8AH
New Romney is the capital of Romney
Marsh, a low-lying area of expansive
skies, narrow lanes, water channels
and fields dotted with sheep – look
out for sweet Romney saltmarsh lamb
in restaurants. Take the coastal road
from Littlestone to the nuclear power
station (closed to visitors) at Dungeness,
on one of the largest shingle banks in
Europe. Stop by Prospect Cottage,
where film-maker Derek Jarman
created an unusual garden from what
he found on the beach. At the 40-m
(131-ft) Old Lighthouse (1924–94),
climb to the top to see the view and
examine the great glass prisms. The
area’s special habitat has made it an
important RSPB site (open daily) with
trails for kids and regular sightings of
bitterns, plovers and wheatears.
ª Take the A259, turn left on B2075 for
Lydd. Go through the High Street and
follow signs to Camber and on to Rye.
Park at the entrance to the town.104
A three-hour country walk
From the car park follow the river
past Lime Kiln Cottage 1 and
continue past the bird hide to the
sea. Turn right and follow the coast
west, past the Ternery Pool on the
right – a great place to see wildlife.
Walk past the Mary Stanford Lifeboat
House 2 from where, in 1928, alifeboat with 17 volunteers rowed out
to help a storm-stricken ship; all were
lost at sea. Turn inland by the marked
footpath that runs right by the edge
of the larger body of water – Nook
Beach – and turn right, veering round
to the left past Castle Farm barns.
Carry on to a small cluster of houses,
to Sea Road and walk up to the8 Rye Harbour
East Sussex; TN31 7TU
Home to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve (www.wildrye.info), these
wetlands and reed beds are great for birdwatching. A network of
paths cross the area, so it is easy to tailor a walk to the time available.
Lime Kiln Cottage by the River Rother is the information centre.7 Rye
East Sussex; TN31 7LA
It is a pleasure just to stroll around this
pretty, ancient and cobblestoned
former port. Climb St Mary’s Tower for
excellent views; on the High Street,
pop into Rye Art Gallery, buy sweets
from jars in Britcher & Rivers’ 1920s
shop, or pick up delicious picnic
snacks from Rye Delicatessen. Head
to the waterfront where the tar-black
former warehouses are troves of bric-
a-brac and antiques. Watch the
fishing boats behind the bowling
green landing the day’s catch.
On the road in to Rye lie Camber
Sands, a vast sweep of golden beach
revealed when the tide races out
across the flat shore. Popular with
horse riders and sand yachters, the
Sands get busy on summer weekends.
ª Leave Rye on the Winchelsea Road
and take the turning signed to Rye
Harbour. Drive to the end and park in
the car park, by the Nature Reserve
Information Centre.Above Rye Windmill Hotel, on the pretty
Tillingham river, Rye