Walk 1. Monkbretton Bridge (Rye) to Dungeness 1st January 2010

It was certainly a Happy New Year for us when we took our first steps of what we hoped would be a long and fascinating journey. It's New Years Day and we woke after a very pleasant New Year's Eve spent with eldest daughter Siobhan. Our not so traditional New Year's Eve dinner at Simply Spice in Rye set us up for an evening of music with friends at the in Royal Oak Rye Foreign.

We woke the morning afterwards .... to a blizzard! Our first walk was going to be a chilly one!


Our walk today was to take us from our start point, Monkbretton Bridge in Rye, to Dungeness, a journey of around 4 hours and covering some 11 miles. The route would take us initially along a popular local walk from Rye, following an old tram track then through the Golf Club, to the beach at Camber and then folow the coast along to Dungeness.


We started, well-wrapped pretty much on the dot of 9.30 and ... it was snowing and bitterly cold! We celebrated the start of our journey ... by taking the wrong turn right at the start! The initial part of the walk took us along the bank of the River Rother towards the channel. The footpath veers inland and crosses Rye Golf Club via an old tramway.


The Rye and Camber Tramway was opened in 1895 and, from its terminus at (ironically) Monkbretton Bridge via a station on the Golf Links took passengers to the popular seaside resort of Camber Sands. It was requisitioned in 1939 for military use and was never used by the public again. Today you can still see eveidence of the tramway and the old station on the Golf Links is also still visible.


Our route took us right across the Golf Course. Rye Golf Club has been ranked the 25th best golf course in the world by Golf World Magazine. Some locals consider the Club to be stereotypical, with arguably outdated high standards of dress and decorum required, a few hurdles needed in order to play and a reputation for upholding all the golfing tradtions that us non-golfers find incomprehensible! The annual Oxford v Cambridge match - the President's Putter - has been played at Rye since 1920.

One can't help thinking that as we walk over the course that we're intruding on something very special. And that us mere mortals (non golfers) are probably barely tolerated. And as for me - I think most golf courses are such a waste of decent countryside!! Today though the course is deserted apart from a couple of lads pinging balls towards a snow covered green, a couple of dogs with their owners - and a couple of chilly people looking to walk round the country!

After a sharp turn at the 4th tee we head towards the dunes that will take us on to one of the finest beaches on the south coast - Camber Sands. When we reached the beach the snow was still settled and Camber Sands had a slightly surreal look to it.


We're all pretty proud of Camber in these parts, though few will admit to enjoying its seaside experiemce! Its fine 7 miles of sandy beaches are popular with day trippers and, of course, visitors to the Pontins Camp that dominates the village. The dunes are included within a site of special scientific interest. There have been several shipwrecks off the coast and one notable wreck is still visible at low tide.


The area is well known as a location for film, TV and TV commercials. The beach was used as the D Day landings in the iconic filn The Longest Day and was also the setting in Carry on Follow that Camel.. The beach is also a popular location for kite surfing, windsurfing, kiteboarding, kite buggying and other silly kite activities.





After passing through Camber we followed the promenade path on the sea wall and headed for the Firing Ranges. To our left we could see the new Wind Farm that now sees some 26 windmills gently turning from their location on a remote Romney Marsh farm. The (Lydd) Ranges is a military firing range that has been used for military training for over 150 years and is part of the Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay Site of Special Scientific Interest. Because the range is used for live firing, access is often restricted. Firing occurs on about 300 days a year and so there are very few opportunities to walk along the path along the sea shore. There is a 600mm gauge railway on the range which is used as a target railway.


Fortunately we were walking on a day when no firing was taking place and this emnabled us to follow the shorter route to Dungeness. As we walked, we were quickly aware of the looming presence of the Power Station at Dungeness. It looked quite a way off but Cathy reassured me it was only about a mile or so ahead - it turned out to be almost six miles away!! The going was reasonable to begin with as we passed various rusting bits of military hardware which presumably are used for target practice. Eventually though the pathway came to a windy halt on an exposed part of the Marsh and after clambering over barbed wire we headed for the lookout point on the beach and from there to Dungeness we tramped along the shingle beach. As the tide was in, this involved covering much of the distance over shingle at a 45 degree angle - and as the miles were covered it became tougher and tougher.



We passed the town of Lydd in the distance. Lydd is a corporate member of the Cinque Ports, a "limb" of Romney and as with much of the Romney Marsh area, the town was a base for smuggling in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Before World War I Lydd became an important artillery practice camp. Experiments with high explosives carried out on the shingle wastes around 1888 led to the invention of the explosive Lyddite. Lydd was at one time a garrison town, and the area is still an important training ground for the military - hence the Firing Ranges.

Lydd is also the site of an airfield, the first constructed in Britain after World War II - now bizarrely called London Ashford Airport.

With the shingle now beginning to take its toll on legs, it was a blessed relief when we reached the Power Station at Dungeness - and the end of Day 1 of our walk around the country! The weather had gradually improved - though the temperatures remained resolutely below zero - but at least the sun was shining!

Though quite keen to celebrate our first leg in the Britannia Inn, we'd managed to arrange a lift back to Rye and so that pleasure will have to go on ice (!)until Day 2 of our walk around Britain.

Miles covered 11.44 miles
Time taken 4 hours and 3 minutes

Prologue

We have always had sporadic periods of walking, trundling fairly extensively in and around where we live near Rye, in East Sussex. In addition we have organised sponsored walks as part of our business - raising funds for St Michael's Hospice in St Leonards-on-Sea by walking the French coastline in stages from Calais to St Valerie-sur-Somme. Indeed we have covered the magnificent stretch of coastline between Calais and Boulogne some three or four times. If anything typifies why it is such a wonderful way to travel, it is the 30-odd miles between these two French ports. Many of us will have driven along the A16 down the coastline - a pretty unremarkable drive of around 40 minutes. Fewer of us may have driven along the old coast road that links these two towns - and whilst it is a much prettier route than by motorway, it is nothing compared to covering the distance on foot. 

Quite simply you see things that you would never see in the car or on a cycle. The magnificent views from some of the stunning cliff side paths are worth the trip alone. Add to that the relics from two wars, fabulous beaches, quirky bars, satisfying cafes and fine restaurants and you have a compelling argument to ditch the car and take to the road with a rucksack and a sturdy windproof jacket.

In addition to the French coastline, Cathy and I travelled to the Himalayas in October 2008 and participated in the 100 Mile Stage Race - a once in a lifetime trip to celebrate our 20^th wedding anniversary. Once in a lifetime, so we thought. However, a return journey beckons in October 2010.

Our walking buttons were also pressed again in the summer of 2009 when we spent an enjoyable if wet, week in the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales. I have always wanted to walk the Pennine Way and I have always wanted to walk Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk - but because of where they are, where we are, our commitments and all the other stuff that just gets in the way, it has never happened and is unlikely too for some time to come.

But what about the ultimate walk? Watching episodes of TV's Coast made us realise just what treasures exist in our own country - so what about walking around the coastline of Great Britain? Of course it’s a mad idea. It isn’t unique, of course, but how many people really have it within themselves to complete such a marathon journey? We could, we thought, at least try ...

We're helped, of course by living where we do on the Sussex coast and a good 200 miles of coast are within easy reach of us - certainly we can comfortably complete the Kent and East Sussex sections. So, we thought, lets give it a try and see how far we get.

We wanted to walk because we want to enjoy the experience. Not for us a relentless quest to tick boxes and cover lots of miles in the quickest possible time. If it takes our fancy to stop and browse, to go off course or to take a short cut ..., then we will. Our only stipulation is that the journey will follow as best we can the coastline of the country and that we will travel in one direction.

Our research into other people’s attempts reveals that there are those committed souls of the long distance walking community who see the journey as some kind of Holy Grail. And whilst I wouldn’t dare criticise them – indeed I admire their tenacity and endurance – we just see our attempt as a few weekends away, the odd week's holiday and some great day's out walking. And that’s it. 

We do have three children and I suppose our life is busy. We live together and we work together, so to some the thought of spending all spare time together is probably a step too far. But whilst we both do enjoy our own space, I’m never happier than when there’s just the two of us together. Whether that be sitting in some Belgian bar, some pavement café in Rome or simply spending an enjoyable and peaceful few hours wandering footpaths or beaches.

There are some interesting stories being told by those attempting this walk. A number of failed charity attempts (why do people do it??); a number of iconic stories too. But we were particularly struck by the couple from Bognor (who, frustratingly, had already grabbed our Blog Title - ours was going to be Turn Left at Rye theirs is Turn Left at Bognor) who managed to cover some 1000 miles or so, before the Blog ends in 2006. There’s no explanation as to why the journey was halted and I was afraid to ask in case there were some sad circumstances. But the Blog is a snapshot of a typically eccentric British trait. Why on Earth should a couple of decent and apparently sane people log some 180 days of walking in such detail that they tell us the name of each pub they visited, the names of the beers they sampled - they even counted the piers and Ferris Wheels! Is that not crazy? Well, actually, no it isn’t. It is one of those things that set us Brits apart from our friends across the world. We're British, we're a bit nutty, but we're decent people with an entertaining story to tell.

So, to the Bognor couple, I hope that you got everything you wanted out of your adventure - and if we get within half the distance you managed and have as much fun then we'll be happy.

But hold on though, lets set ourselves a target - we want to travel further than you!

So, to our little plan. We've tried to keep 'rules' as such down to a minimum. Its our walk and we'll do what we want! Anybody is welcome to join us too. 

But we do need a couple of rules to keep us on the straight and narrow. So, at the outset these are our criteria for undertaking the journey - and remember we reserve the right to change them!

1. We will start and (hopefully) finish in Rye, East Sussex.

No explanation needed here!

2. We will travel in an anti-clockwise direction

Hmmm this was a tricky one.

I suppose if we had the choice and the time we'd travel clockwise because we'd soon be on the majestic South Downs way, with Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters soon reached. Then it would be the Dorset, Devon and Cornwall coastlines - all very attractive but .... Assuming that the journey is really going to take place we need to be practical about it. We live in Rye and within easy reach of our home we have the entire Kent Coast - and once we've done that we've made a great start. So, for practical reasons we have decided to travel anti clockwise. 

Anyway it means that the journey from Scotland down will all be downhill ....

3. Islands

We will walk along the coastline of mainland Britain, but will also incorporate any island that is connected to the mainland by a bridge. So, we would hope to include Anglesey but not the Isle of Wight.

I suppose that we need to establish how we're going to cover the coastline at the outset. And there are two major obstacles to simply walking around the coast - islands and estuaries! So do we include islands or not? There are over 1000 islands in Britain so it is pretty crucial that we set ourselves some kind of protocol. So, we’ll deal with each island as we come to it – but if we fancy going round the thing – then we shall!

4. Estuaries.

Another tricky one. Where, for instance do we cross the Thames? Do we have to walk along the south bank of the river until .. well, until where? Its source? We think that’s taking things a bit too far but similarly we have no desire to cross the Thames by the Dartford Crossing!! So, we have decided that rivers will be crossed by the first bridge or ferry we come too - and we'll decide which is most appropriate.

5. We have no time limit for completing or ending the journey.
We'll either do it ... or we won't. And whatever will be will be done at our pace. So, no pressure!

So, what are we looking forward to?

Well we’ve some great days out walking from our home. We travel frequently to Dover and the Channel Ports and walking into and out of Dover, including the Battle of Britain Memorial will be an early highlight. Indeed I’m looking forward to what will probably be our second walk from Dungeness to Hythe and a real boy’s treat with a ride on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway; Oysters in Whitstable, crossing the Thames by boat (I’ve never done it) and then we’ll be into territory that we used to know well – and a weekend in Southend will be fun. Further afield I’m looking forward to Norfolk and Suffolk and the great seaside towns of Great Yarmouth and Caister; the North east leg up to Berwick on Tweed and then, of course what will be real uncharted territory for us in Scotland.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves now – here’s to the first leg from our own front door!