Rye Off The Beaten Path

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Rye Harbour is a strange place - bleak and desolate - but teeming with an abundance of bird species and other wildlife. The twitchers come here to look and wait and see what they can spot and its not too difficult to see some rare visitors - but dont forget your binoculars! The birds are protected by electric fences which surround the delicate shingle habitat so that foxes and badgers can't eat them and their chicks and eggs and do be careful where you walk - the plants around this area are also very delicate but seem to thrive in this harsh environment.

There's loads of information at the Lime Kiln Cottage Info centre where you can find out about the history of this place from Napoleonic times through to WWII and now in the 21st century, its battles with sea defences and flooding.

This main photo and photo 4 show Found Art pieces on the beach. Photo 4 is a piece made from salvaged timber which had been washed up on the beach. This one is a piece made by local artists - originally terracotta pieces were strung from the frame but these gradually broke during high winds and now it seems anyone can hang anything on it that they find on the beach.

This is Martello Tower No. 28. There were over 100 of these towers built along the coast in the late 1700s and early 1800s to defend against a French, Napoleonic invasion, this is one of them and it is situated at Frenchman's Beach Holiday Village.

There's a free car park and walkers and hikers are permitted to use the Tea Rooms at the holiday park here.

Sometime back in the cold dark depths of winter (Jan-July here in the UK) we decided to go for a walk out to the nature reserve. It's very bleak and barren and there's nothing here for tourists - it's just a nice walk - or it would be when the weathers nice.

The fragile shingle habitat provides a breeding haven for a multitude of birds. There are a couple of birdwatching huts provided for the real twitchers who are prepared to walk about a mile along the windiest stretch of the south coast I know! Wish I'd taken my sandwiches - and a flask of tea. Didn't see anything apart from a few miserable mallards.

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Located a mile south of Rye, off the road to Rye Harbour, is the remains of Camber Castle. The castle is a little difficult to find, as it is located in the middle of a sheep-filled field - about a one mile walk from where you can park your car.

I do love a good castle ruin, so as the weather was favourable, we set off across the sheep-poo laden field to take a closer look at the castle.

Built on a site that once contained the shallow Camber harbour, the castle dates back to the early 16th century. It was built as the sea retreated, to help defend the harbour. However, by the end of the 16th century the sea had retreated so far that the castle was no longer useful.

So it now stands alone in a field, with just the sheep and the occasional tourist stopping by. The inside is open to visitors on some afternoons during summer. You can look in from the outside though, as we did. I love these types of places.

1 mile walk across fields, off the A259; 1 mile south of Rye, off Harbour Road. No vehicle access

If you are interested on books ( From recipes to english history , Go to the bookshops and one in particular-second hand bookshop"Rye old books" vwhere the owner, an old irish woman will welcome you with the smile . Warning: she is very talkative so don't go if you are in are in a hurry!!!
She gives very good pieces of advice and , if you are pleasant,she might make the prices lower!

Actually, I was quite lucky, because , when I went to her shop, I had just been graduating(B.A) So , she did me a present!!