Rye Harbour
Reached by the A259 road, the Cinque Port of Rye is a beautiful, quaint, compact little hilltop town on the Kent and E. Sussex border. It's famous for it's cobbled streets, buildings of all periods, Ypres Castle, Camber Castle, a 12th Century Church, antiques and tea shops, pottery, the Mermaid Inn and its association with smuggling and the Dr. Syn books which were set in this area.
Rye Harbour is an odd sort of harbour running along the inlet of the River Rother. It supports a significant fishing fleet and the usual collection of water-based leisure pursuits. Its focal point is the area reached by Harbour Road, a small road off the A259 on the Hastings side of the town.
The ride described on the linked page takes you alongside the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Dedicated by the Nature Conservancy Council as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, this 209 acre tract of shingle ridges was formed over hundreds of years as the sea, which lapped the walls of Camber Castle as far back as 1594, receded. It contains alluvial grazing marsh, arable fields, salt marsh, intertidal sand and mud and several flooded gravel pits - a varied habitat indeed. Over 350 species of flowering plant have been recorded here and it's a nationally important site for invertebrates with over 1300 species identified to date. The site is, however, perhaps best known for its birdlife and particularly for its 50 or so breeding species which include Little Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Oystercatcher, Red Shank, Ringed Plover, Corn Bunting, Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear. It is also the place to be seen if you are a migrant or overwintering bird, with over 270 species noted.
If you would like to know more about this Nature Reserve, why not contact the registered charity, The Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve? Contact them at 2, Watch Cottages, Nook Beach, Winchelsea, East Sussex, TN36 4LU or telephone Rye 223862.
On entering Harbour Road from the A259 at map reference TQ 919198 (OS Landranger Series No. 189), it's rather attractive as you cross the River Brede but it soon begins to look a little disappointing as you pass industrial areas such as an oil refinery and a old spun concrete factory. However, the end of the road at TQ 942190 soon arrives and the journey is worthwhile.
Turning left at the end of this road you reach the main part of the harbour where you can see fishing boats, Rye Harbour Marine, a sailing club (tel: 01303 226921), a cafe called The Bosun's Bite, a Shepherd Neame pub called The William The Conqueror (Master Brew, Spitfire and Bishop's Finger ales!), a chandlery, an in-shore lifeboat station and a slipway (down which speedboats and yachts are launched). There are public toilets and public telephone boxes here too.
However, for this ride, you turn right at the end of the road to find a large, free car park at TQ 942188 next to Martello Tower No. 28 (one of over 100 built along the coast in the late 1700s and early 1800s to defend against a French, Napoleonic invasion) and Frenchman's Beach Holiday Village. CAUTION: the free car park is height-protected by a barrier which will rip bikes off your roof! It is possible to park outside and take them off first.
Click on this bike for the Rye Harbour ride...........................
Animated cyclist image Copyright Microsoft Design Gallery
Page last updated 08/02/2003