Hi, and welcome to our road trip through Romney Marsh and this is part one of a two-part adventure
and don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss that and our future travels near and far
and as you saw from the title, we're in the county of Kent, in the southeast corner of England
and the Romney Marshes are a unique and interesting place for us to explore
and for this road trip we'll be turning off at junction 11 of the M20
heading along to Hythe, before arriving at Dymchurch
on to New Romney
passing Littlestone and Greatstone on the way to Dungeness
part two of the journey will take us from Dungeness to Lydd
through Old Romney up towards Appledore, and then finally back to the m20
So without further ado, let's go and explore
and as I said we're starting this route on the M20, turning off at junction 11 for Hythe and Canterbury
It'll be signposted the same, whichever direction you're heading
and we're going to be heading towards Hythe
and i know, if anyone is like me, just a touch pedantic, Hythe is not on the Romney Marshes
it's just on the edges but it's a great place to start our adventure
and also a great base to explore from
this section part 1 is roughly 20 miles
part 2 will be a little longer, at around about 30 miles, making the whole trip 50 miles
should you wish to cycle this route, you can get a train to Westenhangar or Sandling just north of Hythe
and it's not long before we reach Hythe
one of the ancient Cinque Ports
as you can see as we reach the outskirts of town
and if you want to explore Hythe then make sure you stick to the left-hand lane
as you arrive at these traffic lights
now we love Hythe, it's a seaside town of two halves
one being the quaint old town, and the other side being the shale beach
this road takes us around the town, but also heads towards the beach
where you can find parking if you're lucky
so let's head right
This is a Wednesday in mid June, so let's see if we get lucky
here we go
Now we've prepared you a snippet of Hythe, but we do have a full video which you may have already seen
but I'll pop a link up at the end
and as you may notice this was shot at a different time of year
in fact, this was early November which proves this road trip can be all year round
just pick a nice day
and as I said it's a town of two halves with a quaint old town
and it's just a 15-minute walk from the beach crossing over the Royal Military Canal
which is now a place of pleasure
and one final thing, it's one end of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway
we'll crosses route a few times on the way, and we'll certainly see it again in part two
but now it's time to jump back in the car and head back out of town
oh and it's worth noting there are a few Pay & Display car parks dotted around town
and as we leave town we're sticking to the left-hand lane heading towards Dymchurch and New Romney
now I'm going to be perfectly honest with you, this part of the journey
may not be too picturesque, but the overall journey is, so stick with it
we're following one road all the way along to our next destination of Dymchurch
And the sea is obscured but don't worry we'll see more when we get to Dymchurch
These high coastal defences remind me of the Netherlands
and another feature you'll often see are the Martello towers like the one in front of us
this is Martello Tower number 23 has been converted into a home
outstanding views
and now we arrive at Dymchurch proper, and it's obvious when you see the shops that line in the front
what sort of place this is, This is a kiss-me-quick, fun place so there's a car park to our right
let's pop in
Now the town sign depicts a Martello Tower and Romney Marsh sheep
we'll touch on that later, in part two
as I said this is a place of pleasure and fun some may say dated, but I prefer a little retro
it's also here you can see the other side of the sea defences, and there in the distance is our destination for today Dungeness
and there's something very traditional about Dymchurch I really like
and I mean any place that's got a micro pub's a winner by me
and there's another of those Martello Towers
there's a Dymchurch heritage trail and I'll pop a link in the description below to that
that describes some of the historic buildings dotted around the town
and as I said there's something very traditional about Dymchurch
a dedicated seafood stall, I can almost hear the dulcet tones of Chas & Dave
but now it's time to head back in the car and we're following the Country Tour route towards New Romney
and heading out of town we find another Martello Tower these were built as defence against French invasion
during the Napoleonic wars, however now most are just historic monuments or have been
converted into private homes or even accommodation
and here you can find another large car park
and we're heading on to our next destination now of New Romney
and now a little word of warning
If you're heading along here and you see the interestingly titled Coast Drive
it's best to avoid it, it's actually just a very small track that heads down to the coast and
then there's a dirt track that runs along which I'm not entirely sure cars are permitted
however a little further along this route you'll find on our right hand side
the Romney Marsh Visitor Centre, that's well worth popping in
as it has a number of leaflets on walks and attractions around the area
we're now heading into New Romney and like Hythe is one of the original
five Cinque Ports. the reason I mentioned that is the confederation of Cinque Ports actually grew to
probably around about 40 additional limbs and connected towns
that supported the Crown's efforts in maintaining a fleet
However, an interesting snippet is that in 1287 there was a giant storm
which diverted the course of the River Rother and made New Romney ineffective as a port
it also had some other unusual consequences which we'll check out as we explore the town
and here's the public car park, so let's head in then
and the first thing I notice is the Cinque Ports pub
Who'd have thought it?
and once again the high street is full of traditional independent shops
I almost expect they have a half-day Wednesday
who remembers that?
and in the centre of town is a rather grand town hall
we love the history and character of New Romney, it's something quite unique
and for you you'll find cafes, restaurants and, of course, a pub or to keep you fed and watered
and another interesting fact is Saint Nicholas's church
if you look carefully at the door you'll notice that you step down into the church
this is a result of this storm which elevated the land around the church
and look at the size of this church for what is now quite a remote sleepy town
it's absolutely huge but it won't be the biggest we see we need to get to part two for that
and then there's further slices of history, like the ruined monastery
a victim of Henry VIII falling out with the Catholic Church
and the dissolution of the monasteries
and then some pretty little cottages
and check out the windows on this 18th century Almshouse
a little odd aren't they
so after dipping our toes in a little bit of history
I think it's time to hit the road and head on again
and this time we're heading back through the town
with our next destination of Dungeness via Littlestone and Dymchurch (should be Greatstone!)
when we reach the end of town we want to stick to the right-hand lane
and we're going to be heading towards Littlestone
this will bring us back along the coastline and you need to keep aware because this one may not be an obvious junction
it's only about a mile and a half from here to the coastline
and it's along here you'll come across the New Romney station of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch miniature railway line
so it's a little walk back into town and it's also a short walk to the beach
and at the end, we turn right along the very elegantly named
Grand Parade. If you wonder where left takes you well it's pretty much a dead end
I like this place it's a little remote but there's something very charming about it
and I think it's becoming more and more popular
there's more and more conversions and buildings like this appearing
and now it's time to speed it up as we make our way towards Dungeness
you will notice along the route there are a lot of places to park
so you can stop and enjoy the journey
as I said earlier, this is an all year round trip, so all you need to do is pick a nice day and away you go
and now we reach the end of the road, and the Pilot Inn, which I can highly recommend from experience
it's then just a short stretch from here we bare off to our left
and we arrive at Dungeness
That's where we start part two of this journey
I hope you enjoyed what we put together for this part
stay safe, stay well, and happy travels