In case you hadn't had enough already.... more Saxon Shore Way(!) from Rye to Appledore (28/7)

The Saxon Shore Way footpath from Rye to Appledore is officially 8.2 miles long. However, I walked just over 10 miles because I had to backtrack in several places, including areas both north & south of the Isle of Oxney & on the approach to Appledore village. This was mainly due to poor waymarking. I actually found one waymarker post tossed into a ditch near Cliff Marsh Farm. Overall, this is a pleasant walk in lovely countryside & offers panoramic views over Romney Marsh as you ascend the old cliff line to the Isle of Oxney. The first part of the route follows the R. Rother & then the Royal Military Canal. Unfortunately, this latter section runs very close to the rather busy Royal Military Road which although unclassified, carries overspill traffic from the busy A259 in this area.

Looking back towards Rye along the tidal R. Rother.

The view upstream. The Union Channel which drains part of Walland Marsh can be seen joining the Rother from the right.

The bright yellow flowers of fleabane grow along the riverbank here. This flower was traditionally used as an insect repellent. It is a close relative of pyrethrum which is used as an insecticide.

Also, Tansy, which is another plant with an aromatic smell that deters insects.

At Iden Lock the Saxon Shore Way leaves the banks of the R. Rother & heads north along the towpath of the Royal Military Canal. The latter runs for 28 miles between Seabrook, near Folkestone & Cliff End, near Hastings. It was constructed between 1804 & 1809 in order to form a defensive line should the French try to use Romney Marsh as a bridgehead during any invasion of Britain.

After ~1 mile the Saxon Shore Way leaves the towpath & heads N.W. across farmland towards the old cliff line of the Isle of Oxney. The border between Kent & Sussex (the Kent Ditch) also runs through here.

I found henbane growing alongside a dyke here. Although this plant has a beautiful flower it is very poisonous & was commonly used in witchcraft because of its hallucinogenic properties. There is an account of a community of monks who mistakenly ate the roots of some henbane as part of their evening meal. (They thought it was chicory). Apparently, later that evening it was reported that the monastery resembled a lunatic asylum!

The 15th C. St. Mary's church at Stone in Oxney.

The Old Schoolhouse, Stone in Oxney.

I found this strange fungus which resembled a grapefruit skin, growing on a bank beneath an oak tree in the village.

A rare form of viper's bugloss with white flowers was growing by a farm track near Luckhurst Farm, Stone.

The Reading Sewer is one of the main drainage channels near Appledore. It flows into the Royal Military Canal on the outskirts of the village.

The 14thC church of SS. Peter & Paul, Appledore. It was burnt by the French in 1380 & restored in the 19thC.