The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

The Saxon Shore Way

Last month I walked 53 miles of the Saxon Shore Way (SSW) from Hastings to Dover. I completed this section in four days, spread over a span of one week to avoid the worst weather. My original plan was to continue farther on the 160 mile SSW to either Sandwich or Herne Bay, but due to increasingly poor weather I terminated my walk in Dover.

To the modern walker this portion of the Saxon Shore Way appears a bit of a misnomer. For much of the walk from Hastings to Dover the path is inland; often the English Channel is not even visible. Following the coast as it existed in Saxon times, i.e. before Duke William came ashore in 1066, the Saxon Shore Way gives one an idea of the changing landscape over the past centuries.

Day 1: Hastings to Rye, 12.5 miles

More precisely, I started by walking out my door in Rocklands and finished by walking the 1.5 miles from Hastings train station back home. In between I tried to capture some of the beautifully diverse scenery.

Hastings Old town, where the Saxon Shore Way officially begins (or ends, depending on one’s direction).
Looking back on the Fire Hills, Hastings Country Park, in the morning light. I left home at 7 AM, as soon as I could see the path.
Fairlight Cove village, a pleasant coastal bedroom community
Descending to the Pett Levels. After this point, Cliff End, the terrain changed from the rugged topography of Hastings Country Park to a much gentler landscape.
Swans along the Royal Military Canal on Pett Levels. The RMC runs for 28 miles, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh. It was constructed as a defense against the French during the Napoleonic wars.
The first Saxon Shore Way sign I spotted, at the entrance to the Camber Nature Reserve. Signage markedly improved once I reached the county of Kent.
The ruins of Camber Castle, built by Henry VIII to help protect the Sussex coast from the French.

Day 2: Rye to Ham Street, 12.5 miles

On Day 2 I resumed my walk by driving to Rye, where I left my car. At the end, I took the train back from the village of Ham Street to retrieve my car.

A gate at the entrance to the Ancient Town of Rye, part of the Cinque Ports confederation
The rolling hills and farm near Iden Village
Ferry Inn, Stone in Oxney. Sadly, it wasn’t lunch time yet as this would have made a great stop.
A renovated Oast House near Appledore. An oast is a kiln house, typically for drying hops.
An Appledore public defibrillator, a brilliant re-purposing of an old phone booth
Gusbourne vineyards near Appledore. They have about 150 acres under vine, which as a walker was a great change from crossing muddy fields.

Day 3: Ham Street to Etchinghill, 15.5 miles

After a three day hiatus, I resumed the Saxon Shore Way, driving to Rye and continuing by train to the village of Ham Street where I had left off.

The lovely Ham Street Woods, just a few minutes’ walk from the station
A couple of long-necked locals
Priory Wood mushrooms. My flower search became more problematic this late in the season, but the rains definitely brought out the fungal fruiting bodies.
St Martins Church, Aldington. The fall colors are beginning to emerge.
Royal Military Canal view near Honeypot Cottage
Denizens of Lympne Wild Animal Park
Site of Portus Lemanis (now Lympne) Roman Fort. Perhaps in a few decades the shoreline will once again extend to here!
Lympne Castle, not open to the public but available for private functions. The graveyard is part of the adjacent church.
The Tolsford Hill Ordnance Survey Benchmark. That clump of trees is shown on my map as Brockman’s Bushes. This was my high point for the day, at about 600 ft above sea level.

After the walk up Tolsford Hill, the final climb this day, I was a half hour from Etchinghill. Rather than return to Hastings, I chose to stay there to save the hassle of catching a bus to then get a train back to my car in Rye and then having to repeat the process the next day. I enjoyed a good meal at The Gatekeeper pub and a restful sleep before continuing on to Dover the following morning.

Day 4: Etchinghill to Dover, 12.5 miles

North Downs Way stone marker. For my final stage from Etchinghill, the Saxon Shore Way coincided with the more well known North Downs Way.
Tunnel entrance, Folkestone. On January 1 it will be ground zero for Brexit, featuring miles of trucks backed up for Customs to cross the Channel into France.
An unknown purple flower. I was unable to identify it as a wildflower; perhaps it’s a garden flower that escaped.
Topography from the North Downs approaching Dover
A WW2 pillbox along the cliffs. There are many gun emplacements and observation post remnants along these cliffs.
A stainless steel sculpture of a Stuka dive bomber at the Battle of Britain memorial
Coastal view back to the west, highlighting Folkestone Warren, the undercliffs seen here
A platter-sized mushroom along the cliffs
A sailing boat in the Channel
Approaching Dover from the west
Common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)
Dover Castle

The train from Dover back to Rye was far longer than my quick train journeys of 10-25 minutes up to this point, as it required a change at Ashford. Even so, I reached Rocklands by late afternoon, completing this portion of the Saxon Shore Way.

On the last day of October, I was scheduled to fly to Lanzarote, where my plan was to spend the winter walking in the warm sun and swimming in the ocean. Alas, British Airways would not let me board the plane as Spain had closed its borders to ALL US citizens – irrespective of their point of departure – the previous day! After about 45 minutes of discussion with the counter agent, I caught the next flight to Gibraltar, where I managed to find a condo available for two weeks. So here I am, enjoying the not-so-warm sun and swimming in the condo’s lap pool.

So where to from here? The options are extremely short as the world is closing down once more. England is in lock-down until at least early December. In any case the weather in winter is incompatible with my lifestyle. Stay tuned.

In a week or so I will post a short blog from Gibraltar focusing on the climb up the Mediterranean Steps to the top of the rock. Until then, enjoy nature as much as you can,

The Vagabond Hiker

1066 Country Walk

No one is more unhappy than I that this post does not feature the otherworldly landscapes of Cappadocia, Turkey. However, on the night before my departure to Istanbul the UK government in its infinite wisdom removed Turkey from its Travel Corridor, a dwindling list of countries one can travel to without quarantining on return to the UK. Naturally, the two trekking companies I was going with immediately cancelled their trips, so I remain here in Hastings.

With one difference from my ten week sojourn this spring: post lock-down I can now travel by train (!), opening up numerous long distance hiking options nearby. This post is my first installment. . .

The 1066 Country Walk is 31 miles, plus another 13 or so including its two connector trails, from Hastings and from Bexhill-on-Sea. The way-marked trail begins at Pevensey Bay, where Duke William landed, and ends in the Ancient Town of Rye. Its approximate mid-point is the town of Battle, site of that famous altercation on October 14th 1066.

1066 Country Walk schematic, showing the main trail from Pevensey to Rye as well as the two connector trails, from Bexhill and from Hastings

A 20-minute train journey from Hastings to Pevensey Bay this past Tuesday marked the start of my walk.

Pevensey Bay Station

Pevensey Bay station is not much to look at, but only a few hundred yards from the old castle and Roman fort.

Pevensey Castle and Roman Fort

Of course, at 8.30 in the morning it was closed to visitors, but the morning light wasn’t too bad for a photo of this ruin before commencing on the trail proper, following the red shield and white arrow 1066 signs.

One of many finger posts I followed

The first miles of the path away from Pevensey Bay were along the Pevensey levels. This flat ground was the reason William decided to land here with his horses and troops.

Sheep browsing along Pevensey Haven
A common Kingfisher. NO, this is not my photo (!), but I watched a kingfisher for a while in the bushes along Pevensey Haven, so thought I would share this Wiki image.

The walk continued to the village of Herstmonceux with its parish church and castle. A quick snack in the graveyard, and then I continued onto Battle. With 16.5 miles to cover this day and rain in the forecast, I did not stop at this otherwise impressive castle.

All Saints Church, Herstmonceux
Herstmonceux Castle

Shortly after Herstmonceux castle, I happened upon what I thought at a distance were missile silos. Although boasting a gate house and security guard, the lack of two rows of razor wire fencing and dobermans quickly convinced me of their benign purpose.

The Observatory Science Centre, Herstmonceux

Passing through some woods I noticed an impressive old beech tree. The path continued along a quiet country lane.

Old Beech
Country lane near the village of Brownbread Street

After walking through the village of Brownbread Street, I shortly faced a rather steep climb (though all of a couple hundred feet elevation gain!) up Tent Hill. The vistas were impressive, at least for 1066 country, but rain clouds soon appeared from the west.

View from Tent Hill near Ashburnham

Much of the next couple of hours was spent in intermittent rain storms, and I arrived at the Abbey Hotel in Battle completely drenched. A hot shower and good meal soon revived me for the next day: Battle to Rye.

The Gatehouse, Battle Abbey
St Mary the Virgin church, Battle

The light wasn’t good the next morning as I walked through the town, but with over 14 miles to cover, I chose to leave a visit to the abbey and battlefield for when I returned on the Bexhill connector path in a couple of days. (In April I had done the Hastings connector as part of a circular walk, and saw no point in repeating that section).

A stately oak along the edge of a field

The weather on the second day proved spectacular for October, with lots of sun, little wind and temperatures near 60F.

Vista near the village of Broad Street
Showy fleabane (Erigeron speciosus) hanging on late in the season

After passing through a portion of the town of Icklesham, the path next approached the Ancient Town of Winchelsea. (The two Ancient Towns, Rye and Winchelsea, were major commercial centers in the late middle ages, second only to the Cinque Ports in importance along the Sussex and Kent coasts).

Wickham Manor, now Charles Palmer Vineyards, Winchelsea
Wickham Rock Lane gate, Winchelsea. There actually is a lane under the gate; it’s below the level of the surrounding fields.
St Thomas the Martyr church, Winchelsea

Winchelsea proved to be a very attractive town, and I would like to return to explore it more some time. Another hour then brought me to Rye, which I had visited last year, so after the long day decided that photos of this very interesting town could wait for another time. I simply caught the train for a 19 minute ride back to Hastings.

Thursday turned out to be gusty and rainy, so I waited until Friday to complete the Bexhill to Battle connector trail. This time the train journey from Hastings was only 10 minutes, followed by a 20 minute walk to get from the station to the start of the trail at the edge of town. By 8 AM I was walking along the fields and woods outside of Bexhill.

Marsh near Acton’s Farm
Common daisy (Bellis perennis). There aren’t many flowers still blooming, but I endeavored to get at least one photo a day!
Hillcroft Farm and pond
Another quiet country lane, this one near Peppering Eye Farm

The 7 mile connector path walk from Bexhill was over before I knew it. I had pre-booked a visit to Battle Abbey (necessary in these times of covid), where I wandered around the grounds for a while before walking to Battle Station for my train trip back to Hastings (another 20 minute journey).

Battle Abbey and battleground. Harold Godwinson, last of the Saxon kings, was killed here, paving the way for William to conquer England.

Next up on my long distance walking schedule is the Saxon Shore Way. The way-marked trail is over 160 miles, extending from outside my door in Hastings all the way to Gravesend along the Thames River in Kent. How much I actually complete will remain to be seen in my next blog post. Until then, appreciate nature wherever you happen to be.

The Vagabond Hiker

Dolomites hikes and ferratas: the Pale di San Martino

Update 3 October: My plan was to be hiking in Turkey the first two weeks in October (see the final paragraph of this post). Unfortunately, the night before my departure I learned that the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) removed Turkey from its travel corridor list. Needless to say, my two first group trips since March’s shutdown were immediately cancelled. Hence I am staying in Hastings until my planned departure for Lanzarote in mid-November. Whether I post again from here is questionable, but make no mistake, I am planning some local hikes!

About a two-hour drive northwest from Venice lies a portion of the Dolomites that I had yet to explore. The territory of the Parco Naturale Paneveggio Pale di San Martino is located in eastern Trentino, at an altitude ranging from just under 1100 m to a maximum of about 3200 m on the summit of Cima Vezzana. It includes the catchment areas of three streams, comprising the Trentino part of the Pale di San Martino group to the east, the eastern offshoots of the Lagorai chain to the west, and to the north, the Paneveggio State Forest, one of the most famous forest complexes in the Alps. Amazingly to me, the park has no English Wikipedia page, but the Parks Italy website does have a comprehensive English version here.

I stayed in a typical Airbnb apartment in the main north-south valley of Primiero, in the village of Siror. With gorgeous views of the valley and mountains, it was a dramatic change after my five-plus months in England and an ideal base for exploring the area.

As I’ve now published uncounted blog posts from the Dolomites*, I limited the photos considerably. In particular, the photos of flora either had to be substantial improvements on my earlier attempts or of species I had not previously shared. Even so, with the amazing Dolomite landscapes, more than thirty made the cut. My sources for the hikes were the free version of the Alltrails app on my phone, Kompass map #622, Pale di San Martino, Cicerone’s Shorter Walks in the Dolomites (on my Kindle) and their Via Ferratas of the Italian Dolomites: Vol 2. The Parks Italy website above also it a good source, had I known about it ahead of time.

*Actually, this post is the fourth, excluding the Lago Garda post from last year

Evening view of the Gruppo del Cimonega from my south balcony. Parts of the town of Primiero and the village of Tonadico are in the middle ground.
Siror village, looking north up the Primiero Valley from my west balcony. There were many walks possible along the Torrente Cismon (out of the photo to the left) as well as on the slopes above the valley.
Siror and Torrente Cismon. Multi-use paths extend for miles along the banks of the river through the Primiero Valley.
The picturesque Hotel Siror, five minutes’ walk from my apartment. The village featured a few basic shops and a couple of cafes and restaurants.
A view from the slopes above Siror, about an hour’s walk from my apartment. Sass Maor in the southern Pale di San Martino is in the clouds here.
A cute woodshed, taken from the same spot as the previous photo
Grass of Parnassas (Parnassia palustris), seen later on the same hike. A much better photo that the one I shared a couple of years ago.
Lunch view at Lago Pradadali. My first major hike was a loop of about 6 hours on the altopiano of Pale di San Martino, at elevations between 2200 to 2630 meters. Very desolate indeed!
Moretti’s Bellflower (Campanula morettiana). Peeping out of a rock crevice, I believe it’s the first time I’ve spotted this bellflower with its distinctive hairy leaves.
Another lunar landscape, this of Cima della Fradusta with its glacier remnant on the Pale San Martino
Alpine thrift (Armeria alpina) with pollinator, still blooming late in the season. Another flower first for me.
Rifugio Rosetta set amidst the landscape of the altopiano. The Rosetta funicular top station is just off to the left here. Taking it this day eliminated the brutal 1100 m ascent/descent from/to the resort town of San Martino di Castrozza.
A stream above Lago di Calaita. For my next hike I did a 3 plus hour loop to the west of the Primiero Valley. Starting at a lower elevation, it proved quite a contrast to the altopiano! This so-called “holistic” trail had many interpretative placards.
Val Pisorno, heading up to Cima Grugola. This was just above treeline, at about 2000 meters. Geologically, the mountains west of me are the “metamorphic basement,” comprised primarily of gneiss. Thy are quite distinct from the dolomitic limestone of the Pale di San Martino group.
German Gentian (Gentianella germanica). These were a fairly common sight at lower elevations
Marmot on the trail up the headwall to Cima Grugola. Usually I just heard them whistling, but this fellow was very bold.
Single-flowered knapweed (Centaurea nervosa) detail with fly. I’ve shared a so-so image of this flower before. Despite its name, I think it’s cool-looking.
Lago Colbricon, near the Passo Rolle (1980 m) at the head of the Primiero Valley. I did a 4-hour loop hike that took in this popular destination, complete with a rifugio (on the far right here), before climbing further up into the mountains.
“View” east from Forcella Ceramana. Just to disabuse you of the notion that all my hikes invariably featured glorious weather and fantastic views!
View east from Punta Ces. Of course, an hour later the weather had cleared sufficiently for this photo! Lago Colbricon is on the left here. Cima Vezzana can be seen on the right, emerging from the clouds. At 3192 meters, Vezzana is the high point in the Pale di San Martino.
Returning to the Pale di San Martino altopiano, I spent two days climbing via ferratas. At this point, at Forcella Stephen above the clouds, I had just completed the easy-to-moderate VF Gusella.
After VF Gusella, I added a second ferrata, the VF Vecchia. Here I am looking down at its start, an easy 45 minute descent into Cadin Soraranz. A large part of this ferrata was aided with an excess of stemples (shown).
Adenostyles (Adenostyles alliariae). Not particularly rare, but the first time I’d identified this flower in the Dolomites.
Willow-leaved Gentian (Gentiana asclepiadea). A close up of a flower I’ve shared previously on my blog. While the two ferratas just described started at the Rosetta Top Station on the altopiano, the long descent to Castrozza afterwards was on foot through the forest, not by funicular!
View NW to Catena del Lagorai from Cima Tognola. This was an easy 3-plus hour loop hike – almost all descent – starting from the top of the cable car which ascended directly west from San Martino di Castrozza. Many mountain bikers used some specially-made trails that descended from the cable car top station, not shown to the right here.
Perhaps a pale morph of Campanula barbata, the hairy bellflower, glistening in the morning dew.
Cima Vezzana with San Martino di Castrozza below. This photo was taken on a splendid trail that gradually descended from one rifugio to another back towards Castrozza on the Cima Tognola loop hike.
Crossing the Tognola stream, nearly back to my car. I saw almost no one on this pleasant midweek outing.
Back on the altopiano for a second round of ferratas: Porton and Velo. Rhaetian poppies (Papaver rhaeticum) at the base of VF Porton. I’ve seen (and shared!) many of this species, but always find enjoyment in their sunny dispositions.
Photo taken during the ascent of VF Porton; note the cable on the lower left. Rifugio Pradadali is situated on an outcrop near the center of the photo. The peaks to the right boast some popular technical climbing routes.
Val Primiero with San Martino di Castrozza and the Catena del Lagorai in the background. Following my descent route on VF Velo (no worthwhile photos to share), I repeated my previous walk-out back to Castrozza, with an extra hour of descent from Rifugio Velo thrown in for good measure.
The final via ferrata I did was an expert one up Val Canali, a side valley 15 minutes drive to the east of Siror. Thought very short, VF Canalone was the toughest ferrata I did this year. Even with the approach hike in and back out, I was easily home for lunch. Here the Pale di San Martino can be seen in the morning light to the north of the path up to the start of the ferrata near Rifugio Treviso.
Due to the high contrast, a not-very-good photo of Rifugio Treviso and the Pale di San Martino from VF Canalone. (Yes, I could have taken a burst shot at incremental exposures and then combined them for a far better photograph, but remember that I was hanging off the ferrata cables at the time)! Below treeline, the route reminded me of the ferratas around Lago Garda with the roots and mossy rock. Fortunately, nearby was a much easier descent route.

The weather has just turned distinctly autumnal, with heavy rain and even snow expected in the next couple of days. Although the snow line is a bit above Siror, the Dolomites are definitely entering a hibernation stage, to be awakened in late November for winter sports. I instead am heading to Venice for the weekend before returning to England on Tuesday. Four days in La Serenissima without cruise ships should be an experience indeed. Following a short layover in England, during the first two weeks of October I will be hiking in Turkey: first in the otherworldly Cappadocia, and then along the Lycian Way on the southwest coast. My first group trips since the shutdown in March, those too promise to be interesting experiences.

Until next post, enjoy nature where ever you happen to be.

l’escursionista vagabondo

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