Sussex: Rye to Hastings 3/6/2010***

 

Cream-spot tiger-moth   Stinking hawksbeard   Donax vittatus shells

We walked directly from the hotel south to the riverside, passing a series of chandleries and following the Rother’s tributary Brede west to the road bridge over it.  We then returned along the south bank and over a sluice by road, which continued through an industrial area lining the south bank of the Rother, including a “waste water disposal site”.  At the end of the road is the little village of Rye Harbour where the large RSPB nature reserve starts.  This comprises a large area of shingle with lakes and many notable species.  We noticed enclosures guarded by electric wire fence and internal rabbit-proof defences for stinking hawk’s-beard, which is now extinct at its one original station at Dungeness, but was introduced here.  It was too early see any flowers and even with binoculars we could not make out any rosettes.  Sea pea is another plant similarly protected here, and we did see that in one enclosure.  The vegetation was similar to Dungeness, with lots of sea kale, and common blues fluttering over the bird’s-foot trefoil.  We took a detour to a bird hide overlooking Ternery Lake, where we had good views of common and sandwich terns, black-headed, common and Mediterranean gulls all nesting (and many with quite large chicks), cormorants, tufted duck, moorhen and coots, plus one dunlin.  There was a continuous overhead stream of terns carrying small silver fish for their young.  Away from the water we saw a lesser whitethroat and a cream-spot tiger-moth.  The tarmac path nearest the shore continued right through to Winchelsea, although we did not see the village itself as we left the path to cross the shingle and gain the sandy beach with lots of Donax vittatus shells.  We walked this almost to Cliff End, when the sand gave out, the tide coming in, and we had to return to the top of the shingle and the sea wall.  Clay cliffs start at this village and we had to take a path up between houses to the cliff-top.  On the way up we encountered a brilliant emerald dragonfly with its amber wings and slender dark body.  The path led through young woodland as far as Fairlight.  This was signed as the Saxon Shore Way, but at Fairlight signs ran out and left us confused and directionless amongst private housing.  It was only signed again when we finally left the estate!  We lost much time trying to negotiate this unfriendly territory and there was no access to the shore at all.  At one point we rescued a slow-worm in the middle of a track and removed him to the verge.  We followed cliff-top heath, which was part of Hastings Country Park, and dominated by heather, heath bedstraw and wood-sage.  The path rose and fell increasingly steeply as we crossed a series of glens.  At one grazed hill-top there was a large patch of common bird’s-foot, its tiny white flowers only just protruding from the prostrate foliage.  On one stretch a mole ran across the path.  We eventually rounded East Hill and Hastings was spread in front of us, built over a further series of hills.  The way to the harbour was down hundreds of concrete steps, at the bottom of which we were suddenly thrown into the midst of all the usual seaside town paraphernalia of amusement parks, stalls and hubbub.  We had little time, however, as we were late for our return train and would have to wait an hour for the next. So we hurried along the front to the pier where there was subway to a central shopping area and signs to the station, which we reached with just 5 minutes to spare.

River Brede   Rye Harbour NR foreshore   Hastings Country Park   Common birdsfoot