Pub
This walk passes through a beautiful
woodland complex with open glades
dominated by heathland plants. As you
follow the route you will pass through
areas managed in different ways for timber.
A wonderful walk in every season.
Narrow road –
be careful
Guestling Wood is an ancient woodland of mainly Sweet Chestnut
coppice interspersed with some large Oak trees. Part of the wood is
managed by the Woodland Trust and the walk passes coppiced
clearings, where timber has been cut for fencing.
Very busy road –
keep to verge
Stile from
road
A2
68
Flatropers Wood is a nature reserve owned by
the Sussex Wildlife Trust and is home to a diverse
range of plants and animals. The reserve is seminatural woodland, some areas are coppiced on
rotation to open up glades. You may see signs of
Wild Boar – keep a look out for their hoof prints
in the mud. Huge piles of pine needles can be
seen from the pathway. These are the nests of
Wood Ants and are often teaming with activity.
In autumn the wood boasts an amazing array of
large fungi, including the Fly Agaric. You are
welcome to explore the reserve using the
network of paths, but please allow more
time for this.
Tormentil
To Rye
te
Wa
The wood is a beautiful place to walk through at any time of year. In
spring woodland flowers such as Bluebells and Wood Anemones are
present in abundance. In summer the newly coppiced areas are full of
Foxgloves and autumn is the time for brisk walks among falling leaves.
In the winter months the wood becomes a haven for birds such as
woodpeckers and tits that search for food
through the trees.
rm
i
Narrow road –
be careful
Keep to field
boundary
Sandstone
outcrop
Foxglove
Stile
s
Green Woodpecker
Other public footpaths or
permissive tracks
ns
lo
Py
Wood Ant
As the route leaves the
woodland, it passes
through countryside of
mixed farmland. Other
features of interest
along the walk include
St Lawrence Church,
Guestling and the
sandstone outcrops in
Watermill Lane.
C hu rc
ne
La
Stile
from road
Other public footpaths
or permissive tracks
h
6
Trac
C
k
as o u n
t i n try Walk
g s Link
6 H
Beckley
Pubs
Shops
Bus service
Through gate
Route from village
Fairlight
Wood
School
Rye
A28
ay
W
s
’
tin
en
Northiam
Pub
Turn down twitten (alleyway)
at side of Post Office
PO
hu
Ew
To Hastings
r
Amenities
Length of walk
Circular route
3.8 km / 2.4 miles
Approximate distance
9
A25
Castle Water is a flooded gravel pit, formed by shingle
extraction. It is now a haven for a large variety of birds
including gulls, herons, ducks and geese, which feed
on the thriving wetland plants and insects. Only a
short distance from the route is a birdwatching hide,
where you can shelter and watch the birds.
Circular walk
Route from village/town
Other public footpaths
or permissive tracks
Bird hide
Length of walk
Camber
Castle
The final section of the walk follows the route of an
old railway line, which used to transport extracted
shingle from Rye Harbour.
From Rye
5.2 km / 3.2 miles
From Rye Harbour
7 km / 4.4 miles
From Winchelsea Beach 7 km / 4.4 miles
Approximate distances
Amenities
Strawberry
Hole
Blackthorn
Key
Castle
Water
Northiam
Pubs
Shops
Bus service
Key
Circular walk
Other public footpaths
Based on Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. East Sussex County Council LA 076600 2001.
Camber Castle is open to the
public on Saturday and Sunday
afternoons between 2pm and
5pm in July, August and
September. It can also be
entered on guided walks at
other times of the year. For more
details phone 01797 223862.
Rye
Pubs
Shops
Bus and train service
Pub
To Winchelsea
Winchelsea Beach
Pub
Shops
Bus service
Rye Harbour village
Pubs
Bus service
S e a Ro a d
ry
Borde
r Path
Gadwall
Greater Reedmace
Playing
fields
r Ro
ad
To Rye Harbour
Canal
Sussex
La
ne
Cemetery
Har
bo u
R i ve r B re d e
To Tenterden
r Ro
Milita
Great Dixter
Brede Lock
This low-lying, flat land was formed behind shingle
ridges deposited by the sea. Henry VIII constructed
Camber Castle on the edge of the coast, to protect
Rye from invasion. A garrison of up to 42 men was
stationed here but the Castle became redundant as
the sea receded. The first section of the walk follows
the Royal Military Canal path. The Canal arcs
between Cliff End and Hythe and was built, in the
19th century, to protect the coast against Napoleon.
Royal
Di x t
e
Follow roads
back to the centre
of Northiam
st
Qu
Dragonfly
ad
Great Dixter House and
Gardens –
The house, partly dating from
the 15th century, is surrounded
by Christopher Lloyd’s beautiful,
ever-changing gardens. The
house and gardens are open to
the public from April to
October. (Admission fees apply.
For further information call
01797 252878).
Based on Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. East Sussex County Council LA 076600 2001.
A walk through part of Rye Harbour Nature
Reserve, protected for its abundant and special
wildlife. You will see sheep grazed pasture,
intersected with ditches, ponds and gravel pits full
of wetland wildlife.
Keep to footpath behind hedge
– do not use private drive
Pett
Pubs
Shops
Bus service
Guestling Green
Shop
Bus service
d
oa
tR
t
Pe
Camber Castle
Descending through gently rolling farmland, passing through little woods
and crossing streams, this walk takes you through the typical patchwork
countryside of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. As the
route joins the Sussex Border Path, you may see dragonflies darting near
the water or hear grasshoppers chirping in long grass. The hedgerows
are full of a variety of plants including Hawthorn
and Blackthorn, providing flowers and nectar
for insects in spring and berries for birds
in autumn.
Icklesham
Pubs
Shops
Bus service
PO
Guestling
Green
Based on Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. East Sussex County Council LA 076600 2001.
Northiam is a pretty East Sussex village with weatherboard houses. It
is situated on the old coach road to Rye, so many travellers have
stopped here on route, including Queen Elizabeth I.
Pett
Pub
There are private properties in and around these woods. Please respect their privacy.
Northiam
From Icklesham
4.9 km / 3.1 miles
From
Guestling Green
4.2 km / 2.6 miles
From Pett
4.4km / 2.7 miles
Approximate distances
Amenities
10
Amenities
Circular walk
Guestling
Wood
Take footpath
through gateway
after oak tree
ne
La
From Beckley
4.7 km / 2.9 miles
Approximate distance
Length of walk
i ll
Length of walk
Key
m
ter
Wa
B i x ley Lane
Route from village
Pannel
S ew
er
Circular walk
Flatropers
Wood
Bixley Wood
Pyl
on
Key
Bixley Wood is a commercial wood managed by
Forest Enterprise. Here you will walk through a
plantation of mature Oak trees before passing
through clearings and a coniferous wood. The
rides and glades are full of heathland plants
including heathers, Tormentil and Broom.
The walk then rises up
Quentin’s Way – a path
dedicated to the memory
of Quentin Lloyd,
brother of Christopher
and former Parish
Councillor. The route
passes close by the
famous Great Dixter
House and Gardens before
heading through some of
the village.
Pub
ll
To Northiam
A259
Hastings
A259
88
B20
Icklesham
Guestling Wood
L an
e
Beckley
To Hawkhurst
A268
Bixley and
Flatropers Woods
Winchelsea
Look for footpath sign
between the Old Surgery
and Braeside House
Winchelsea
Beach
Based on Ordnance Survey © Crown copyright. All rights reserved. East Sussex County Council LA 076600 2001.