Sunday 23 September 2007

Part 3 - Hythe and Its Surroundings

Staying on the outskirts of Hythe we just had to have a trip on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway (RH&DR)
When it first opened to the public the line only covered, in double track, the eight miles between Hythe and New Romney — the railways main terminus. Owner Captain Jack Howey soon had his eye on extending the line and in 1928 double tracks carried the trains to Dungeness via Greatstone. A fantastic main line ride of 13.5 miles.
As you can see it is not a full sized train.





When the train arrives at Hythe it has to be turned round - by hand!


Close to Dungeness there are a few wooden cabins built on the shingle. Instead of gardens many of them have decorated their surroundings with 'found' objects washed up by the sea. In amongst the one below, which represents a ship, were many types of flip flop. We wondered if the one CarolW lost to the sea in South Africa was amongst them?



Here I am with a sundial on my right.



Close to the caravan site was the Royal Military Canal (RMC). The RMC stretches for 28 miles along the old cliff line that borders the Romney Marsh from Hythe in the north east to Cliff End in the south west. It was built as a third line of defence against Napoleon, after the British Royal Navy patrolling the English Channel and the line of 74 Martello Towers built along the south coast.


The first sod of the RMC was dug at Seabrook, Kent on 30th October 1804. The canal was completed in April 1809 at a cost of £234,000 (£10 million in today's money).


I thought that there was a cycling track all along the RMC, but was mistaken and there is only a short stretch from close to the campsite to Seabrook, about 4 miles. It is possible to walk the 28 miles.

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