The Saxon Shore Way

The Saxon Shore Way takes its name from a line of fortifications built by the Romans along the East Kent Coast to repel Saxon invaders from Denmark. Built by the Romans in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, long before the North Kent Marshes or the Romney Marsh came into existence, the route reveals how much the coastline has changed since the fifth century.

The path can be picked up at the Oxney Ferry, which provides an ideal location from which to set out on a beautiful walk along the old coastline of the Isle of Oxney and Ebony. On your return, you can pop-in for a few refreshing drinks, or choose from our extensive and innovative food menus.

The Saxon Shore Way runs for 163 miles from Gravesend in Kent to Hastings in East Sussex. At Rye, it joins the 1066 country walk. From Rye, the route follows the Royal Military Canal as far as Winchelsea, and climbs over the Fairlight Fire Hills before ending at Hastings. It offers the walker a diversity of scenery from the wide expanses of marshland bordering the Thames and Medway estuaries to the White Cliffs of Dover, as well as panoramic views over Romney Marsh from the escarpment that marks the ancient coastline between Folkestone and Rye.

Originally opened in 1980, the Saxon Shore Way follows the coastline as it was about 1700 years ago, when the cliff lines to north and south extended further into the sea and when the Wantsum Channel provided a thoroughfare for boats between the Isle of Thanet and mainland England.

The route is also rich in historical sites and literary associations. It was here that the Romans invaded Britain and, later, St. Augustine landed to bring the Gospel to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom which would later fall to the Normans who, in their turn, erected great fortresses like Dover Castle to defend their conquests. Four Roman forts lie along the route, at Reculver, Richborough, Dover and Lympne.