River Brede
One of the little-known rivers of Sussex, the River Brede has been navigable for centuries from Rye to Brede itself.
Five miles of the river can be navigated from the lock in Rye, which connects with the River Rother.
Winchelsea, two miles upstream, was a busy port as early as the 13th Century. Barges carried iron ore to the furnace at Brede, as well as the usual agricultural produce of the region. Indeed, coal traffic continued on the river until the 1930s.
The Brede was once envisaged as part of the military defence against the feared Napoleonic invasion. The western section of the Royal Military Canal, which was never used for navigation, leaves the river at Winchelsea and heads off to the coast at Cliff End.
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