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- walking the royal military canal
Walking the Royal Military Canal
Route facts
Waterways:
Royal Military Canal »
Distance: 5.59 miles / 9 km
Duration: Three hours
Difficulty: Easy
Starts at: Sandgate, Hythe
Ends at: Return bus trip from Burmash Road, Pennypot, near West Hythe
An easy and varied walk along an intriguing historic anomaly - a large, navigable canal built not for boats and cargo, but as a defensive line across Romney Marsh when Napoleon was expected to invade.
The start of the canal is on Prince's Parade in Sandgate, Hythe, down a short flight of steps. This is between the sea wall and the main road.
Things quickly improve as the road moves away and you walk beside a golf course. Cross the Twiss Road bridge and the canal enters the centre of Hythe, where it is now a prominent feature of the park with the appearance of an ornamental lake.
Beyond Stade Street bridge the towpath disappears, so walk down Portland Road by the canal, then along a raised path to a pub. Cross the main road and regain the path. At the end of this stretch, you should recross the main road, and the canal is beside the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway station.
As the walk leaves town, the steep hills to the right begin to dominate. You are now following part of the Saxon Shore way. The railway moves away to the left and the right-hand bank of the canal is seen to be unusually high. This was a defensive rampart giving a good line of sight for guns and allowing men and munitions to be moved behind. The bulk of Lympne Castle, high on the cliff above on the right, now comes into view. The 12th century St Stephens Church is alongside.
Reaching the road in West Hythe, and its ornate bridge, walk straight across into a car park. Stay on the Saxon Shore Way until you reach a dam across the canal, where you should turn left. As you cross the dam, there is an information board giving some details about the marshlands. Here, the canal cut to the sea leaves through an elaborate sluice.
Return down the opposite bank of the canal, recross the road, and go through a small disabled car park. After three quarters of a mile, a small road (Burmarsh Road) runs alongside the towpath. Carry on until you reach a new footbridge over the canal: leave the towpath here and join Burmarsh Road, then turn left. Walk along the road, which swings right, and over the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. The bus stop is just opposite the Prince of Wales pub on the main road.
Getting there
Parking: Parking is available at Sandgate/Seabrook.
Public transport: Once you have completed the walk, Stagecoach Buses 10, 12 and 711 each run hourly from the Prince of Wales Pub on Burmarsh Road back to Sandgate. (Bus information: 0870 243 3711 or 0870 608 2608.)
