Around Kent > Walking > Deal to Sandwich (Ancient Highway)

The Ancient Highway is an inland track linking North Deal with Sandwich. While its evocative name suggests a colourful past of perhaps smuggling, medieval troop movements or even Viking or Roman invasions, today it is mainly used for access to golf courses, the Sandwich Bay Estate, and by cycling enthusiasts.

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Despite the rather drab scenery of fairways to the east and poorly drained fields to the west, this 6km track does pass by a variety of interesting features. It should be noted that the byway is not particularly pedestrian-friendly. While traffic is generally light, much of the walk is on a narrow, poorly maintained road or, optionally, a mud track well-churned by horses. Some road walking is also required on more established roads to the north of Sandwich Bay Estate.

Leaving North Deal along Golf Road, 300m to the west of the remains of Sandown Castle, it comes as no surprise that the first view is of the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. The is the first of four links courses in a 7-mile stretch of land known as the Royal Golf Coast, which also includes Royal St George's, Prince's and Littlestone courses. Links are an original style of golf course, characterised by a coastal sand dune location, with the challenges of uneven fairways and high, blustery winds.

Conceived in 1892, and with 9 holes open for play within 15 weeks, the RCPGC was later expanded to a full 18 holes in 1896-98. Being a links course, it has hosted the Open Championship - first in 1909, and again in 1920. It was also scheduled to host the Open in 1938 and 1948, but due to high tides and storms inundating the course these had to be relocated. Royal Cinque Ports was subsequently removed from the Open rota, although it still remains a Final Qualifying Course.

Situated at the edge of the course at grid reference 370553 is a World War II pillbox. 28000 of these small, concrete structures were constructed in 1940-41 response to the threat of a full scale German invasion (Operation Sealion). Around 6000 still exist, and most of these were catalogued during the Defence of Britain project in 1995-2002. This particular example is designated reference S0001019 (irregular octagonal pillbox), and would have contained light weaponry such as rifles and light machine guns, and possibly an anti-tank gun. The brick-facade exists not for camouflage but as a result of the method of construction: the brick inner and outer walls were built, then concrete poured into the space between to provide the bulk of the structure and protection from machine gun fire.

Back to the present day, and the Chequers Restaurant shortly appears, offering a mix of South African and English cuisine. Located opposite is the Greenacres park home - a collection of 33 residences for the over-45s; and further down the road, the Restharrow Nature Reserve. The latter forms part of the Sandwich Bay and Hacklinge Marshes site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and was acquired bythe trust in the 1980s as an example of ancient dune meadow.

With its wide expanses of meadows and open grazing, Sandwich attracts a diverse array of wildlife. Located close to the Sandwich Bay estate is the Sandwich Bay Observatory. In 1952, this site was one of the first independent bird ringing stations in the UK, and it attained observatory status ten years later. A new field centre was built in 2002, and the visitor centre and shop are open 7 days/week for both members and visitors.

The stretch of road outside is privately owned by the Sandwich Bay Estate and a toll booth is installed. This caused controversy in 2003 when residents doubled the toll from £5 to £10 just prior to a local Open Tournament - despite having already received a £25000 "facilities fee" from the organisers (who had additionally paid £15-20000 to the council for local road improvements).

The 2003 Open was the thirteenth time the event had been played at Royal St George's Golf Club. Designed and established in 1887, RSGGC was the first course outside of Scotland to host the Open, in 1894, and it is next scheduled to do so in 2011. While course fees are high in the area, neighbouring Prince's Golf Club is less exclusive: having been opened in 1906 to cater for lady, junior and family golfers. Even with this altruistic reputation, it too has hosted the Open Championship, in 1932.

Having now walked over 4km from Deal, it is highly probable that at least one group of brightly-coloured, lycra-clad cyclists has sped past. This is accounted for by the byway being on a National Cycle Route (NCR) - part of a network created by the Sustrans charity, totaling 12000 miles in length in Dec 2007. NCR 1 begins in Dover, and runs 113 miles to London, passing through Deal, Sandwich, Canterbury, Whitstable, Faversham and Sittingbourne in Kent. The route then runs the length of the UK to John O'Groats and the Shetland Islands. The NCR 1 also forms part of the 6000km North Sea Cycle route, which continues across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium.

Spaced along the NCR network are a series of Millennium Mileposts. Four were commissioned - one from each country of the UK - and the Fossil Tree by John Mills, pictured, is predominant in Kent. Also of note on this example is the sponsorship by RBS, who paid for 1000 to be installed as part of a millennium project.

 
 

The remaining 1.5km of the walk is fairly uneventful, passing through a hamlet and then into Sandwich from the east. Sandwich itself has a rich history, including its role as a Cinque Port from the 12th century, before becoming a peaceful market town 600 years later. More details can be found in this earlier article, where the town was included on a walk of the Kent coast; and a future article is planned that will focus on some of the architecture, local walks and further history of the town.

 

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