Saxon Shore Way
A 163-mile long-distance path making its way around the coastline of Kent and East Sussex. Highlights include the Hoo Peninsula, Rochester, Whitstable, Dover, Folkestone, and Hastings. With map, statistics, and GPX route file.
Statistics and Files
Grid Ref: TQ 647 745
Distance: 163 miles (262 km)
Time: 70–80 hours
Duration: 10–16 days
Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps (1:25,000):
124 Hastings, Bexhill, Battle and Robertsbridge
125 Romney Marsh, Rye, Winchelsea, Tenterden and New Romney
137 Ashford, Headcorn, Chilham and Wye
138 Dover, Folkestone and Hythe
148 Maidstone and the Medway Towns
149 Sittingbourne and Faversham
150 Canterbury, Isle of Thanet, Herne Bay, Deal and Whitstable
162 Greenwich and Gravesend
163 Gravesend, Rochester and Hoo Peninsula
Summary
The Saxon Shore Way long-distance footpath was originally opened in 1980. It follows the coastline of the south-east as it was about 1,500 years ago—long before the North Kent Marshes or Romney Marsh came into existence, when the cliff lines to the north and south extended further into the sea and the Wantsum Channel provided a thoroughfare for boats between the Isle of Thanet and mainland England.
The way takes its name, the Saxon Shore, from a line of fortifications built along the coastline as it was in the 3rd century AD towards the end of the Roman period. In this time of crisis, Saxon invaders came from the southern regions of modern Denmark, and in response the Romans built a line of defensive forts along the coast to repel the newcomers. Places visited on the route from the beginning in Gravesend include Medway and the Hoo Peninsula, Rochester, Gillingham, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Sandwich, Deal, Dover, Folkestone, Hamstreet, Appledore, Rye, Winchelsea, and Fairlight Cove before ending in Hastings.