Day 164 – Rye to St Leonards-on-Sea: 15.0m: 5.7h

We assemble at St Pancras with Mike having travelled from Taplow where he and Irene have been staying for the weekend with friends. It’s a February resumption to the walk but the weather seems to be set fair for the next couple of days – relatively mild and, thankfully, dry. However, when we arrive in Rye, it’s soon apparent from the brisk westerly breeze that it’s still going to be a three-layer Monday. We set off along the west bank of the River Rother shortly before 11 o’clock and reach the coast at Rye Harbour. Underfoot conditions are favourable and, despite the breeze being in our faces, progress is good. We pass the Harbour Nature Reserve, continue to Winchelsea Beach and, after a couple of hours, have ticked off over 6 miles. The pace slows slightly towards the end of the third hour following a climb to reach the cliffs above Fairlight Cove, a climb which is sufficiently far and/or fenced off from the cliff edge to be of no concern to Ben. And having walked down from the cliffs, we then encounter a series of four more ascents and descents in the space of 4 miles or so which reduces our pace to the funereal. Mike, with his bionic hip, is relatively sprightly, but it does become a bit of a struggle for the rest of us. This seems to become a particularly chastening experience for John as he gradually realises that his pace on the climbs is practically the same as Gary’s. Anyway, this 4 mile stretch takes nearly 2 hours to complete, but we then have the welcoming sight of a flat – and seemingly lengthy – promenade leading into and beyond (hopefully well beyond) Hastings. Our accommodation for the evening, Alexander’s B&B, is on the Hastings sea front, but we decide to walk the extra mile or so to St Leonard’s to reduce the distance to be covered tomorrow. Just before 4:40, we arrive at a point which Ben suggests (with perhaps uncharacteristic vehemence) would be a good place to stop, because it’s quite close to the Horse and Groom, a pub which he frequented with the family when spending a few days in St Leonard’s last year. Our route there isn’t exactly a beeline, but the few minutes spent in locating the street in which it can be found prove to be worth the effort. A very welcoming local serving excellent beer (Harvey’s) which we all sample twice before leaving. Our intention is to catch a bus to Hastings but, as we walk back towards the promenade, a taxi appears and is duly hailed. The driver doesn’t seem particularly enthusiastic to take us the short distance involved, but cheers up considerably when we arrive and Mike supplements the £5.50 fare with a £4.50 tip. We check in at Alexander’s, establish that breakfast can be made available at 7 o’clock tomorrow, place our orders and repair to our rooms to get ready for supper. John has booked a table at Rustico which, being an Italian restaurant, is unlikely to have fish and chips as a menu option, but it does have the great advantage of being only a few minutes away. As it turns out, the menu is essentially a pizza and pasta offering – and with side orders of chips available. However, the food is pretty good, and definitely filling. Indeed John’s choice of starter, a supposedly small calzone, is large enough to result in him not finishing his main course of pasta and meatballs (with chips!). But he does contribute fully to us finishing three bottles of wine, and then goes with Mike to a local bar for a sticky whilst Ben and Gary return to Alexander’s.