Circular Walk around Camber Castle

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Having completed a long walk on Rye Harbour Nature Reserve previous day, we decided to do a short walk around Camber Castle in the morning on 16 May.

Like the previous day, we started the trail from Brede Lock. After finishing the trail surrounded by dense bushes, we reached the open land. Sheep and lamb are features of England and Wales and we often see them when we go to countryside. There were countless of them on the grass; they all showed different faces, characters, and appearances, e.g. suckling, eating grass on the bank of the stream and chasing the geese and a flock of seagulls who stopped at their territory by accident. We turned right when the reedbeds appeared in our sight after crossing the pasture land, and walked southwards along the Castle Water.

Camber Castle was a focal point while walking on the trail and it looked differently from wherever we were standing at. When we looked at the castle at the close position, we found it quite big.

Camber Castle was built by Henry VIII to protect Rye from French invasion. The artillery fort has five circular shaped battlements and it appears a symmetrical building from most of the directions, although it is an asymmetrical fort, shown in the aerial view. The ruined castle has been under the care of English Heritage and opens on Saturdays and Sundays between July and September and Bank Holiday weekends from April to September.

After seeing the castle, we walked to the bird observing hide. We could see various types of waterfowls, e.g. mallards, coots, cormorants, oyster catchers, white-fronted geese, and swans from the hides. It was also interesting to see a herd of goats on the opposite bank of the river in the distance.

We carried on walking towards the southern tip of the Castle Water, rambled through the scrub field where low-growing trees and shrubs, e.g. gorse, hawthorn, bramble, elder, and blackthorn were grown. There were carpets of heath, buttercup, and bluebells here and there. The scrub field plays important roles for birds and insects’ habitat.

Mark was reading the map and navigating. We walked past the farms and Sewage Works. There was a confusing sign written by the farmer, i.e. “This is not the footpath for Camber Castle.” However, the gate wasn’t tied up, so we were able to go through the footpath for the Castle Farm. Loads of sheep and lamb were eating and resting on the grass, and showed various faces, which was amusing to me. We walked along the River Brede and overlooked the people’s gardens. Unlike the previous day, none of the routes had been blocked and it let us complete the walk by the lunch time.

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