Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 square miles (260 km2). The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until the 18th century. Due to its location, geography and isolation, it was a smuggler's paradise between the 1600s and 1800s. The area has long been used for sheep pasture: Romney Marsh sheep are considered one of the most successful and important sheep breeds. Criss-crossed with numerous waterways, and with some areas lying below sea level, the Marsh has over time sustained a gradual level of reclamation, both through natural causes and by human intervention.
The River Brede is an English river in East Sussex. It flows into the Rock Channel and then onto the River Rother at Rye, Sussex. It takes its name from the village of Brede, which lies between Hastings and Tenterden.
The River Rother flows for 35 miles (56 km) through the English counties of East Sussex and Kent. Its source is near Rotherfield in East Sussex, and its mouth is on Rye Bay, part of the English Channel. Prior to 1287, its mouth was further to the east at New Romney, but it changed its course after a great storm blocked its exit to the sea. It was known as the Limen until the sixteenth century. For the final 14 miles (23 km), the river bed is below the high tide level, and Scots Float sluice is used to control levels. It prevents salt water entering the river system at high tides, and retains water in the river during the summer months to ensure the health of the surrounding marsh habitat. Below the sluice, the river is tidal for 3.7 miles (6.0 km).
The Kent and East Sussex Railway (K&ESR) refers to both a historical private railway company in Kent and East Sussex in England, as well as a heritage railway currently running on part of the route of the historical company. The railway runs between Tenterden Town and Bodiam.
Rye is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederation, it was at the head of an embayment of the English Channel, and almost entirely surrounded by the sea.
Winchelsea is a small town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south west of Rye and 7 miles (11 km) north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earlier town of the same name, known as Old Winchelsea, that was lost to coastal erosion in the late medieval period. Winchelsea is part of the civil parish of Icklesham.
Rother is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Bexhill-on-Sea. The district is named after the River Rother which flows within its boundaries.
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles (45 km) between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh, which was constructed as a defence against the possible invasion of England during the Napoleonic Wars.
The Marshlink line is a railway line in South East England. It runs from Ashford, Kent via Romney Marsh, Rye and the Ore Tunnel to Hastings where it connects to the East Coastway line towards Eastbourne. Services are provided by Southern.
Rye railway station is a Grade II listed station, serving Rye, East Sussex, England. It is on the Marshlink line between Hastings and Ashford International and is the principal station between those two terminals. The station is a passing place between two single track sections. Services are provided by Southern, usually between Eastbourne and Ashford with an additional shuttle from Rye to Ashford at peak times.
Camber is a village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, 3 miles (4.8 km) south-east of Rye. The village is located behind the sand dunes that occupy the estuary of the River Rother, where the seaside settlement of Camber Sands is situated.
Camber Sands is a beach in East Sussex, England, in the village of Camber, near Rye. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex, and is east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay stretching 3 miles (4.8 km) to just beyond the Kent border, where shingle and pebbles take over again. It is one of three stretches of non-tidally submerged sand east of Poole Bay, which just exceeds the three in total length, on England's south coast, the others being West Wittering and Avon Beach. Two holiday resorts are near Camber Sands owned by Pontins and Parkdean Resorts just off New Lydd Road and Lydd Road respectively in the alighting village of Camber.
The Rother Valley Railway (RVR) is a heritage railway project based at Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It takes its name from the original name for what later became the Kent and East Sussex Railway, running from Robertsbridge through to Headcorn in Kent, via Tenterden. The project is to replace the ‘missing link’ between Robertsbridge, a station on the Tonbridge to Hastings mainline, and Bodiam on the Kent and East Sussex Railway, a heritage railway which operates from Bodiam to Tenterden. A charity, supported by a society of volunteers, is attempting to re-establish the railway link. The RVR began by reinstating the first few hundred yards of line eastwards from Robertsbridge, and also a short stretch westwards from Bodiam. In 2010, the latter section was further extended to reach Junction Road. In summer 2011 work began at Robertsbridge to extend further eastwards to Northbridge Street, which entailed the rebuilding of five bridges. By June 2012, this further extension was also completed. In September 2013, a Gala weekend at Robertsbridge marked the progress to date and the start of the next phase - the re-instatement of the section between Northbridge Street and Junction Road, for which statutory permissions are being sought. While the RVR does not yet feature regular passenger trains, the base at Robertsbridge houses a small shop and visitor centre open to the public each Sunday, utilising a building formerly used as the London terminus of the Orient Express. There is also a small collection of historic railway vehicles in various stages of preservation.
The River Tillingham flows through the English county of East Sussex. It meets the River Brede and the eastern River Rother near the town of Rye. A navigable sluice controlled the entrance to the river between 1786 and 1928, when it was replaced by a vertical lifting gate which was not navigable. The river provided water power to operate the bellows of an iron works at Beckley Furnace, used to make cannons for the Royal Navy between 1578 and 1770, when it became uneconomic, and a water mill which replaced it, until that burnt down in 1909. The lower reaches supported a thriving shipbuilding industry from the early nineteenth century onwards, and although on a smaller scale, was still doing so in 2000.
There are eleven disused railway stations between Exeter St Davids and Plymouth Millbay, Devon, England. At eight of these there are visible remains. Of the eleven stations, South Brent and Plympton are subject of campaigns for reopening while Ivybridge station was replaced by another station on a different site.
Junction Road Halt, also known as Junction Road (for Hawkhurst), was a halt station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway. It was located on the eastern side of the level crossing across the B2244 Junction Road near the hamlet of Udiam in East Sussex, England. Closed for passengers in 1954 and freight in 1961 with the line, The line through Junction Road Halt may yet be revived as the Rother Valley Railway, a preservation society, is proposing to reopen the line from Robertsbridge to Bodiam.
Salehurst Halt was a halt station on the Kent and East Sussex Railway which served the village of Salehurst in East Sussex, England. The station was reached by a footpath leading south from the village church in Salehurst. Closed in 1954, Salehurst Halt may yet see trains again as the Rother Valley Railway, a preservation society, is proposing to reopen the line from Robertsbridge to Bodiam, including the line through the halt.
Rye railway station was a terminal station on the Rye and Camber Tramway in East Sussex, connecting Rye to Camber.
