Sandwich and the Sea

Distance:    8.4 miles (3.5 hours) or 6.9 miles (3 hours) if short cut taken

OS Map:     Explorer 150 (Start at grid reference TR 334582)

Click map to magnify and click again to magnify further

Start from the Quayside car park.  You could park here but there is a hefty charge every day including Sunday – £1 an hour or £6 for a full day.  The Guildhall and Gazen Salts car parks are free on Sundays and the latter is only 70p an hour or £4 a day on other days at the time of writing.

1. Follow the broad tarmac path in an easterly direction away from the quayside.  In 300yds turn L across a metal footbridge and turn R.  When the path divides take the R fork and follow for half mile to cross another metal bridge, keeping to the SSW.  Continue on for 150yds and cross a farm road.  APPROX 1mile.

2. Now enter Royal Saint Georges Golf Links.  The path across the course is excellently way-marked with a succession of sign stones, white posts and notices: ‘To the Sea’.  In ¾ mile you reach a road, Princes Drive, which runs alongside the beach. APPROX 1¾ miles.

3. Pass through the kissing gate, then turn R and follow the road for ¾ mile to Sandwich Bay Estate (you can walk on the beach if preferred).  At the end of the Estate, by the Sailing Club, pass through a kissing gate onto a stony track (still adjacent to the sea) and follow for a further ¾ mile. You are now walking alongside ‘Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club’.  After passing an oil drum painted red and white, take first path on R across the course and in 200yds emerge onto the road by the former Chequers pub, now a cookery school.  APPROX 4 miles.

4. Turn R and stay on the road for ¼ mile until you reach two finger posts.  Bear left along the asphalt road and shortly bear left up a bank towards some metal gates.  Do not go through the gates but turn right along a bank.  Follow the bank, which can be a bit overgrown in midsummer, past Mary Bax Stone (don’t blink or you’ll miss it, just a few feet below the path on your R) and the bungalow on your L.  Shortly after the bungalow, bear L down the bank to a stile and follow the path along the edge of a series of fields passing through several kissing gate until you reach a dirt road. The Bird Observatory is a short distance to the R.

5. You now have two options:

For the SHORTER WALK go straight across the road and pass through the first of several kissing gates (installed by the stiles team of White Cliffs Ramblers) until you reach a road at a toll house.  Turn L and follow the road into Sandwich.  Soon after passing St George’s Road on the L, there is a path on the R taking you back to the quayside.

However, you could instead carry on until you reach the town walls where you can turn L along a very attractive path (marked green on the map) following the walls right round the town to Strand Street.  Here turn R and continue back to the quayside.

For the LONGER WALK turn L onto the Bridleway.  It briefly follows a stream, then crosses a concrete bridge (to which a footpath which diverts R from the Bridleway will also take you) and goes between hawthorn bushes and brambles until in just over ½ mile you reach a level crossing. 

APPROX 6 miles

6 Keep straight on.  The path soon becomes a metalled road; follow until it bends sharply to the L at Temptye farmhouse.  Here you turn R, indicated by a Bridleway Finger Post, still on a metalled road, and in just under ½ mile turn R again by an attractive white house.  Follow the tarmac path which crosses a metal bridge until you reach a main road.  APPROX 7¼ miles.

Turn R and continue on, over the level crossing and turn R again at Mill Wall.  Follow back to the Quay.

This walk was originally published on a calendar produced by White Cliffs Group.  Thanks to Ted Roche for originally devising this route, Diana Blackwell for checking the directions and Andrew Boultbee for the idea.  Robert Peel has updated the directions and provided the photographs.

If you find that the directions and map for this walk are incorrect in any way, please report the problem to info@kentramblers.org.uk.

Sandwich Bay - Isle of Thanet on the horizon

Points of Interest

A. Sandwich is considered to be one of the most complete medieval towns in England. It has changed relatively little over the centuries and its buildings, streets and alleyways still provide the visitor with much to explore. A ‘walled town’, it can still be viewed by walking round parts of the original ramparts.

B. The Quay was in the 13th century an important harbour for the export of wool. Lying in the ‘Wantsum channel’, it could accommodate many hundreds of vessels but in the 14th century it began silting up and by the 16th century was some 2 miles from the sea. It became, as now, merely an arm of the river Stour.

C. Royal Saint Georges Golf Links, founded 1887, is perhaps the most famous of three championship golf courses situated here. ‘Princes’, to the north, founded in 1912, hosted the Open Championship in 1932 and ‘Royal Cinque Ports’ to the south, founded in 1892, often holds the Amateur Championships. Royal Saint Georges has hosted the British Open on ten occasions.

D. Sandwich Bay Estate consists of a number of large houses which although in many cases look very old are, in fact, part of a development begun in 1912. They are the product of several well known architects of the time and the resulting variety of styles provides for an interesting detour.

E. Mary Bax stone marks the spot where Mary Bax, a local girl was murdered by a foreign gentleman on August 25th 1782.

F. Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory (just a few yards off the route) has been recording aspects of wildlife and, in particular the ringing of birds since 1952. It is an important station for monitoring bird migration. Visitors welcome. Open 10am-4pm 7 days per week.

In addition to the walking routes on our web site we have published two popular walking guides:

Guide to the Kent Coast Path: Part 1, Camber to Ramsgate

Guide to Three River Valley Walks in West Kent: Darent Valley Path, Eden Valley Walk and Medway Valley Walk

Ramblers' volunteers in Kent work tirelessly to ensure that our paths are as well protected and maintained as possible.  Of course we also organise led walks but most of our members are independent walkers who simply want to support our footpath work.  Please join us and become a supporter too.  You need us and we really need you.