Summary
This route continues the circuit of England's South East coast, based on NCN21 and 2 (the previous section was Route D: Dover to Rye). At Bexhill-on-Sea it's well worth stopping to visit the art deco De La Warr Pavilion. Then a traffic free path between the railway and the beach brings you to Hastings, where the old quarter is a pleasant contrast to the new. After a stiff climb around Hastings Country Park you descend onto the Pett Level. The route finishes through Rye Harbour Nature Reserve (or you could call at the interesting Cinque Port town of Winchelsea). Rye is a fascinating historic town. Get the train back to Eastbourne. (For the next section, Eastbourne to Brighton, see here.) (For more 'Cycling from Guildford' routes see here.)
Travel: I describe the route from West to East, starting from Eastbourne station. Get the train back from Rye. If arriving by car, you could park at the various public long stay car parks in Eastbourne, or use a parking app to find cheaper parking, for example at the Asda near Sovereign Harbour
Map:
GPX: You can download the Google map info, as a KML/KMZ file, then convert to GPX using a site like GPS Visualiser, or get the main route from the cycle.travel website. You download and use any such data entirely at your own risk.
Distance: 34 miles
Surface/traffic: Mainly good surfaces (tarmac path or road, sea front shared use pavement). The track from Bexhill to Hastings via the Glyne Gap is rough in places. Busy on-road sections in the centre of Eastbourne (unfortunately, cycling is not allowed along the sea front promenade until you reach Roseland). The descent to Pett Level is on the busy Fairlight Road/Battery Hill: it's not too bad going East (downhill) but would be unpleasant to climb going West.
Route Variations: The route generally follows NCN21 to Pevensey, then NCN2 to Rye. There are options to stay closer to the coast through Sovereign Harbour, Pevensey-Normans Bay, Hastings Country Park and Rye Harbour Nature reserve.
You could shorten the route at stations in Bexhill, St Leonard's and Hastings.
Directions (see map):
From Eastbourne Station, make your way down to the sea front, and follow the (busy) road eastwards till, at Roseland, you can join the shared use sea front promenade, then follow NCN21 to Pevensey Bay (you could amble through Sovereign Harbour at the outset). You could then follow NCN2 inland (with the option to visit Pevensey Castle) but I prefer to follow the more direct and reasonably quiet coast road to Norman's Bay, where you pick up NCN2. along the sea front at Bexhill, where it s well worth calling at the Art Deco De La Warr Pavilion.
From Bexhill the route climbs through the Glyne Gap to follow a cycle path sandwiched between the railway and the cliffs/beach to reach St Leonards, where you can use the shared use pavement along the sea front passing the newly renovated pier to reach the old fishing sheds at the Stade.
Ride up the High Street till it ends at A259 London Road. Cross this road into Harold Road. This rises steeply: keep following the NCN2 signs up Barley Lane. (NB A novel alternative is to take the East Cliff Railway from the Stade (check operating times on the web). You emerge on the shoulder of the hill, with good views over Hasting Old Town. Now make your way on foot approx NE rising quite steeply over grass to the hill crest and exit via Rocklands Lane to rejoin Barley Lane on the main route.) On Barley Lane, pass through a gate and continue along the traffic free road through Hastings Country Park, soon turning sharp left (approx North) to join Fairlight Road, where there is a car park with toilets. Then descend with care on the busy main road to cross the Royal Military Canal at Cliff End. There is then a long, flat stretch on the road behind the sea wall which defends the Pett Level. (The path along the sea wall itself is narrow, bumpy and precipitous.)
You could follow NCN2 inland calling at fascinating Winchelsea and reaching Rye on a path under the inland Cadborough Cliffs. Or take the good track through Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Either way, be careful on the final few hundred metres on busy roads to reach Rye station.
Refreshments: There are plenty of eateries in Eastbourne, Bexhill, Hastings and Rye. Hastings Pier has a number of open air food (and drink) stalls. Fish is a speciality at the Stade in Hastings. There is a cafe at the Hastings Country Park Visitor Centre slightly off route at Fairlight, also C2 - Pett cafe at Pett Level Village, Winchelsea Beach Cafe just where you branch off into the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, and at the visitor centre in the Reserve.
Attractions: General seaside ambiance. Sovereign Harbour Marina. Art Deco De La Warr Pavilion. Hastings Pier, newly renovated after a period of dereliction. Tall black fishing net sheds at the Stade, Hastings; also the Hastings Contemporary Gallery (entrance fee). Views over Hastings from Cliff Railway if you take that option. Rye Harbour Nature Reserve (native seaside flowers/weeds, birdlife). Historic towns of Winchelsea and Rye.
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