The 1066 Country Walk in East Sussex is a 31-mile (50 km) trail from Pevensey Castle, via Herstmonceux and Battle to Winchelsea and Rye (West Undercliff). It’s well signposted with varying terrain. There are short sections where it takes you along the road, but please note, it is not a cycle route.
The 1066 Country Walk is not a literal reconstruction of William the Conqueror’s route through Sussex. Instead, it takes you through the landscape at the heart of the extraordinary events that unfolded here in the autumn of 1066. William, Duke of Normandy, landed at Pevensey on 28 September 1066. The landscape he encountered would have looked very different from the one we see today.
Pevensey stood on a peninsula projecting into a large tidal bay (now Pevensey Levels), while the substantial remains of a Roman fortification already occupied the site. The Normans quickly established temporary defences within the old Roman walls before William moved his forces towards Battle and Hastings.
The Battle of Hastings 1066: the Battle that Changed Sussex & History
Just over two weeks later, on 14 October 1066, William’s army met that of King Harold at what we now know as Battle. The accepted battlefield is below the ridge on which Battle Abbey was subsequently built. William founded the abbey after his victory and, according to tradition, ordered its high altar to be positioned on the spot where Harold fell.
But the walk also offers glimpses of the much quieter Sussex that existed alongside these momentous events. Westfield, for example, appears in the Domesday survey as Westewelle, a tiny settlement recorded as having just seven villagers and one cottager and Winchelsea has a wealth of history that includes two ruined priories, a vineyard and medieval wine cellars. It is this combination of major national history, small details of rural life and stunning landscape and wildlife that makes the route so interesting.
Planning the 1066 Country Walk
The 1066 Country Walk runs from Pevensey Castle to West Undercliff, off Udimore Road in Rye, crossing some 50 km of East Sussex countryside – although by the time we had finished, our total was closer to 55 km. Much of the route passes through the High Weald National Landscape, with its characteristic rolling hills and valleys, ancient woodland, small fields and historic settlements. Elsewhere, the walk crosses the wide, open marshland of the Pevensey Levels and the distinctive landscape towards Rye.
How long should you allow?
It is possible to complete it in a single day if you are a particularly strong and experienced long-distance walker. For most people, however, this is a route to savour rather than race.
We completed it over two days, staying overnight in Battle. Battle is a very natural halfway point and has the advantage of plenty of accommodation, places to eat and good transport connections. However, it meant covering approximately 26–28 km each day, which was demanding. More importantly, walking that distance meant we needed to maintain a fairly consistent pace. There are places where you can make small diversions from the trail, for example to visit a church, as well as absorbing the detail on those fascinating information panels, but we didn’t always feel we had the luxury of lingering.
Our recommendation
Our recommendation would be to allow three days. For the first night, look for accommodation around Ashburnham, Brownbread Street or Penhurst, followed by a second night around Westfield or Icklesham, before completing the final stretch into Rye on day three. This makes the daily distances considerably more manageable and, crucially, gives you more time to enjoy the places you’re walking through rather than concentrating on getting the kilometres under your belt.
Walking the route in shorter sections
There is also an official Walker’s Guide to the 1066 Country Walk, designed to be used alongside Ordnance Survey mapping, which divides the route into six easier sections:
- Pevensey to Herstmonceux
- Herstmonceux to Brownbread Street
- Brownbread Street to Battle Abbey
- Battle Abbey to Westfield
- Westfield to Icklesham
- Icklesham to Rye
This is an excellent option if you would rather explore the route through a series of shorter day walks.
Getting there and away
If you are walking the route in sections, public transport needs some advance planning. The most useful railway stations for the route are Pevensey & Westham, Battle and Rye. There are also stations at Pevensey Bay, Doleham, Three Oaks and Winchelsea, although services at these smaller stations are less frequent.
Buses serve a number of the towns and villages along or close to the route, but services and timetables should be checked carefully before setting out. The Walker’s Guide contains further information to help with planning individual sections.
Parking and navigation
If you are driving to the start of the walk, there are car parks in and around Pevensey, although parking becomes a little more complicated if you are leaving your car for several days. We found unrestricted street parking and were able to leave our car free of charge for the two days we were walking. If you do the same, check the current restrictions carefully and make sure you park both legally and considerately without inconveniencing local residents. At the Rye end of the route, parking is available at Gibbet Marsh car park. We parked at Pevensey and caught the excellent Marshlink train from Rye back to Pevensey at the end.
The 1066 Country Walk is generally very well waymarked, with distinctive route discs on signposts and fingerposts along the way. Nevertheless, we strongly recommend having the Ordnance Survey map/app with you. Despite actively looking for the waymarkers, we missed a turning twice and on a couple of other occasions couldn’t immediately find the next sign.
With a long-distance walk, a small mistake can quickly add unwanted distance to an already substantial day, so having the route available on your phone – or carrying the relevant OS map – provides useful reassurance and makes getting back on track very straightforward.
Alternative routes
There are two extra link routes. The 1066 Country Wall Bexhill Link branches off from the main route just to the west of Battle. It finishes in Bexhill Old Town. This section is about 10 km. Do not make the mistake I did and follow that route in error if you’re trying to follow the main trail. But do look out for the Crowhurst tree.
The other alternative route is the Hastings Link which branches off from the main route between Westfield and Icklesham and finishes in Old Town Hastings where of course a visit to the castle makes a suitable finish. This section is about 8 km. Hastings Castle closes in winter.
Where to eat and drink along the way
You won’t struggle to find somewhere to eat in the larger towns at either end of the route and at the halfway point: Pevensey, Battle and Rye all have plenty of pubs, cafés and restaurants. Between them, however, places to stop are more spread out, so it is worth thinking ahead about where you might want to eat, particularly if you are walking long sections of the trail.
On or close to the route, look out for:
- The Bull’s Head, Boreham Street
- The Ash Tree Inn, Brownbread Street
- The White Hart, Catsfield
- The New Inn, Westfield
- Sedlescombe Golf Club
- The Queen’s Head, Icklesham
- Charles Palmer Vineyards, near Winchelsea
- The New Inn, Winchelsea
There are other options if you are prepared to deviate a little further from the trail, and the official Walker’s Guide identifies refreshment stops for each of its six sections.
Our advice: check opening days and times before you set out and don’t assume that somewhere will be serving food when you arrive. On the longer stages, we would also recommend carrying enough food and water to see you through if your planned stop is closed.
Historic places and Points of interest
One of the great strengths of the 1066 Country Walk is just how much there is to discover beyond the walk itself. Among the historic places and landmarks to look out for are:
- Pevensey Castle and Pevensey – the natural place to begin exploring the story of 1066.
- Herstmonceux Castle and the Observatory Science Centre – both close to the route and worth exploring separately.
- Ashburnham Place – visible from the surrounding countryside, although not directly on the trail.
- Tent Hill – a particularly memorable high point on the route, with a steep climb and excellent views.
- Battle Abbey and the 1066 battlefield – one of the major historic landmarks of the entire walk.
- St Mary’s Church, Battle.
- St John the Baptist Church, Westfield.
- All Saints and St Nicholas Church, Icklesham.
- Winchelsea – one of the highlights of the route and deserving of time to explore in its own right.
- Ypres Tower and the Gun Garden, Rye – historic highlights at the end of the walk.
There are also numerous smaller historic buildings, ancient settlements and landscape features along the route. The information panels positioned along the trail are particularly useful for understanding the history you are walking through, so allow time to stop and read them.
The 1066 sculptures
There are ten striking wooden sculptures to look out for along the route, created by Sussex artist Keith Pettit and inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry and the heritage of 1066 Country. They add another dimension to the walk, with each sculpture responding to a particular aspect of the landscape or the story of 1066. Some are immediately obvious; others are surprisingly easy to miss, which makes finding them part of the fun.
Look out for them around:
- Pevensey Castle
- Herstmonceux
- The Ash Tree Inn, Brownbread Street
- Great Park Farm
- Battle Abbey
- Battle Great Wood
- Hare Farm
- Lower Snailham Farm
- Wickham Manor
- Rye
Walk summary
Pevensey Castle to Herstmonceux
The 1066 Country Walk begins, appropriately enough, at Pevensey Castle. Before setting off, look just inside the castle walls for Landings, the first of the sculptures. It takes the form of a Norman ship and marks the beginning of the journey through 1066 Country.
From the castle, leave through the wall entrance, turn left and pick up the footpath to your right. After crossing the main road, you are very quickly out onto the Pevensey Levels – and into a landscape that would have looked very different when William the Conqueror landed here in 1066. Today, the Levels are an extraordinary expanse of flat grazing marsh, criss-crossed by drainage channels and waterways. In the 11th century, however, much of this landscape was a tidal bay, with Pevensey effectively sitting on a peninsula surrounded by water and marsh.
For approximately 7.2 km (4.5 miles), the route takes you across this wonderfully open landscape, following the waterways of the Levels for much of the way. This is a particularly good section for wildlife. Look out for grazing sheep and an abundance of birdlife – we saw herons and great gatherings of geese – while the hedgerows and margins were full of the natural abundance of late summer and early autumn.
In late August, there were hawthorns heavy with red berries, wild hops, damsons, plums and elderberries. It was one of the recurring pleasures of the entire route: although this is ostensibly a historic walk, you become just as aware of the landscape and the changing season around you. Look back and you can see the South Downs behind you. Ahead, meanwhile, the almost completely flat Levels eventually give way to a noticeable rise in the landscape. That is where you are heading next: towards Herstmonceux.
Herstmonceux
The walk takes you uphill towards Herstmonceux church, which is well worth allowing time for if it is open. Access can be limited, so if visiting the church is important to you, it is worth checking in advance. On the day we walked, the rain had become heavy and we had been rather hoping for shelter inside. Instead we ate our sandwiches on a bench beneath a tree in the churchyard.
It turned out to be a rather beautiful place to stop. From the graveyard, the view opens out across the Pevensey Levels you have just crossed and towards the South Downs beyond.
From here, continue through the rolling countryside around Herstmonceux. You can see Herstmonceux Castle to your left and look out for the distinctive domes of the Observatory Science Centre, both of which are worth knowing about if you are spending longer in the area. It’s here you’ll also find the second sculpture, Isti Mirant Stella.
The character of the walk has changed completely now and the route becomes increasingly undulating, taking you through the wooded and agricultural landscape of the High Weald as you make your way towards Boreham Street.
Boreham Street to Battle
From Boreham Street, the 1066 Country Walk continues through Brownbread Street and Steven’s Crouch, before heading on towards Catsfield and Battle. Look out for the Ash Tree Inn at Brownbread Street where you’ll find the next sculpture, Rest. Sadly, it’s not in great shape and is in the corner of the pub garden.
This is where the landscape really begins to show its variety. One of the more demanding climbs is Tent Hill, but it is worth the effort. From the higher ground there are superb views back across the countryside you have already crossed.
The fourth sculpture, Window, is at Catsfield. However for reasons I do not know, the route designers placed this one off the main route so a detour is required. Instead of crossing the road and passing through Starcroft Farm, stay on the road just a little longer and take the next bridleway to your right. Here you’ll find the sculpture and if you keep following the bridleway it does re-join the 1066 route.
Approaching Battle
On the final approach to Battle, the route takes you through the Normanhurst Estate, behind Powdermill Wood, before bringing you alongside the fields of Battle Abbey and the battlefield itself. Look out for the fifth sculpture, Bound Division, tucked away in the woods to your right. There is no signage board to mark it.
The trail then brings you directly into Battle High Street.
Battle to Westfield
Leaving Battle, the route passes almost immediately into Battle Great Wood, a beautiful stretch of woodland where you’ll find sculpture six, Hidden Truth.
From the woodland, the landscape opens out again as the trail crosses Sedlescombe Golf Course, before returning to a mixture of paths, woodland, river valleys and rolling countryside. This is a recurring characteristic of the 1066 Country Walk: the landscape rarely stays the same for long. You might be following a river through the bottom of a quiet valley one moment and climbing steeply towards the next village the next. That is certainly the case on the approach to Westfield, where a substantial climb brings you up into the village.
Westfield to Icklesham
From Westfield, continue towards Pattleton’s Farm, where the countryside opens out once more and there are some lovely long-distance views. Look out here for sculpture seven and our favourite, Farbanks Henge. The route then drops down to cross the railway before beginning another climb towards Lidham Hill at Guestling. Here you’ll find sculpture eight, Legacies. Continue climbing towards Lower Snailham, remembering to turn around occasionally: some of the best views on this section are behind you.
Eventually, as the path rounds the higher ground, a new landscape begins to reveal itself. You get your first views towards Icklesham, with the broad Brede Valley and Levels spreading out below. It is one of those satisfying moments on a long-distance walk when you can suddenly see the next stage of your journey laid out ahead of you.
Icklesham to Winchelsea
Icklesham makes a useful stopping point. The Queen’s Head has particularly good views across the Brede Valley, and from here you can see Winchelsea in the distance – your next major landmark. The trail does not head there directly, however. Instead, it continues through another fascinating stretch of historic Sussex countryside.
The route takes you past an ancient church and Hog Hill Mill, the distinctive windmill outside Icklesham, before continuing towards Wickham Manor.
This is also wine country. Charles Palmer Vineyards is based at Wickham Manor, adding another layer to a landscape where medieval history and the modern Sussex wine industry sit comfortably alongside one another. The nineth sculpture, The Watcher, looks out across towards the sea from here and watches your back as you descend and then climb towards the ancient town of Winchelsea, another historic highlights of the walk.
Winchelsea to Rye
Leaving Winchelsea, the final stretch follows Winchelsea Lane before continuing beneath Cadborough Cliff towards Rye. By now, the landscape has changed yet again. The wooded hills and valleys of the High Weald are giving way to the flatter country surrounding Rye, with its marshes, waterways and huge skies. It is a fitting final landscape for a walk that began on the Pevensey Levels at the other end of the trail.
Continue beneath Cadborough Cliff and eventually the route brings you into Rye, where you pass the tenth sculpture, Treow, and then head to the 1066 Country Walk official finish at West Undercliff, off Udimore Road.
If you’ve enjoyed this post about the 1066 Country Walk, you may also enjoy:
