Royal Military Canal Walk 10  | - Click on the image above to view gallery
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 1st December was a special day for more than one reason. Not only was it Nigel’s birthday, but we finally made our target of completing all 10 Royal Military Canal walks in 2009. The final walk was about 9 miles and was largely based around the final section of canal and the Cinque Port of Winchelsea.
The walk started from Cliff End, on the coast south-west of Winchelsea and the place where the Royal Military Canal reached the sea at its western end. Unfortunately the movement of shingle and the building of the sea wall and some houses mean that the last 70 metres of the canal have been filled in and lost, so that the canal now ends rather anonymously next to a road and car park. By the time the last section of canal was built, the threat of invasion from France had passed because of the defeat of the French fleet at Trafalgar. This must have been disappointing for the navvies and the likely effect on morale can be seen today: the canal is much narrower at the western end and the parapet is smaller and less regular than elsewhere.
The canal is, however, still a vital part of the drainage system for the marshes and this was apparent as we walked away from Cliff End: the path was very muddy where it had been churned up by mechanical excavators, which dredge the canal and other drainage ditches ready for winter. The heavy rains of November meant that walking today was very different from previous walks where paths were dry and hard. After a little more than a mile we turned inland to walk into the Pannel Valley Nature Reserve, managed by a local landowner as part of the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. After stopping at one of the hides for a hot drink we started off again thinking that there weren’t many birds around, but were lucky enough to be stopped by a local birdwatcher who pointed out a Great Grey Shrike on a distant tree and allowed us to look at it through his scope. This was a real treat as we had never seen a shrike before and were fascinated by its method of hunting, dropping from the very top of the tree to the ground. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get close enough to take a picture.  Friendly pig  Winchelsea Town Gate
The path now headed uphill through a smallholding with pigs and rare breed sheep and headed for Hog Hill Mill, an old post mill that we’d been able to see from the early stages of the walk. The mill is also the site of Paul McCartney’s recording studio and has wonderful views out to sea and along the coast towards Rye and Winchelsea.
Having gained height, the path now took us along the escarpment towards Winchelsea. After crossing two fields, one very muddy in places where it had been churned up by the resident cattle, we reached a bench, which seemed as good a place as any to stop for lunch. The view over the marsh allowed us to appreciate the kinks in the canal, which were defensive features called enfilades, allowing defenders to fire along the length of the canal at anyone trying to cross. We were also sitting close to a more recent defensive structure – a concrete lookout post from World War 2.
Lunch over we continued towards Winchelsea, passing Wickham Manor and entering the town past the remains of the New Gate and town ditch. The town was built by Edward I after the original town, built on the coast nearby, was destroyed by a storm in 1287. The town never grew as far as the New Gate because of repeated raids by the French in the 14th and 15th centuries, raids which saw the population reduced from about 6,000 to just a few hundred. Today’s town is quiet and peaceful, with wide streets and some lovely shops.
After walking through Winchelsea we headed back down the escarpment to rejoin the canal below the town gate. We walked by the canal for about half an hour before heading across the marsh towards the sea wall and Winchelsea Beach. On the way we saw a large mechanical digger clearing reeds from the Dimsdale Sewer, which carries surplus freshwater from the marshes to the sea.
 Cliff End  Sunset as we finish the final Canal walk. Winchelsea Beach is notable for the remains of an ancient forest which have been preserved under layers of mud for thousands of years. Over time the sea level has dropped and the tide has washed away the mud to reveal petrified wood on the beach. By now it was fast approaching sunset so it was quite a challenge getting the exposure right for the dark wood on the beach. It was lovely to finish the series of walks with a sunset on the beach though, and it also gave us the chance to dip our boots in sea water, the same way we had started the first walk at Seabrook back in February.
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