Winter weekend on the coast in Camber

Exploring out-of-season life by the sea in East Sussex. By Adrienne Wyper

Let's come clean from the start: Camber Sands is my favourite English beach. (Ettrick Bay is my favourite Scottish one.) The endless expanse of sand, the grassy dunes, the big skies, the sense of space, the memories. I've swum (most recently in September, my last UK swim of the summer), played football, sunbathed, picnicked, fished, walked... I've visited with family, with friends and alone. I love it at all times of year, in all weathers.

 

So when my partner Bob and I had the chance of a weekend at Bramley and Teal's holiday cottages in Camber, the village behind the dunes, you can imagine my reaction... The idea of not having to drive home at the end of the day, then waking up with that beach on my doorstep was irresistible.

 

 

Where to... stay

Tradewinds, a two-bedroom house, is one of a small portfolio of holiday cottages in Kent and East Sussex managed by Bramley and Teal. It stands on a newly built estate - some properties still for sale - about five minutes' walk from that beach. Inside it's light, bright, spotlessly clean and decorated in shades of sand and sea, with lots of quirky sea-themed decorative touches. Another nice touch was the vaseful of flowers waiting for us - something I've never experienced in a self-catering property.

 

The house was well-equipped, with Ordnance Survey maps (again, unusual in a rental property) interesting books (including the Time Out Seaside Guide - from which I learnt that Camber Sands is five miles long), plus DVDs, board games, flat-screen TV and iPod dock. In the kitchen was every implement you'd imagine including a dishwasher and a washing-machine in the utility room  - plus milk, juice and bread - but surprisingly no cafetière. Outside, there's a small decked patio with a massive barbecue and, behind the fence, a bike shed with four adults' bikes and one child's, as well as buckets and spades and fishing nets.

 

Upstairs, the bed was super-comfy with a memory-foam mattress, and a great view of the rising sun. Next door in the bathroom, another nice touch: Neal's Yard handwash.

 

Where to... eat and drink

Don't expect lots of cosy country inns or salty smugglers' pubs on your doorstep. They're in short supply in Camber, but the place to go there is... The Place, a hotel, bar and restaurant. This stylish motel conversion (much nicer than that may sound) is all bleached wood, sophisticated jazzy sounds, and a delicious menu. We opted for Sunday lunch (£19.95 for three courses, including rib-eye of beef, pumpkin and tomato pie with local goat's cheese), and the sun came out over our view of the dunes. The Place, www.theplaceatthebeach.co.uk, 01797 225057.

Otherwise, the Green Owl pub on Old Lydd Road gets a good write-up: www.thegreenowl.co.uk.

 

 

Spend a morning...

Scale the dunes and walk on the beach. Turn right towards the mouth of the river Rother, which reaches the sea here after flowing through the town of Rye. Clamber into the dunes for a view of the flat landscape of Romney Marsh, the town of Rye in the distance and a new wind-farm. You'll find lots of shells, mainly cockles and slipper limpets, and in winter you'll really feel a sense of space, sharing the beach with only a few other walkers, dogs and horses. If the wind gets too much (it's why the kites and kitesurfers are here), nip into one of the cafés at the back of the beach on the return leg.

 

If you turn left along the beach, you can eyeball the beachside bungalows, then stroll along a walkway at the back of the beach, towards the off-limits area of the artillery ranges at Lydd, which supplied the booming rat-tat-tat-tat sound of machine-gun fire from soldiers undergoing training that was to be heard all weekend.

 

Spend an afternoon...

The road east towards Dungeness passes alongside the artillery ranges, and you can see the dummy houses used for target practice and suchlike amid the shingle. Jutting out into the Channel on the Kent coast, Dungeness isn't to everyone's taste: a large shingle expanse dotted with sea kale and statice flourishing between the handful of shack-like single-storey houses.

 

The shingle bank - one of the largest in Europe - has a bleak beauty and stunning light quality. It's also home to diverse wildlife, and it used to be home to filmmaker Derek Jarman - see his garden here in our coastal gardens gallery. 

 

Apparently the New York Times once said: 'if Kent is the garden of England, Dungeness is the back gate'! And it does have a set-apart feel; it's not the kind of place you discover by accident as it's not on the way to anywhere.

 

Apart from the pebbles, there's also a lighthouse, the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway (the world's smallest public railway), a couple of pubs and The Smokery. Oh, and a nuclear power station humming to itself behind the lighthouse.

 

Spend a morning...

...cycling to Rye. For various reasons, we were only able to use one of the bikes at Tradewinds. I whizzed off along the clearly signposted route, part of route 2 of the National Cycle Network. This section runs from Brighton to Hastings. The trail is firm and flat, and easy cycling, running parallel to the road initially, then running cross-country, with fine views of the sheep (salt-marsh lamb is a regional speciality), and bird life on the many watery areas.

 

 

Spend an afternoon...

...picking your way along the cobbled streets of Rye, two miles away - make sure you wear flat shoes! Mermaid Street (left) is perhaps the prettiest. The hilltop town rises above the marshes like an island. It used to be on the coast, but the sea has retreated, creating the expanses of Romney Marsh. Now the town is bordered by rivers.

 

To get a sense of your surroundings, climb the church tower of St Mary the Virgin, with a close-up view of the workings of the clock. The outdoor viewing platform at the top gives magnifient views in all directions, and had vertigo-sufferer Bob pressed against the building. Once safely back down, follow Church Square round to the back of the church and on to Watchbell Street. From the area at the end there are great views of the muddy river Tillingham and its boats.

 

One of the best ways to find your way around this amazingly picturesque place is to follow the antiques trail (free leaflet from the tourist information centre or online in PDF form here. The antiques shops here aren't just old furniture and china, but include second-hand records, vintage clothes and kitchenalia so there are pre-owned items to suit all ages, tastes and interests. Refreshingly, Rye also has lots of independent shops, selling everything from ceramics to kitchenware to hats to weigh-out sweets.

 

Stop for a coffee in The Apothecary coffee shop on the high street: good coffee and cakes in a converted chemist's. If you fancy something stronger, the Ypres Castle Inn is in a hard-to-beat location, tucked away into the cliff beneath the square stone tower of the Rye Castle Museum.

 

 

Find out more

A two-night break in Bramley and Teal's holiday cottages in Camber costs from £264 in low season. For more information, or to book, visit www.bramleyandteal.co.uk. At the time of writing, properties were still available for Christmas/New Year. Find where to go and what's on at www.visit1066country.com.

 

 

 

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