Sandwich & Sandwich Bay Cinque Ports Channel Coast Kent UK

Sandwich Guildhall Museum Cinque Port History

As one of the original Cinque ports, Sandwich has a fascinating history still visible today around both Sandwich Quay and in the selection of Medieval and Georgian architecture around the town. Sandwich town retains its ancient network of narrow streets, with Strand Street the most celebrated as one of the country's longest stretch of timber framed buildings. Centrepiece is the Guildhall Museum on Cattle Market home to Sandwich Tourist Information Centre and the town's museum.

Parts of the impressive Guildhall building date from the Elizabethan period, with modern restoration added. Tours of the building are available and the museum section takes you on a historic journey of anicent Cinque port Sandwich from the Medieval period through to the present. Wheelchair access is good and parking is nearby. Call in at the Guildhall museum first prior to heading out on the historic town trail.

At Sandwich Quay notable historic buildings include the Barbican, Tollbridge and Fishergate all dating from the Medieval period. Long House, Manwood Court and the King's Lodging date from the 16th century and you can explore some of the remains of the old town walls, The Butts, Ropewalk and Millwall. Pick up town trail guides from Sandwich TIC at the Guildhall. To the north of the town adjacent to the river, Gazen Sales Nature reserve is a manmade 13 acre reserve offering over a mile of picturesque footpaths with sublime river views and a lake and pond on-site.

Sandwich Guildhall Museum, Cattle Market, Sandwich Kent. Tel. 01304 617 197. (Checkout the Sandwich Town Council webguide for Guildhall opening times).

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Boat Trips Sandwich Seal Watching, Boat Trips to Richborough Roman Fort

Sandwich is aligned to the River Stour making for superb boat trip opportunities boarding from Sandwich Quay. The Quay area is an attractive spot indeed, with a selection of bars and a footpath leading all the way from Sandwich Quay towards Sandwich Bay with its sand dune beaches and nature reserve. The Riverside walk is highly recommended.

Demand for boat trips from Sandwich Bay is high, whether leisurely short boat trips along the River Stour or longer boat trips upto Richborough Roman Fort where the Stour enters the Sea. The Sandwich Riverbus has increased the number of boat trips offered due to demand (see their webguide right for boat trip choice, times and prices). Seal spotting is on the menu during longer boat trips.

Trips are limited to 12 people maximum, or you can charter whole boats for group boat trips. Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead. Choose from a choice of Wildlife boat trips, pub lunch boat trips, short sails and more. A high percentage of the River Bus' boat trips do see seals - some common and grey seals have even been seen along the banks of the River Stour. Pre-booking and early contact recommended in the peak summer season as boat trips from Sandwich during the holiday season are especially popular.

Sandwich River Bus & Seal Spotting Trips, The Quay, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9EN. Tel. 07958 376183 for booking. See the choice of Stour River Boat Trips, Seal Spotting Boat Trips and Boat Trips upto Richborough Roman Fort to the Sea via the Sandwich Boat Trips webguide linked right.

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Richborough Roman Fort & Amphitheatre near Sandwich

You can take boat trips upto Richborough Roman Fort and Ampitheatre from Sandwich Bay Quay - a novel way of getting there. Alternatively access by road is via the A256/A257 roundabout/Sandwich Road then left at the fire station. English Heritage (webguide right) supervise this Kent Roman site, one of Britain's most important Roman historic sites two miles inland from the sea.

Richborough Roman Fort and Amphitheatre's particular importance within the Roman history of Britain is that without doubt it was the main Roman Gateway into Kent, symbolic of the Roman conquest of Britain. When the Romans were here around AD 43 a huge ceremonial arch gate loomed over the Roman Fort and adjacent lagoon harbour. (see a reconstruction of what it would have looked like via the English Heritage webguide).

Called Rutupiae by the Romans, by the mid-3rd century the area was under Saxon raider attack - you can see the extra fortification of ditches and rampart remains on the site undertaken by the Romans to ward off this attack. Evidence of a large Roman population resident in Richborough has been discovered as late as the 5th century, with also remains of a small Christian church discovered on-site where some of that population worshipped. The Roman Fort is open from April to September, with open access to the Amphitheatre via a footpath all year round. For details on opening times see the English Heritage webguide right for details.

Richborough Roman fort and Amphitheatre, English Heritage, near Sandwich Kent CT13 9JW. Tel. 01304 612013.

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White Mill Rural Heritage Centre Sandwich Kent

Like the distinctive hops drying Oast Houses across Kent, you'll also note a number of historic smock windmills across the county, especially in the East Kent area. Some of these windmills are open to the public as rural heritage museums and one of the best, alongside Willesborough smock windmill near Ashford and Union Smock Windmill at Cranbrook, is White Mill Rural Heritage Centre just to the west of Sandwich town centre. The smock windmills were so named as their appearance resembled that of the smocks commonly worn by farmers in Western Europe and indeed parts of the US have many of them. Smock windmills were usually built hexagonal or octagonal, and the roof cap could rotate allowing the sail to catch the wind from whichever direction.

White Mill's smock windmill dates from 1760 whilst the adjacent Miller's Cottage was built later in the 1830s. The site is extensive with a number of outbuildings surviving and original wooden machinery in place within White Mill. The museum is housed within the Miller's Cottage, with farming and craft tools on display alongside a Blacksmith and Wheelwright's workshop. Victorian photography also reveals White Mill as a working complex during this period. Find out more via The White Mill Heritage Centre's webguide linked right.

White Mill Rural Heritage Centre, The Causeway, Ash Road, Sandwich, Kent. CT13 9JB. Tel. 01304 612076.

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Sandwich Bay Beaches, Nature Reserve & Bird Observatory

With its mixed landscape of saltmarsh, shingle, sand dunes, age-old dune pasture, chalk cliffs, coastal scrubland and inter-tidal mudflats, the Sandwich & Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve is a Site of Special Scientific interest and one of the most beautiful stretches of the Kent Coast. The reserve covers a massive 635 hectares and splits into the three areas of Pegwell Bay between Richborough and Ramsgate, the Central Zone and Buffer Zone south of the River Stour.

Kent Wildlife Trust (webguide right) manage the site between Sandwich and Ramsgate which is a particular hotspot for birdwatchers coming to view the many waders like dunlin, oystercatchers and redshank on the Pegwell Bay mudflats. The rare little turn shows up in summer.

Within the floodplain of the River Stour and the Sandwich and Hacklinge SSSI sits the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Centre, a good starting point for birders visiting the area. They offer a choice of guided birdwatching walks, talks and events. Chckout their webguide right for details. The area is broken down into a number of smaller reserves.

Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust (SBBOT), Guilford Road, Sandwich Bay, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9PF. Tel. 01304 617341. To reach the Bird Observatory from Sandwich, follow signs to Golf Courses, continue on into Sandwich Bay Estate (tell the Tollgate that you are visiting the Field Centre. Entrance fee is around one pound) & turn right after a quarter of a mile. For more information on the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Centre and to download a directions map, checkout their website. If you're not a local resident and want to take your car down the stunning Toll Road which runs parallel to the sea from Sandwich via Sandwich Bay to Deal you'll need to pay a higher fee - the drive is well worth the Toll!

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Sandwich and Sandwich Bay Golf Courses Kent

Sandwich and the Sandwich Bay area is particularly good for golf, with one 18 hole championship course located just a mile outside of the town!

The three golf courses in the immediate Sandwich area include the Championship Royal Saint George's Golf Course (18 hole), Princes Golf Course (18 hole) and the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Course at Deal (18 hole). Checkout the webguides for all three of these golf courses linked right. Two of these golf courses, The Royal St George's and Royal Cinque Ports Golf Clubs have played host to the Open Championships!

Royal St Georges Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent , CT13 9PB . Tel: 01304 613090. Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Golf Road, Deal, Kent, CT14 6RF. Tel. 01304 374170.

Prince's Golf Club, Sandwich Bay, Sandwich, Kent CT13 9QB. Tel. 01304 626909.

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Monkey Rainforest Attraction Sandwich

Set within a simulated tropical environment, the Monkey Rainforest is a popular and educational family attraction in the area. The attraction is home to toucan flying monkeys, Tamarin, Silver Arrowand and Lemurs. Open from 9.30am to 5.30pm seven days a week in Summer/Winter - closed Mondays.

The Monkey Rainforest, South East Water Gardens, A256 Roundabout, Dover Rd, Sandwich, Kent, CT13 0DG. Tel. 01304 614963.

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