Hythe Royal Military Canal Romney Marsh And Dymchurch

Hythe, Royal Military Canal, Romney Marsh and Dymchurch

Points of Interest

A — “Listening Ears” model at Palmarsh Bridge

“Listening ears” or sound mirrors are concrete structures built in the 1920s and 1930s to focus the sound of incoming aircraft onto microphones placed at appropriate points as an early warning system. The invention of radar made them obsolete before they had been fully deployed.

At the northern end of Palmarsh bridge is a model sound mirror and information board. It is possible for two people to test the operating principle of sound mirrors if one of them stands on a platform on the south bank of the canal and speaks quietly while the other stands by the mirror to hear what is being said.

B — Stutfall Castle

The original Roman Port, Portus Lemanis, was sited here at the then mouth of the Rother, at that time called the Limen (meaning elm) and hence the names Lemanis and Lympne. Around 270 AD the Romans built a fort here, one of the Saxon Shore forts built to defend Britain against raids by Saxons and Franks. The other Saxon Shore forts in Kent were at Dover, Richborough and Reculver. The Saxon Shore Way, a long distance walk from Gravesend to Hastings, pioneered by the Ramblers with the support of Kent County Council and which opened as far as Rye in 1980, is named after these forts.

C — Zoo Park Western Boundary

The zoo at Port Lympne (pronounced “Lim”) was opened in 1973 as an extension to John Aspinall’s Howletts Wild Animal Park at Bekesbourne near Canterbury.

D — Dymchurch Martello Tower

Read about Martello towers, built as defences against invasion by Napoleon, in our Guide to the Kent Coast Path.

E — Nicholls Quarry Lake

The lake, created by gravel extraction and subsequent flooding, is used for fishing and sailing. The site is undergoing residential development (“Martello Lakes”) with the lake retained as a major feature.

This walk was originally published on a calendar produced by White Cliffs Group.

Automatically migrated from https://www.kentramblers.org.uk/KentWalks/public/walk_084.htm on 2025-12-11 08:55