Hythe

Hythe is one of the original Cinque Ports, a coastal town at the western end of Romney Marsh with the Royal Military Canal running through its centre. The canal was constructed between 1804 and 1809 as a defensive line against Napoleonic invasion -- a 28-mile waterway from Seabrook near Hythe to Cliff End in East Sussex, designed to impede troop movement across the flat Marsh. It now serves as a drainage channel and a wildlife corridor, with a flat grassy towpath following its length.

The ossuary at St Leonard's Church is a specific and unusual draw. The vaulted chamber under the chancel holds between 1,500 and 2,000 skulls and bones on open shelving, the largest collection of human remains on public display in Britain. The origins of the collection are debated; the earliest known drawings of it date from 1787. It is open on a seasonal basis and takes around 20 minutes to view. The Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway departs from Hythe and connects the town to New Romney and Dungeness along 15-inch gauge track.

April to October is the main season for the ossuary and the full RHDR service. The Royal Military Canal walk is accessible year-round and is at its most atmospheric in early morning or in autumn when the willows along the bank are turning. Winter visits give the flattest, most open version of the Romney Marsh landscape that the canal walk reveals.