Pett

Pett sits on a low ridge above the Sussex coastal marshes, five miles north-east of Hastings and a similar distance south-west of the medieval town of Rye. It is a small, unhurried village of flint and weatherboard cottages, a village shop and a handful of pubs, with the ancient parish church of St Mary and St Peter at its heart. Below the village the land drops away into Pett Level, an expanse of reclaimed marshland that runs down to the English Channel.

The coast here has a wilder, more elemental character than the resorts either side of it. Pett Level beach is shingle and sand, backed by a 1940s sea wall built as a wartime defence, and at very low tide the blackened stumps of a submerged forest dating back some 6,000 years can still be seen breaking through the sand. The Royal Military Canal, dug during the Napoleonic Wars to guard against invasion, reaches the sea nearby at Cliff End, and inland the ground rises towards Fairlight and the sandstone cliffs of the Hastings Country Park. For a village of only a few hundred people, Pett has an unusually rich stretch of coast and countryside on its doorstep.

Top things to do in Pett

Pett is small, but its position between Rye, Hastings and Rye Harbour Nature Reserve gives it a good spread of things to see and do, mostly within a short walk or drive.

• Pett Level beach — a broad, quiet shingle and sand beach below the village, popular with dog walkers and birdwatchers, with views along the coast towards Dungeness on a clear day.
• The fossilised forest — at especially low spring tides, the preserved stumps of trees from an ancient forest are exposed on the beach at Pett Level and neighbouring Cliff End.
• Royal Military Canal — the canal's western end meets the sea at Cliff End; the towpath makes for an easy, level walk with views across the levels towards Rye.
• Rye Harbour Nature Reserve — a few miles along the coast, this large reserve of shingle, lagoons and saltmarsh is one of the best birdwatching sites in the south-east, with breeding terns, avocets and a network of way-marked trails.
• Winchelsea Beach — a peaceful, largely undeveloped beach a short drive north-east, backing onto the dunes below the hilltop town of Winchelsea.
• Hastings Country Park — the sandstone cliffs, gorse-covered glens and coastal path at Fairlight, immediately south-west of Pett, offer some of the most dramatic clifftop walking on the Sussex coast.
• Rye — the cobbled lanes, timber-framed houses and Norman castle of one of the Cinque Ports, a few miles from Pett and easily reached by car or bicycle.
• Hastings Old Town — with its net shops, funicular railways and seafront, Hastings is a lively contrast to Pett's rural quiet, and close enough for an easy day out.

Getting to Pett

Pett lies just off the A259 coast road between Hastings and Rye, reached via Fairlight and Pett Road. Hastings, five miles away, has the nearest mainline railway station, with services to London via Ashford or along the coast to Rye, Ashford and Brighton; from the station a taxi or bus covers the last few miles to the village. There is no rail station in Pett itself, and bus services are limited, so a car is the easiest way to get around and reach the surrounding coast and countryside. Cyclists and walkers can also reach Pett along the Royal Military Canal path and coastal footpaths from Rye and Hastings.

Best time to visit Pett

Spring and summer are the best times to make the most of Pett Level beach, the Royal Military Canal towpath and the nature reserves nearby, when the marshes and reserves are busiest with breeding and migrating birds. Late spring low tides give the best chance of seeing the fossilised forest on the beach. Autumn brings quieter walking and good conditions for birdwatching as winter migrants arrive at Rye Harbour, while winter is bracing but atmospheric, with the marshes and canal often at their most dramatic under big Sussex skies.

Where to stay in Pett

Pett offers a small choice of village accommodation, including rooms above its historic pub, together with self-catering cottages and campsites in and around the village and down towards Pett Level. Many visitors choose to stay in or near Pett for its peace and proximity to the coast while using it as a base for exploring Rye, Hastings and the surrounding countryside.

Food and drink in Pett

The village's social hub is The Two Sawyers, a 17th-century freehouse on Pett Road with log fires, guest ales — including beers once brewed on site by the Pett Brewing Company — and a menu of pub classics and Sunday roasts, plus a handful of en-suite rooms for overnight stays. Pett also has a village shop and post office for essentials, and for a wider choice of cafes, restaurants and seafront chippies, Rye and Hastings are both a short drive away.