Winchelsea on the outskirts of the high weald and east Sussex is an interesting little town and turns out with some photogenic viewpoints from the old medieval Strand gate.
Discovering Winchelsea
Not live far from Winchelsea and have scouted out the outskirts before on a couple of trips. The first back in 2017 when I first moved to East Sussex and then more recently in 2020 when attempting to photograph a sunset over the Brede levels. But amazingly never really wandered into the heart of Winchelsea where uncovered some photogenic subjects. Winchelsea is stooped in history which you can look at here.
St Johns Gable
There is lots of free parking within Winchelsea along the sides of the road. I parked up opposite the ruins of St Johns gable that used to be a hospital. Decided the ruins of St Johns Gable was worth getting the camera out for.
There are nice views here back out towards Wickham manor and Pett Level. Also some very mature trees along the side of the road that could work well with mist or during peak autumn.
Mary Stanford Boathouse
Had scouted out Winchelsea the day before which was rain all day. Visibility was very low but had a good walk around. Knew needed to come back with better light and visibility. Have driven pass Winchelsea a few times when visiting Rye, Camber Sands and beyond and knew there was a viewpoint of the Mary Stanford boathouse.
From the Strand gate there is a viewing platform that stretch out over the east of the east Sussex countryside to Kent and beyond. Using 400mm lens with the 1.4 extender was a stretch to capture the Mary Stanford boat house memorial. In the background is Dungeness power station.
The Strand Gate Winchelsea
The strand gate of Winchelsea makes a good subject itself. Its one of three medieval gates located on the outskirts of the town. Its from the strand gate that there is a viewing platform.
At this time of day early afternoon harsh shadows can be cast onto the stonework of the gate. So timing was critical. I not notice these harsh shadows at the time thinking when the sun come out would capture the strand gate in the best light. Only post processing the images did I notice this mistake. Lucky took some when the sun was obscured by some clouds.
Camber Castle
Too my surprise and too the left of the Mary Stanford boathouse viewpoint is a good view of Camber Castle and the Little Cheyne windfarm rising in the background.
Quite a few distractions to try and exclude from the frame, not possible without some cropping. The two subjects of Camber castle and Cheyne windfarm compete for attention. with our eye naturally drawn to the brightest subject. In this context the two subject are at different depths and feel your eye bounces from one to the other. There is a contrast between the old and the new, the ancient and the modern.
Winchelsea Church
In the middle of the town is the church of Saint Thomas. The church is interesting in that it includes some ruins.
Within the church grounds in the grave of Spike Milligan. Opposite the church on the high street is the little shop that sells freshly baked sausage rolls and ground coffee, how can you resist.
Winchelsea is a beautiful little town perched up on top of a hill on the outskirts of the High Weald. On a good day could easily spend a couple of hours there exploring all it has to offer the photographer.
Check out the January 2023 Landscape photography gallery
Check out the East Sussex Landscape photography gallery