The stretch of beach between the river Rother and Winchelsea is a lot cleaner following the sterling efforts of a team of volunteers who spent Saturday morning (December 6) removing rubbish from the shingle. Armed with special rubbish collection wands and bin bags the team worked their way carefully along the shore like a small army of crabs, collecting debris and various bits of flotsam and jetsam. “It’s surprising how much rubbish there is,” commented one of the volunteers – and the trailer and hopper used to move the filled bags certainly bore that out. One team started from Rye Harbour and another from Winchelsea Beach and, although it was cold, it was a beautifully sunny and dry morning. At the end of their stint the hardy workers were able to revive themselves with hot soup at Lime Kiln Cottage, the information centre for Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.
Barry Yates, manager of the centre and organiser of the clean-up brigade, was delighted with the efforts. Yates said: “This is one of the two big beach cleans we hold every year . . . but nature reserve staff and some local people are cleaning the beach regularly.” Details of all the nature reserves 75 events organised for 2015 can be found at the website, downloaded from the events list or picked up from Lime Kiln Cottage, Rye Library, Rye Heritage Centre or Rye Tourist Information Centre.
The next big clean will be held on Saturday March 7 2015.
Photos: Tony McLaughlin