The hourly Southern service to Ashford (Kent) nowadays starts at Brighton, running fast to Eastbourne stopping only at Lewes and Polegate. At Eastbourne the 2 –car class 171 diesel multiple unit reverses before proceeding along the coast to Hastings calling at Bexhill and St Leonards Warrior Square. Our train then continues beneath the semaphore signals towards Ore where the third rail runs out. From here we run fast along the single line to the ancient town of Rye. Now we head across Romney Marsh, the flat landscape giving the line its name. After the unstaffed halt at Appledore, situated roughly one mile from the village, our train calls at one of the staggered platforms of Ham Street Station followed by the terminus at Ashford International.
