Dymchurch Day of Syn 2026
Romney Marsh's biennial homage to Doctor Syn, with smugglers vs redcoats, costumed parades and a beacon-lit weekend over August bank holiday.
- When
- Where
Dymchurch village, Romney Marsh, Kent. Parade along the High Street; main events on the Recreation Ground
- Info
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Russell Thorndike's Doctor Syn novels gave Romney Marsh its great smuggling legend — the Vicar of Dymchurch by day, the Scarecrow leading midnight runs of contraband by night. Every other August bank holiday the story comes back to the streets where it was set: a sea-wall beacon lit on Friday night, a costumed parade up the High Street on Saturday, Smugglers vs Red Coats battles on the beach, Morris dancers, sea shanties and a fete on the Recreation Ground.
Run since 1964 by a volunteer committee, and free to attend. Dymchurch is half an hour from Rye along the coast — stay a couple of nights at The River Haven and catch the heart of the weekend without rushing home. Miss 2026 and the next is 2028.
Stay at The River Haven
Dymchurch is a 30-minute drive along the coast from Rye. Stay riverside at The River Haven and catch the main Saturday and Sunday programme without driving home in the dark.
