Beckley near Rye

31 August 2018 - 

We checked out of Hilltop Barn, Kilve, Somerset at 8:15am after getting the all clear from the lovely owners and our security deposit back. Off we went to Chichester to have lunch with Colin and Christine Wheeler, people we met last year on our HF walking tour in Crete. The traffic hadn't improved at all, so we spent a memorable 4 hours looking at tail lights before arriving into one of the lovely suburbs of Chichester. After a home cooked lunch and a quick catch up with Colin and Christine we were chauffeured around in their little red Mini. In the centre of Chichester is an old Roman walled city.

THe Roman walled city of Chichester

Colin is a bit of an amature archaeologist and was a great tour guide for us for the too short a time we had to spend with them. 

12 century frescos on the church walls

Apparantley this is an importantant tapestry

We walked through Chichester Cathedral and then to the new museum where the foyer is a complete Roman Bath unearthed from 1900 years ago. We sadly said our goodbyes as we were keen to get back into the traffic and to our new accommodation, Bluebells, in Beckley near Rye on the eastern side of southern England. The traffic didn't disappoint and our estimated journey of 2 hours took 4 hours allowing us to arrive at Bluebells after 6pm - a very long day of driving.

The Orangery

Bluebells is wonderful - collocated with the owner, Maria (a widow) who runs a dog kennel as well as sheep and a lake filled with fish. We can fish if we want to - we don't want to.  With a large sunroom overlooking the farm, an orangery, yes an orangery, with glass on 3 three sides that overlooks another part of the farm, in particular squirrels in the fruit trees, two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a well appointed large kitchen, we are very comfortable. We quickly set up and fell asleep after a long day.

The sun shining through the laden apple trees.

Morning mist from our back door.

Sept 1 - 

Start of walk

With a week of fine weather forecast and school holidays ending tomorrow we planned our week. Today our walk is along the chalk cliffs of Rottingdean near the holiday town of Brighton. Up and away early we parked in a little free carpark across the highway from the start of our walk.

Walking on the chalk cliffs of Rottingdean with Brighton in the background

With beautiful sunny and warm weather the walk along the cliffs was spectacular. We adjusted the walk by climbing down the cliffs (via stairs) to walk closer to the water's edge for a few kilometres before scaling the cliffs again (silly idea) to arrive in central Rottingdean. What a quaint little seaside village Rottingdean is. Its narrow streets are lined with houses often made with pebbles from the beach below the chalk cliffs out front. 

The adjusted part of the walk 

An English beach - need a padded towel and a book cause you can't swim.

We visited the local church, again from the 12 century and also made from the round pebbles, before heading back through and out of the village and into the South Downs above.

Rottingdean Pub

Typical pebble house construction using the local beach materials

Wide paddocks soon opened up only to be enhanced by an old black smock windmill from the early 1800's standing as sentry looking out to sea.

This is not the sentry looking out to sea.

"Jeff I'm sure there's a lane near here with your name on it"

Go away cows, go away cows, GO AWAY COWS!!!!

The grassy path over Beacon Hill took us to the little village of Ovingdean which we skirted to then deliver us into another paddock with a path to another quaint little 11 century church. 

Up and through more paddocks, beside a busy golf course, our circuit walk eventually finished with us walking down the hills with views to the sea towards France over the English Channel and Brighton to our right. 

The end of the walk

Lunch was held 45 minutes away in one of the top 10 farm cafes in the UK (which we found out after we finished dining).  Our trip and short walk at Rye Harbour was thwarted by all the people clogging the roads yesterday as we were trying to get to the area. The place was packed and we saw no enjoyment in adding to the numbers. Hopefully we can get back to this ancient settlement later in the week.

Sept 2 – the alarm went off at 6am, the toast was in the toaster at 6:15am, the backpack was filled with everything we might need for the day (and some more) at 6:30am and we were out the door at 7am. The skies are blue as the morning mist burns off for the day and we are heading southwest towards the coast for a walk out of Wilmington to see The Long Man. Today is the last day of the school break and we expect crowds of families everywhere making the most of the great weather just like us.

Arriving in Wilmington 55 minutes later we are the second car in the carpark. Away we went on a truly magical walk over the hills all the while being watched by Long Man. The weather was perfect, the landscape was beautiful and we had a wonderful 3.5 hours walking.

All Alone Man

Hat Man

Backpack Man

Concentrating Man

Walking Away Man

The Long Man

Half a Man

Tall Man

No Man

About a third of the way through the walk we took a side track off the narrow lane we were walking down to visit Lullington Church, the smallest active church in England, seating just 20 people. The previous day a wedding was held and the chairs were still out on the lawn. There was a lady cleaning things up who we discovered was the groom's mother and it is fair to say she had had enough of the wedding, the 100+ guests and had not woken up on the right side of the bed. Her new daughter-in-law is Nigerian and the “bartering for my son’s new wife cost me a pile of fruit and vegetables and one of my chickens!” We said a cheery goodbye and headed off to finish our walk.

Inside Lullington Church

The Happy Couple

Jack your Mum is not happy

Now the rest of the walk is all the same across the South Downs of East Sussex so I’ll just let the photos do the talking.

Last glimpse of the Long Man at end of the walk

Sept 3 - on a foggy grey morning we set off to the eastern shores of southern England to Reculver in Kent where lies a Roman Fort established around 200AD. The walk along the headland in the clearing fog added to the mystique of the Fort as it slowly emerged from the mist ahead of us.

Julie can you see the Fort?

Yes Jeff I think I can!

Originally built nearly a mile from the sea the place had to be largely abandoned as the ocean level rose. Over the years after the Fort was abandoned by the Romans in early 400AD it fell into disrepair, then was repaired and converted into a Anglo-Saxon monastery in the 12th century. Again it fell into disrepair when Henry VIII decided churches weren't that good, only to be the centre of attention in WWII when the British tested the skipping bombs for the Dambusters movie to be shot years later.

Reculver Fort

So with the sea, the vikings, the King, the Germans, the weather and time all attacking this 1800 year old Roman Fort it's a wonder anything is left. 

Canterbury Cathedral ceiling

Next it was off to Canterbury Cathedral for a look and a wander. A look and a wander costs UK12.50 each, like it or lump it.  Inside is spectacular again filled with so much history.

Stained glass windows

Liz and Philip

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are new stone additions to the outside. 

Streets of Canterbury

A lovely lunch was then held in the old city in Tiny Tims Tea House before we went off in search of Canterbury Castle before our pay and display became unpaid. Well what a let down this was. A great pile of weathered stone walls met us in a dingy side street. We couldn't walk through or near it as the stones were falling too often for the authorities. A quick photo and we set off home via the southeast coastline through Folkestone and Dungeness.  

Canterbury Castle

If you want to have a lovely drive beside the sea this is not the place to go. From Folkestone there is either a 8 metre high dyke, a marshland or a barbed wire fenced off military training area between the car and the sea. Near Dungeness they let you see the sea over the worlds largest (literally) shingle (pebble) beach that is almost impossible to walk over. It is the UK's only desert. All this is overshadowed by a beautifully designed boxed building containing a nuclear power plant tightly strung to the mainland by numerous power line towers. The hum from the 33000 volts of power above is just as soothing as the rumbling of the ocean over the worlds largest shingle beach in the distance.  Apparently according to scientists "the warm water discharge into the ocean from the nuclear power plant is good for the environment as it has created a thriving new habitat for fish and seabirds".

Dungeness

After a fitting end to the day we headed home to do a supermarket shuffle and to watch the sun set later in the day.

Sept 4 - Last year in Italy on our HF Walking Tours we met a couple who live in Hastings, Ian and Linda Morson, and today we are catching up with them.

Ian and Linda showing us the largest non-harboured fishing port in Europe

The "Cheese House"

Hastings Pier

This boat was used in the Dunkirk rescue of WWII

After parking on the the foreshore of Hastings we spent a great day being guided around the old city of Hastings. Ian and Linda are heavily involved in the local amateur theatre. We were shown all through the 123 seat converted stable including backstage, lighting and sound and the workshop. The production company puts on 10 plays a year with numerous visiting performances scheduled in between.

The Queen Mother visited the Theatre

Discussing theatrical matters

"Jeff count to 10 and I'll hide"

Where's Julie?

Lunch was held in one of the local pubs after which a stroll to the end of the pier rounded off what was a really enjoyable morning.

Net drying houses in HAstings

The village of Battle is located just up the road from Hastings so we took the opportunity to visit this place where the famous and very important 1066 battle took place. The ruins and walled grounds of Battle Abbey contain the exact location where The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. To actually walk the battlefield, have the details of how the battle actually unfolded and to see the actual spot where King Harold died was very special. I've been inspired to weave a tapestry to remember my time here.

Entrance Gate to the battlefield and Abbey

A pitch battle ensues

A peacemaker steps in unsuccessfully

Watch out for cupid

The last two standing on the actual battlefield

A wander around the Abbey completed a very special day.

Battle Abbey

Inside Battle Abbey

On top of Battle Abbey

The exact location where King Harold died in 1066

Getting out proved a little difficult though.

Sept 5 - With a mostly sunny day with occasional clouds forecast, todays planned walks included two Castles, Herstmonceux and Bodiam, to be followed by a visit to Rye Harbour which we had abandoned earlier in the week due an unacceptable level of families with children, a known problem for elderly people like us.

So the UK Met Bureau met flipped their "What will the weather be today" coin again. The Head Forecaster tried to catch it, missed it, and it went under the couch. While he was looking for it, we drove to Herstmonceux in the rain, parked in the rain and decided to abandon the walk due to a complete lack of a mostly sunny day with occasional showers.  We decided to drive to the castle just to have a look. It was closed to the public!

The narrow dark lanes of Sussex

The next castle on the list was Bodiam which also contains a walk which we had as backup. The 30 minute drive took us the front gate of the carpark upon which was displayed a sign indicating we were over an hour early for opening time because castles have to sleep too you know. With nowhere to park, because the Pay and Display carpark was behind the gate, we headed off to Rye Harbour. By the time we pulled into the carpark there, I had completed 2 hours and 10 minutes of driving down narrow lanes in rain and drizzle to two closed castles with associated walks while Nick Jobling was looking for his coin under his couch.

With the rain gone and a cool breeze blowing we headed off to walk the flat paths of Rye Harbour that lead to numerous bird hides and to its shingle beaches. A newsletter on the wall of the little information centre informed us that in June "perhaps the most exciting wildlife finds for the month was a southern migrant Hawker discovered on Harbour Farm .... the first reserve record of this migrant dragonfly". Oh my we had lucked out, our timing was perfect a Hawker dragonfly had been seen.

Rye Harbour beach

WWII defence emplacements

Spectacular scenery

And that is the shingle beach up close

"I just saw a dragonfly Julie"

"No you didn't"

"Here dragonfly..."

So we walked five or so kilometres before we realised we didn't even know what the dragonfly looked like, so we didn't know what we were looking for.

Next we drove four kilometres to visit the medieval village of Rye. Now this is one quaint village. It's little cobbled streets are made from the abundant shingle stones from its local beach. The mandatory castle once on the shoreline, now lies two kilometres from the shore due to the ever growing shingle beach. Rye's houses are classic medieval with exposed timber frames painted black with whitewashed infills and leadlight windows.  A stroll through the town led us to a nice place for lunch at the top of High Street.

Rye's cobbled streets

Rye Hospital from 15th century

Doing the Rye Canon Jig

Ypres Castle

Classic Rye building

A final stroll back to the car ended a rather frustrating but still satisfying day in Sussex.

Sept 6 - what a difference a day makes, the date for one and, for us today, we have sunshine back and it was also forecast by Nick Jobling and his Magic Coin.

The early morning carpark

Last night's planning session for today hinged on one thing, sunshine and, even in the early morning light, we just knew we were bound for the spectacular chalk cliff walk from Birling Gap to Beachy Head. Second to arrive in the carpark at 8am after an hour and 10 minutes drive, we headed off into the East Sussex Downs for a wander through farms that only have paddocks that go uphill. 

An upward wooded path

An upward concrete path

An upward farmers paddock path

An upward grassy path

A looming paddock of cows spooked Julie as she fruitlessly sought another paddock to walk through, "What about calling an Uber" was her last vain attempt to avoid these bovine beasts before we simply detoured around the flock of huge and at any moment violent wild animals that were totally focussed on just eating the grass in front of them while we were totally focussed on not stepping in what came out from behind them. 

Cows!!!

After 6 or so kilometres of uphill-only farmers paddocks we came to a viewing spot overlooking Eastbourne in the distance. Its golden stoney beaches glistened under the padded towels of sunbathers who, when they stand in front of a mirror tonight, think they have a bad case of cellulitis not realising they are heavily pocked from the stoney beach.

Turning west along the coast we started to follow the South Downs Way along the 160 metre high chalk cliffs. The scene before us was perfect, blue skies, calm English Channel waters, vivid white cliffs, green grassy headlands and a track that went downhill. For five kilometres the stunning scene kept on changing before us.

Sadly we came across a police rescue happening as these cliffs are a popular suicide place too. Police kept us away from the cliffs for a while but then, with the tragedy behind us, we continued towards Belle Tout Lighthouse to eventually return to our car.

Police incident

We had arrived shortly after 8 am and we were the second car in the carpark. When we returned 100's of cars were there, the carparks were overflowing and we were stalked as we returned to our car. What a difference a sunny day makes.

Lunch was held at the Squirrel Inn and what a wonderful menu this Inn has. Julie had numerous options which is unusual for a pub menu and the food was excellent. It is a shame we didn't discover this place earlier in the week.

Next a visit to Bodiam Castle, a beautifully preserved moated castle in the rolling hills near Robertsbridge, East Sussex. Built in 1385 by a former Knight it has been looked after and today is well maintained by the National Trust. We only circumnavigated the castle deciding not to go in as once you've seen 100 castles you've seen them all really.

Bodiam Castle

Changing of the guard

To cap off such a great day we did the supermarket shuffle, filled the car up and went home to get things ready for Moving Day tomorrow. We are off to Airton in the southern area of the Yorkshire Dales.

With a lot to do the night before we move, including trying to finish this Blog, we ran into our landlady for the first time this week, Maria originally from Sicily, who lives onsite. She kindly invited us in for a farewell glass of wine at 5pm. Maria is a widow who runs the 48 acre property with its own private lake stocked with fish, a very successful dog kennel, the accommodation we were staying in as well as renovating her own large house. After a chat over a glass of wine we made ready to leave whereupon Maria said to stay for pizza which she made from scratch all by hand. By the time the night ended at nearly 10pm, the pizza was flowing and the handmade wine tasted wonderful. It was a delightful way to end our time here.

And so ends our second week and therefore this Post. We are both well and loving our travels in England. 

Until our next Post, bye for now.

JeffnJulie