On the 11th October we headed off for a 6 night stay at the Fairlight Wood CMC site just to the east of Hastings on the south coast. Set just behind the village of Pett, the site is opposite an entrance to Guestling Wood which is owned by the Woodland Trust and and excellent location for an afternoon’s walk. One of the walks ended up at the village pub, The Two Sawyers, where we had a very good meal one evening.
We took the bus from the village into Hastings. It is an odd mix of a rather unattractive modern section and a much more attractive old town. Even the new half has the major attraction of being on the coast with a good old fashioned pier so it isn’t all that bad. The old town is full of interesting shops and timber beamed building although some of them were shut as it was out of season. We took one of the two (!) funicular railways to the clifftop which revealed spectacular views over the town and coastline. On the beach we found fishing boat and tall black hut used for drying nets. We also had an excellent lunch at Maggie’s Fish and Chips overlooking the shoreline.
The next day we drove the van to Bodiam Castle. We are both keen to visit as many National Trust sites as possible but I’m afraid I was distracted by another opportunity and left Sue to walk around the castle. Just a short walk down the road was the Kent and East Sussex Railway. The steam train goes from Bodiam to Tenterden and is a very pleasant ride indeed.
The following day we took a trip out to Rye, a beautiful small town surrounded by fortification and full of interesting houses and cobbled streets. We would certainly recommend a visit here. In addition the National Trust’s Lamb House, once owned by the author Henry James, is well worth a look.
As we headed home we took a slight diversion to visit yet another National Trust property, Batemans, a jacobean house once owned by another major literary figure – Rudyard Kipling. The 17th house has superb views of the surrounding countryside of the Sussex Weald. There are some formal gardens and a short path takes you down to an old flour mill and pond.
