Hastings

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Just a short break of 6 days to stay at Fairlight Wood Caravan Club site, near Hastings (below left). 

The prime purpose was to spend some time with George’s cousin, Rod, and his wife, Daphne (below right).

Our first day out was to visit Winchelsea and Rye. We have often passed by these two lovely towns but it is well worth spending time in both.

A short drive from the campsite took us eastwards along the coast road to Winchelsea.  It is easy to park and there are no parking charges—a real treat!

Click on the logo (right) for more information.

The town has a long history, way back into the middle ages. It was founded by Edward I and was a significant sea port. During it’s history it has been both a military stronghold and a major trading port. Throughout the town are numerous vaulted cellars where wine was stored. Apparently, the River Brede used to be capable of carrying shipping right up to the gates of Winchelsea.

Everywhere there are magnificent, old houses and beautiful gardens. We were particularly impressed with a lovely corner plot kitchen garden (below). Desnée at extreme left.

The town of Rye is quaint and is much more of a tourist attraction with plenty of gift/craft shops and cafés to lure in passers by!

Click on the logo (right) for more information on Rye.   Of the two towns, we preferred Winchelsea. There were far less tourists and the buildings were more interesting. The only downside was that the only Coffee and Cake place in the town decided it did not wish to open for business on a Monday. Oh well,  their loss.

Many of the old houses in Winchelsea had a discreet QR code fixed to a wall. You scan the QR code with your mobile phone and the history of the building is available to you.

Winchelsea church is huge for a small town and at one time was even larger.  Inside the church there was a real community feeling with displays from many of the townsfolk on a variety of topics. The stained glass windows were very impressive and a charming, millennium tapestry made by the local people caught our eye. The photo below is of just a very small part of the work.

All around Winchelsea the gardens were beautiful. There were some spectacular specimen plants in front gardens and some spectacular specimen houses as well!

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Our next day out took us north to Pashley Manor Gardens  which are located near Ticehurst in East Sussex.

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The logo claims that it is one of the best gardens in England and we agree with that.  They are beautiful and we were lucky to have a wonderful summer day.

The gardens are full of sculptures, some good, some not so good but all interesting.  Below a series of photos of some of the scenes we liked!

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