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Michelham Priory , originally founded in the 13th Century as an Augustinian Priory of the Holy Trinity, and now owned by the Sussex Archeological Trust. It can be found just outside the little village of Lower Dicker, East Sussex.
Surrounded by beautiful moats and gardens, it is open to the public (5.40GBP for Adults, 4.60GBP for concessions). The moats were well stocked by the monks with bream, carp, roach, perch, pike and eels.
Back in the 1400s the monks brought the priory into disrepute by neglecting their duties, breaking the rules of the Augustinian Order and and sleeping with the local women of the nearby village!
King Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the Priory in the 1500s to boost the funds for the defence of the realm and the last remaining 8 monks were allowed to take their beds and find employment elsewhere.
This is a fascinating place for a day out.... there is sooooo much history here (and apparently it is haunted too!!). Photography is not allowed inside the Priory.
There is a little tea room for cakes and bread and soup etc but it is nicer to take your own picnic as there are plenty of beautiful spots to sit and enjoy a glass of wine and drink in the stunning Sussex scenery. Leave a Comment Address: Upper DickerPhone: 01323 844224Directions: Hailsham, East Sussex
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Pashley Manor is a beautiful Tudor Manor House, although only its gardens are open to the public. But these are well worth a visit, and a walk around them will easily occupy an hour or two.
Nearest to the house, are several well planted formal gardens with beautifully planted borders. There is even a vegetable garden that looks more attractive than many flower gardens! Interspersed with the planting, and on the lush green lawns, are a number of sculptures by various artists, all of them for sale (no, I didn’t ask the price!) One section here holds a lovely swimming pool which would be so tempting on a hot summer’s day. The plants in the borders are labelled, so it’s easy to identify ones you might want to try at home, and there also helpful gardeners working here and there, willing to stop what they’re doing and chat about the plants.
Beyond these more formal gardens you come to a landscaped area with a woodland walk and a small lake. Watch out for the black swan here – he attacked my camera when I was taking this photo (no. 2) and left a small dent in the bodywork with his bill!
There is also a lovely café here and a small shop selling good-quality gifts and a small range of plants. I’ve written more about the café in a separate restaurant tip as there’s too little room here. Alternatively there are picnic tables in the field where you park, although picnicking isn’t allowed in the gardens themselves.
Tickets cost £6.50 for adults, £5.00 for children under 16 (under 5s are free). You can also buy a season ticket for £22. From time to time there are special events which cost a little more, e.g. a tulip festival or rose weekend – check the website below for forthcoming events.
Please note that the gardens are closed on Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays too apart from Bank Holidays. Otherwise they’re open from early April to late September, 11.00 AM – 5.00 PM.
I’ve put some more photos of the lovely flowers here in my travelogue Phone: 01580 20088Directions: Off the A21 on the B2099 – look for the brown tourist sign in Ticehurst village
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In 1916 Vanessa Bell, sister of Virginia Woolfe, bought the 18th century Charleston Farmhouse in Firle, East Sussex. Conditions were very basic but nevertheless, over the years it became a retreat for the Bloomsbury set, a group of artists and writers and conscientious objectors to the First World war. These included Duncan Grant (Vanessa's lover and father of her daughter Angelica) and David Garnett who had come to do farm work and as such made them exempt from conscription.
I love this house and have visited several times. The gardens are beautiful and there is a video presentation and tea room which have disabled access. The ground floor is also fully accessible for disabled visitors, and there are designated parking bays for disabled vehicles. There is a gorgeous gift shop/gallery here too, selling paintings, fabulous clothes, jewellery, ceramics etc etc - but be warned - it is the work of local artists and craftspeople and it is of a VERY high standard and it is expensive. This ISN'T a tacky tourist shop.
There is also a working farm on this site so please take care - the approach road is VERY narrow and farm vehicles use it - be prepared to reverse back into a passing space!
Open from 23rd March - 30th Oct 2005 from 2pm-6pm Weds, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun and Bank Holiday Mon.
Tickets:
Adults 7.50GBP
To be honest I am not sure it is suitable for very young children. There really isn't anything specifically for children to do here.
http://bloomsbury.denise-randle.co.uk/charleston.htm Leave a Comment
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"You came, and look’d and loved the view
Long-known and loved by me,
Green Sussex fading into blue
With one gray glimpse of sea;"
Alfred Lord Tennyson
The River Cuckmere at the Seven Sisters in East Sussex is situated in the *Sussex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty*. It is a fabulous place for a walk and a picnic. You can hire bikes from the shop just near the car park and ride down there or just stroll at a leisurely pace and enjoy the, birds, butterflies and the scenery!
There is a car park but the South Downs Conservationist would of course prefer you to leave the car at home and take public transport. More info on how to get here by bus and rail can be found here:
Seven Sisters Leave a Comment Address: Seven Sisters Country Park, East SussexPhone: 01323 870 280Directions: Exceat in East Sussex, just off the A259 between Eastbourne and Seaford.Website: http://www.sevensisters.org.uk/
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This is one of the most interesting towns in the county to visit, I think. It has quaint cobbled streets, welcoming traditional pubs, wonderful antique shops to poke around in (and plenty of more modern ones too) and a fantastic location perched on a hill, overlooking the River Rother and Romney Marsh. Its streets are lined with well-preserved historic houses from medieval, Tudor and Georgian times – I like to pick out the ones I’d want to live in, and always spot little details to capture on camera – this is a great place for keen photographers.
Rye is one of the so-called “Cinque Ports”, so you’ll be surprised to find that it isn’t actually on the coast. In Norman times it was a small fishing community, almost surrounded by water, but the sea has retreated over the years and the town now lies two miles from the beach that bears the same name. To get a great view of the fields that lie where once there was sea, head to the terrace beside Ypres Tower, a remnant of the old castle.
Another fascinating period in Rye’s history was during the 18th century when its prosperity depended as much on smuggling as any other trade. The smugglers' hoards were stored in old vaulted cellars that still lie beneath some of the older buildings. One of the most famous smugglers' haunts in the town is the Mermaid Inn, a beautiful old pub in the street of the same name. It’s worth a visit just to soak up some atmosphere, but don’t worry if you can’t get a table as there are many other good pubs in town. Directions: Just over an hour's journey by car from the M25, via the A21 (exit at Flimwell) or via M20 and A2070. Or catch a train from London’s Charing Cross Station.Website: http://www.visitrye.co.uk/
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This lovely Jacobean house was once the home of the author Rudyard Kipling (from 1902 to 1936). It has been left just as it was when he lived there, decorated in his exotic oriental tastes. If like me you like to see where well-known books were written, you’ll like the study with his collection of books (many unsurprisingly from India) and the original illustrations for The Jungle Book, drawn by the Detmold brothers, which are displayed here.
Outside are pretty gardens to explore, with traditional roses and a lovely lily pond.
This garden was laid out according to Kipling’s own design, which still hangs in his study. They run down to the River Dudwell with its working watermill, dating from c. 1750. You can also see Kipling's 1928 Phantom 1 Rolls-Royce in the garage here.
There is a tea room in the garden, but I’ve not eaten or drunk there – however such places in National Trust properties are usually pretty reasonable.
Open mid March to late October from 11.00 AM – 5.00 PM (closed Thursday & Friday)
Entry costs £6.20 for adults, £3.10 for children and £15.50 for a family ticket. There is free entry to the garden in November & December.
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At first glance Hastings looks much like many other mid-sized English seaside towns, with fish and chip shops, amusement arcades and deck-chairs. Not that there’s anything wrong with these, but tucked away at one end of the resort is the great bonus of the picturesque Old Town. This truly retains the old character of the town in its winding streets and historic buildings which now house some interesting shops, bars etc.
On the beach are these traditional huts for storing nets. They were built in this unusual shape to make the best use of limited space and because of a council regulation that they should be no more than eight feet square. Most date from the second half of the 19th century and quite a few are still in use, while others have been adapted e.g. as a fish and chips shop. One of Britain’s oldest fishing fleets is based here, the largest between the Thames and Brixham in Devon, and the largest beach-launched fleet in country. There is a small museum here devoted to the fishing industry. This is a great place for keen photographers, and for buying fresh fish of course.
Once a year the Hastings Old Town Carnival takes place, with a parade through the old streets, music on the beach and lots of events – read more about this on the Carnival’s website.
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This is fabulous place for a walk on a summer's day. The Long Man (known as the Guardian of the South Downs) is a chalk figure on Windover Hill. Who his original makers were and what his purpose was, has baffled experts for years so I won't even make a stab at attempting to explain it here! Suffice to say he might be a fertility symbol - strange though as he has no *manhood* (some say the Victorians removed it!). Or he could be an ancient warrior. Whoever made him originally must have had their reasons!
There is a car park open 24 hours a day 365 days a year. The Long Man is NOT as close as he looks from the base of the South Downs so be prepared to hike!! Leave a Comment
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A small coastal town between Bexhill and Hastings. Somewhat run down it has its share of *hotels* housing asylum seekers - which does, on occasion, cause conflict with the locals.
It has a nice park, Warrior Square and the beach is clean. Apart from that there is not a lot to do here, although in the summer there is a huge influx of language students from the continent and Eastern Europe who come here to learn English at the multitude of language schools.
It is also here that you can search the beach for the wreck of the Dutch East Indiaman - The Amsterdam at (very) low tide. There is more about this in my travelogue. Leave a Comment
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This beautiful church established in 1280, and once of cathedral proportions had its north and south transepts destroyed in later years by French raids. It is now popular with tourists as it is the site of the grave of Spike Milligan "See, I told you I was ill" - is inscribed in Gaelic on his tombstone. Leave a Comment
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on May 1, 2005
on September 29, 2007
