Fun things to do in East Sussex

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Alfriston is a typically Sussex village set in the delightful Cuckmere Valley between Eastbourne and Seaford. It comes complete with an attractive church and village green (The Tye), old fashioned tea shops, a wealth of interesting bookshops and antique shops, picturesque cottages and a healthy dose of sleepy village feeling.

It's a small place and so will only be a day trip from one of the nearby towns, but is well worth it in the summer when the weather is good.

Alfriston is also home to the first property purchased by the National Trust, the Alfriston Clergy House , which despite it's name doesn't have much to do with the clergy at all. It's a pretty little thatched Wealden Hall House which is a style that was typical of this part of England in centuries past. There are very few of these left now and this one dates from the 14th century.

Nearby is Drusillas Zoo which is a small animal zoo which will appeal to families with children.

Public transport to Alfriston is not the greatest but it does exist. Berwick train station is not far away and the Cuckmere Valley Community Bus serves the village.

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Drusillas is a "small animal zoo" near Eastbourne and Alfriston in East Sussex. This means that it doesn;t have lions, elephants and giraffes but does have a wide variety of other smaller and equally exotic animals.

Clearly as a zoo it's going to be aimed primarily at families with children, but adults can still enjoy themselves here too as the animals are really so very charming. My favourites were the lemurs and you can actually go in and walk around their enclosure with them.

Most people will come by car but you could combine a trip here with a nice walk across the fields from Berwick train station if it's a fine summer day.

Do be warned though that this is not a cheap day out and if you go on a weekend during the height of summer it will be very busy and noisy.

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Rye is a pretty and quaint little town in the Marshes along the Kent/Sussex Border. It was one of the ancient Cinque Ports which were vital to the economic success of medieval England. It has also been a hot bed of smuggling in the past. The centre of this small town is located on a hill and is filled with narrow streets lined with olde worlde buildings and still has a number of distinctive local buisnesses with local flavour such as local bakers etc.

It's well worth a visit.

Rye has a number of attractions in the town and all are within a short walk from the train station, the walk up the hill is quite steep however. The town used to be surrounded by walls and had 4 gates. Now only one - Landgate - survives. There are other remnants of the fortifications such as the Ypres Tower. The town also has a number of pleasant churches, including St Marys and St Anthony of Padua and museums and some excellent views out accross the surrounding low laying countryside, not to mention a lively riverside along Strand Quay.

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Eastbourne's Pier is one of it's most memorable images and has been used as a film set on a number of occasions in recent years - most recently in the film "Made in Dagenham" when it 'played the part' of Brighton Pier becuase Eastbourne Pier looks more like what an English seaside town pier should look like in it's heyday.

It is much better maintained (and cleaner) than many other piers are now around the English coastal resorts and has all the traditional English seaside things on it - fish and chips, Victorian tea rooms, souvenir shops, amusement arcades and of course (and most importantly) the wonderful views both out to sea and back across Eastbourne's elegant Edwardian seafront.

I like to visit the pier on a Sunday afternoon, get a portion of chips covered in salt and vinegar, and then go to the end of the pier and eat them whilst taking in the view and watching the people go by.

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Camber castle is an old Tudor artillery fort located outside Rye in the fields of the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. It's a property owned by English Heritage but has fairly limited opening hours and these do change so see the english heritage website for details before going.

You can't get here by car. You also can't get here by public transport. You just have to walk across the fields. I have found that it is nice to walk across the Rye Harbour nature reserve from Rye train station on a fine summer day. East Sussex county council have a suggested walk on their website

The castle when open is staffed by volunteers of the nature reserve and when I have visited the gentleman on duty has offered guided tours of the castle. These are worth doing. Without this you might leave just thinking that you've seen a pile of rubble and old crumbling walls. The guided tour brings the history of the place to life and you get to see things that you would otherwise probably miss - such as the Tudor graffiti mocking Henry VIII.

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This is not the sort of attraction we would normally visit, as it’s firmly aimed at children and families, and we don’t usually travel with kids. But on this occasion we were on a day out with visiting friends, including their 10 year old son who is mad about farming and intends to be a farmer in his home country of Austria, so when I spotted that there was an activity farm in the area it seemed a natural choice. And I have to say that we were impressed by how much there was to do and see here.

The main focus of interest is probably naturally the animals. There are lots of them and most can be petted and fed. We loved the baby piglets of varying breeds (though their parents were decidedly on the smelly side!). Chris was very taken with the ferrets, Michael loved feeding the sheep and I enjoyed seeing llamas. In one corner we saw a couple of foxes in a large pen. At first I questioned why they would have undomesticated animals kept in that way, but we discovered that these two had been rescued from car accidents and could not be rehabilitated into the wild. It was certainly a great photo opportunity (see photo 5). I was pleased to see lots of hand-wash stations dotted around, so after petting you can clean your hands which is very important.

Meanwhile our adult friends were interested in the old farm machinery, and an ancient VW van brought back some happy memories. And when you tire of farm-related activity, there’s plenty more – for the younger members of the party at least (and the young at heart!) A large play area provides lots of opportunities for children of various ages to run off steam – there’s a mini assault course, ball games, mini go-karts, and Michael’s favourite, a huge bouncy area. You can see him somersaulting on it in photo 4 – I was so happy to have caught him at just this moment as it makes a great shot!

While the kids are playing there are lots of spots for the adults to relax and still keep half an eye on them. It seemed to be a popular day out – people would set up at one of the tables with picnic fare or supplies from the on-site café and let the kids run riot! They will even host a birthday party for your children. One thing that impressed me was because we arrived just after 3.00 pm and wouldn’t obviously be staying as long as many people do, we were only charged half-price admission – a nice gesture and one we hadn’t expected.

Usual admission prices (summer 2011) are adult £6.50, child £5.50, senior £4.50. Children aged 1 and under are free, and there are several discounts for family groups and on Tuesdays and Thursdays in term time. You pay extra for pony rides (£2) and for a small tub of food – choose between that for small or for large animals.

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One of the loveliest spots from which to view southern England’s classic chalk cliff scenery is here at Seven Sisters. They take their name, logically, from their number, and the line of seven white cliffs, especially when gleaming in the summer sun, is truly quite striking – and very photogenic.

These views are only accessible on foot, although you can get fairly close by car. There are two main options available. The first is to park near the Visitor Centre on the A259 (for which there is a charge) and follow the lovely Cuckmere Valley to the beach below the cliffs. From here you’ll need to climb the hill to your right if you want to get the classic view in my main photo. Alternatively you can drive via Seaford to Seaford Head, where a free car park gives you access to several walking trails across the cliffs. One of these (to your left as you arrive in the car park) leads to the same hill-top view, from where you can descend to the beach for a closer look. You can also get a bus from Eastbourne, Seaford or Brighton to the park entrance and follow the same Cuckmere River walk.

Once there you can of course enjoy the views, but it’s also worth taking a closer look at your immediate surroundings. Wild flowers abound on these chalky cliffs (but please don’t pick them), there are shells and pebbles to pick over on the beach, rock-pools to explore for shrimp and other small sea creatures, and sea-birds galore. It’s a great place for a picnic, but if you prefer a pub lunch I can recommend the Golden Galleon on the main road near the Visitor Centre

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These Gardens are absolutely beautiful, one of the very few places that I have missed since homing George as they don't allow dogs in the gardens. Understandable but disappointing especially for a responsible owner who always clears up after his dog. Anyway back to the gardens, designed by 'Capability' Brown, owned by the National Trust these wonderful landscaped gardens include four large lakes, waterfalls and cascades. Spring is very colourful here with good shows of bluebells and daffodils while early summer offers rhododendrons and azaleas in abundance, even winter gives stunning views with everything covered in frost and ice but without a doubt the best time to visit is autumn, the stunning sight of warm autumnal colours against clear blue skies is nothing short of Spectacular.