Friday 22nd April 2016
We’ve had a few days of wonderful Spring sunshine, so it stands to reason that the temperature is going to drop to freezing, and rain and snow is forecast for the weekend that we have planned our second caravan trip of the year. The rain held off though and we stubbornly maintain our optimistic cynicism about the accuracy of the weather forecast.
We had an uneventful journey to the Crowborough site and were enthusiastically directed to pitch up on grass by a man on a bicycle. He gave us dire warnings of the forcast for rain, and warned us that we might get stuck in the mud! There were no free hard standing pitches so we had little choice. We ended up in the far corner of a deserted field backing onto an allotment and with views over East Sussex. It was quite lovely.
After the pitching up chores we took a stroll past the leisure centre next door and up the hill to the town centre to explore the local shops. There was a whiff of 1950s in the bespoke shops that competed with the soulless estate agents and coffee shops, and lent quite an air of charm to the place. A smattering of charity shops hid some particularly exciting treasures and I came away with an old faded hard back copy of Reach For The Sky, and some vintage postcards – I’ll have to go back sometime to have another poke about.
We had forgotten to put the caravan clock forward so our evening passed more quickly than we had prepared. When we ventured out for the evening dog walk routine it was raining and our hearts sank a bit, but in spite of being lulled to sleep by the patter of rain on the van roof all night, we woke to sparkling sunshine.
Saturday 23rd April
We embarked on the usual morning routine showers. Much is made of the state of the camp shower – as if it is a surrogate marker of the quality of the camp. Tim & Shirley (the camp managers) had notices in the shower block that they had won ‘Toilet of the Year’, so I had high expectations.
Over the few years we’ve been caravanning we have developed the following quality measures for the optimum shower experience:
- Clean (of course)
- Warm
- No queuing
- Space to move around in the cubicle for people who are not a size 6
- Separate area for showering and drying – even if only separated by a curtain
- At least 4 hooks
- A stool/chair
- Hot water at a force greater than the average watering can
- A continuous supply of water (NOT those awful timers that shut off every 20 seconds)
- Hairdryer
The Crowborough shower experience scored 8/10 ( I was harsh with the score for the force of the shower)
After our usual breakfast we drove a fair distance into Brighton. I’ve been to Brighton a number of times and I must admit it’s not my favourite British seaside resort. It is a must do experience, but it’s become a place to see and be seen, and it’s reputation means that local charges are 10 times what other more quaint resorts charge (£8 for 2 hours parking). Every other street sees a herd of hen nighters shrieking along the pavement dressed in various creations of pink/white lace amid an underlying atmosphere of seedy back streets and a mysterious subculture that a couple of old caravan nerds will never be privvy to!
Still, we enjoyed a beach side coffee people watching, and wandered The Lanes window shopping, taking photos of both piers (I must say I prefer the dead one), stategically placed fishing boats and a number of Morris Dance teams jingling along the pavement (only in England!).
From here we drove a short distance to Rodean school for a free car park (believe me a rarity within 5 miles of Brighton) and the start of the 5 mile ‘Kipling, Rodean and Rottingdean Trail’ (iFootPath app).
The start along the top of the cliffs was briskly cold with a sharp wind, but the sky was blue behind the scudding fluffy clouds and the sea was a brilliant saphire. Once we got down onto the Undercliff Walk we warmed up out of the wind and enjoyed a long (if somewhat monotonous) stroll along the concrete path to Rottingdean. Halfway along we made a welcome stop at a coffee shop and were able to relax with the papers and eat our sandwiches in rare peace as Jim was able to stay off lead and amuse himself.
The walk took us through Rottingdean, a quaint village famous for being the home of Kipling and where Stanley Baldwin was married. We exited the village up the steep road to Beacon Hill and loved the spectacle of the random windmill as you came through the gate onto the green.
Beacon Mill, was built in 1802 and was working until 1881. By 1890 it was in such bad condition that demolition was considered. In 1905, the Marquis of Abergavenny had the mill repaired (spookily our last caravan trip was to Abergavenny), but the mill was derelict again by the early 1920s.
The mill’s disrepair resulted in many efforts by landowners and villagers to preserve it. The machinery was removed and an internal steel framework fitted to hold the structure together. In 2001 a £40,000 Heritage Lottery Grant enabled the sails, or “sweeps” as they are known, to be restored. The current Trustees of the mill are The Rottingdean Preservation Society.
Once past the windmill and at the top of the hill we enjoyed the wonderful views over the South Downs and the coast. We climbed steadily to the high fence around Rodean school – whether to keep people out or the girls in I’m not sure, but at £11000/term they’re not taking any chances. I don’t know any of the famous Rodeanian girls but apparently Lady Penelope (Thunderbirds) and Chummy (Call the Midwife) are worthy fictional alumni!
Once past the school we made a steep decline through patchwork fields (The Man spotting a fox on the way) to the car. Back at the van we were able to relax feeling satisfied we’d done a good walk and had earned the evening’s wine and lager rations!
Sunday 24th April
We seemed to have had a later morning today, probably because neither of us had slept that well. The Dog seems to prefer my bed more than his so I spend most of the night squeezed against the wall and wake up stiff and groggy! Never mind – it meant that we could listen to the Archers while having our breakfast!
Today our plan was to visit Royal Tunbridge Wells and then do a walk around Ashdown Forest exploring the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.
Royal Tunbridge Wells dates back to the early 17th century when a mineral spring was discovered and became a tourist attraction. The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade in the town and much lauded, so we felt it deserved a visit. Formerly known as The Walks and the (Royal) Parade, it leads from the well that gave the town its name. The area was created following the discovery of a spring in the early 17th century and is now a popular tourist attraction. At the time of our visit there was a Wedding Exhibition market in progress, so we wandered past puffs of white lace and trays of pastel coloured macaroons and sat in the watery sunshine with a coffee and a toasted tea cake.
We were keen to get on with the walk in Ashdown Forest so we didn’t stay long in town. We wanted to find the Ashdown Forest Visitors Centre, but the Sat Nav took us to a closed off country park, and the website was frustratingly unhelpful. All was forgiven though when we parked up at Gills lap car park in the warm sunshine and started our six mile walk around some of the iconic landmarks featured in Winnie-The-Pooh.
The forest starts off as more heathland than forest and is very similar to the New Forest. All along the route were helpful stone mounted maps, signposts and welcome benches. We passed the enchanted place, looked at Pooh bridge (we couldn’t play Pooh sticks because the bridge was closed for repair), walked through Hundred Aker wood and looked out over Eyeore’s Gloomy Place.
It was an enchanting walk, albeit the climbs were a little challenging, but at the end we were rewarded with a substantial 99 flake from an ice cream van conveniently located in the car park.
It was short drive back to the van and we felt very pleased with ourselves for doing the walk. It was time to relax and enjoy our last restful night.
Monday 25th April
The last morning is always spent packing up the van. We can take it easy, showers, dog walk, breakfast, then cleaning and tidying – we generally don’t need to leave the site until 12:00, but this morning I wanted an extra trip into town to take one more look at the charity shops. So I left The Man packing up the awning and enjoyed an hour poking through the most marvellous charity shop. Packed with boxes full of scrap booking, sewing and crafting treasures, as well as old books and countless other curios that could have occupied me in blissful browsing for hours, but alas I had to get back, so I hastened to the second shop that I wanted to explore.
Benefactors was like a cross between Arkwrights, Auntie Wainwrights and Harrington’s (the shop that inspired the famous ‘Fork Handles’ sketch by the Two Ronnies). It was closed when we went into town on Saturday, but a glance through the grimy, cobwebbed windows revealed a veritable Alladin’s cave of every possible household item that you could ever want. I was inordinately pleased that the shop was open and run by a cheerful couple, the woman was even wearing a pair of fingerless gloves. While the man bartered with a customer over some tins of scarlett paint, I was ridiculously thrilled to pick up a scrubbing brush, 55 sewing needles and a large tube of Uhu for £3.50!
This is somewhere that we have to revisit!
Me, the man, our dog, and a van 