Travelog - UK 2009
Hastings, 27 June 2009
During our layover we visited Zoo Atlanta, which was quite nice other than the 90 degree heat and humidity. The Zoo had an open aviary with a large flock of budgies that one could feed, and a giant panda exhibit. We had a good early dinner at a seafood place called Six Feet Under. Their fish was good, and one of their sides was zucchini fries, which were quite tasty. There were also a large number of beers on draft, but I didn't get a chance to try any.
Our flight from Atlanta to Gatwick was mostly uneventful, although we took off an hour late because one of the flight attendants had a medical emergency as we were taxiing to the runway.
When we landed and got underway, we could appreciate the difference from Florida! It's in the 70s with a gentle breeze, and we enjoyed seeing all the trees and rolling hills on the way to Hastings. There were a number of fruit vendors in laybys along the motorways as well as fish'n'chips and other roadside cuisine.
Our hotel in Hastings is an 18th century home that has been converted into a hotel. I can see only by looking at the ceiling that the bathroom was a late addition to the room.
The hotel bar has both Guinness and Strongbow on draft, and I hope to avail myself of both during the trip.We found a nice fish'n'chip shop for lunch - their cod special was tasty. Dinner, after quite a long post-flight nap, was at a takeaway place that had pizza and a variety of less-standard (by American thought) items such as lambchops. Chips are standard fast-food here as well, though.
Hastings, 28 June 2009
St. Marys is a lovely little church, its sanctuary done in ornate gothic style, yet not overdone. In a way it seemed architecturally like a cathedral in miniature, with ornate wooden fixtures and stonework. The floor was not tile, though, but of a worn varnished wood, which gave it a warmer feel.
Outside, other buildings jam up against St. Marys, and against each other. This seems to be common in Europe, especially in cities and downtown areas. A small price to pay, though, for being able to leave much of the countryside undeveloped. And even in the cities, most houses have lovely gardens in their tiny front yards. Many gardens had roses in full bloom, and lavender was also very common.After Mass, we wandered the coastline area, which was liberally populated with pubs, gift shops, and even casinos. In a way it looked a lot like other port/resort towns such as Atlantic City, except that you could also find fishing industry workers not far from the boardwalk-type area.
We had lunch at a place called the Hastings Arms. Besides my meal of Leicester sausages, I tried a Kentish ale - Shepherd Neame's Master Brew. It reminded me a bit of a cross between Smithwicks and Killians. I also had a Magner's cider, but one made solely from pear. It was lighter, sweeter, and more delicate than their apple cider, and was quite tasty.
In the afternoon we drove to a small vineyard called Carr-Taylor. We got a bit turned about trying to get there, especially on narrow country lanes, but it was certainly worth it. We had a wine tasting with the owner and saw some of the vines. Right now the grapes are only tiny flower buds. One of the wines is a "1066 Country" vintage, which the owner explained was made using some of his grapes along with grapes brought in by other local people who grow grapes but aren't large enough for their own winemaking equipment. I thought that was quite neat. They also had several nice fruit wines, including a ginger wine and a mead. Well worth the drive if you find yourself in East Sussex.
Hastings, 29 June 2009
We had a bit of a lazy morning while DH was at work, but this afternoon DD and I went down to the shore to spend time on the amusements there. We did a number of rides and games, then wandered down to the water. The beach is rocky, with stones and pebbles instead of sand. (I later learned this is called a shingle beach). The water was cold, but clear, and left only a very fine salt on our legs.This evening we all went to Porters Wine Bar for dinner with some of DH's coworkers. They had good food, and the company was also quite pleasant.
West Hill, Hastings 30 June 2009
There is a bit of a seabreeze, but it is quite sunny and warm. It's actually a bit of a heatwave for here, with highs around 26C. The breeze makes it quite tolerable, though.Before lunch we visited Smuggler's Adventure, an attraction built around old smuggler's caves in the hill overlooking the sea. it was interesting to learn about the area's long history of smuggling, and the hands-on exhibits made it engaging for children. One of the facts we learned is that during the late 1700s, smuggled tea could be sold for 400% profit, and still be cheaper than "legal" taxed tea.
[Hastings, beach]
After lunch we journeyed back to the beach area, and rode by miniature railway to the Blue Reef Aquarium.
Compared to places such as SeaWorld it was small, but one could get a good view of many types of marine life. We also saw baby starfish and jellyfish, and several pairs of seahorses apparently making more seahorses. For a small aquarium it was well-organized with presented facts in an accessible fashion.We took the mini-train back and are about to sit down to cream tea.
[Hastings]
Dinner tonight was at another pub, Ye Olde Pump House. The food (and beer) were quite tasty - I had a lamb steak and a pint of Guinness (on draft, of course).
Hastings, 1 July 2009
Bodiam Castle is fairly well preserved, despite Cromwell having gotten to it. It's a 14th century castle erected by a landed knight, and was built as both fortress and home. Most of the castles I've seen so far have been more heavily one or the other. Bodiam is pretty much the stereotypical medieval castle, complete with moat. The outer walls are mostly intact, although the inside is in ruins - yet another curse upon Cromwell. 
There is a colony of bats in the main gatehouse, and we could hear them chittering even at midday. There were also several informative videos. Plate mail was a real pain to get on, which I knew, but I'd not previously gotten a good sense of just how big and timeconsuming a pain it was!My favorite exhibit, though, was a couple on the green giving information and displays on medieval medicine and surgery. Having someone demonstrate how things were used was quite informative, and made me thankful for modern medicine!
After Bodiam, we drove to the Biddenden Vineyard and Ciderworks. We didn't try any of the wines this time, but all of their ciders were very good. They even had a "Special Reserve" cider aged in oak casks that had been used previously for sherry and whiskey. If you can imagine a cider as a port, you might be close.
We drove by Bayham Abbey but got there after closing, so we headed back to Hastings for dinner.
Dinner was at a Nepalese restaurant called Gurkha Chef. Very excellent food and wonderful service. I had never had Nepalese before, but this place made me wish that either we were staying longer or that we had such a place back home. I had Manang Khas, which is almost a sort of lamb curry - very tasty. DD had a Yogi Tarkari with prawns, which was very mild and a bit sweet. She actually ate the whole thing despite it being a largish portion, and she had not yet done that with any meal so far here. DH had a mixed grill, and all of the meats were delightfully seasoned. if you're ever anywhere near Hastings, you really must give them a try. I almost wish we could stay for their Sunday buffet, to sample more of their cuisine!
Hastings, 2 July 2009
After having spent much of the week in Hastings, we finally decided to visit the castle. The castle ruins are at the top of a cliff overlooking the city. The city, cliff, and castle are not what they were when William the Conqueror had it built - severe storms in the late 13th century reshaped much of England's southeast coastline. these storms eroded the cliff, causing cliff and part of the castle to collapse. so for once, I can't blame Cromwell for its disrepair - Mother Nature beat him to the punch. There was a church buildings still functional until the 16th century, but we have Henry VIII to thank/blame for its disrepair.What was left was nice to see. We watched a short video about the history of the castle, and the view from the cliff is quite impressive. There was also a dungeon (or perhaps a storage area). It was a little damp, and very cold. Almost perfect for a wine cellar, but would have been a miserable place to be imprisoned.
After a late lunch, we drove to Pevensey Castle. Like Hastings, Pevensey was once on the coast, but changing geography has put it about a mile or so inland. There was intiially a Roman fortification at the castle site, then a Norman keep built up around that. There were even modern renovations - pillboxes and other changes made during WWII to support and defend troops stationed there. The outer Roman wall around the castle grounds in still standing, and much of it still in somewhat decent shape.Inside the castle itself, we took the audio guided tour, which I found to actually be pretty interesting. I'd never done one of those before.
The dungeon area was dark, damp, and chilly, despite the hot temperatures. One of the other towers we technically couldn't go into the basement because it had flooded. Quite a shame - we took a peek, and the room seemed very well preserved. Except for the water, anyway. There were pigeons on nests there, and they didn't mind the water so much.
After Pevensey, we headed back to the hotel. Along the way we passed two Norman-era churches in the Pevensey area - St. Nicolas, and St. Mary the Virgin. If there had been parking around, we would have visited St. Mary's - it looked quite lovely from the outside.
Hastings, 3 July 2009
We got a somewhat early start today and drove up to Canterbury. Our first stop was St. Augustine's Abbey. Or rather, the ruins thereof. The original monastery dates back to the 7th century (when St. Augustine of Canterbury founded it) but very little is left besides the tombs of several of the archbishops and a few Saxon kings. The Normans built a larger church there, and improvements were made until Henry VIII dissolved that one too, built a palace with some of the stone and carted off much of the rest. Seems to be a common theme. Like so many other places, I wonder what it must have been like back in its prime.
After seeing the vestiges of what once was, we went to Canterbury Cathedral. For a cathedral it's a bit small, but still very richly decorated. There is a small shrine set up to commemorate where Thomas Becket was martyred, and a lit candle at the place where the shrine used to be - back when Canterbury was a famous place of pilgrimage and before Henry VIII destroyed the shrine (and Becket's bones). The marble floor has worn down in places from the many people that have visited over time, including a noticeable groove in the floor near Becket's old shrine.In the undercroft were several small chapels, including one with the remnants of medieval frescoes (St. Gabriel's chapel, I think).
After a takeaway lunch, we drove to Dover. We stopped and walked along the White Cliffs for a short while, and looked out over the harbor (and a busy harbor it is!) We then went to Dover Castle. Unfortunately the keep itself was closed, and since we weren't much interested in WWII uses of Dover, we just looked around the outside, then left.DD had really been looking forward to Dover, and when we discovered two other castles in the area, she cheered up. The first was Walmer Castle, which was a Tudor fortress that had been heavily renovated over the years, so much so that we didn't stay long.
The other was Deal Castle. This was also Tudor, and it turns out that it was one of three castles (with Walmer and one other) built by Henry VIII to defend the coast after he ticked off Charles V (who was Henry's first wife's nephew). This castle was mostly as originally designed, and was purely defensive with artillery in mind. It was quite impressive, though, with the engineering and strategy involved. I enjoyed Deal more than I thought I might, though I do have to wonder how much of the stone was pilfered from monasteries.We took the scenic route back to Hastings, and I think we saw all of the original Cinque Ports except Sandwich.
Hastings, 4 July 2009
Today we drove up to Battle Abbey, and spent most of the day there. The original abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings, with the high altar on the place where Harold Godwinson was killed. Like most other abbeys in England, it underwent several renovations before falling into ruin after the Dissolution. One of its main buildings is now a private school, though, and seemed in good repair from the outside. The main feature of the grounds is, of course, the battlefield itself. Now it's a peaceful place for a pleasant walk, with wild roses and other flora. Quite different than over 900 years ago.
There were two activities being held at the Abbey today which held our interest.
The first was a 'have-a-go' archery session, teaching people a quick basic archery lesson and letting them fire a set of blunted arrows. We all had a turn at it, and DD had three turns over the course of the day, getting a bullseye and several close ones. DH got two through himself, and alas, I was the worst archer of the three. It was fun, though, and DD wishes to explore archery more at home.
The other activity, which was quite fascinating, was a series of falconry sessions by Raphael Falconry. We learned about the history of falconry, especially around the Norman Conquest, and over the course of the day we saw a variety of different birds of prey - Harris hawks, peregrines, lannets, kestrels, and even an owl. During one of the demonstrations, DD was selected to be a "stunt partridge" by pulling the lure for a Harris hawk.
It was really rather informative, learning how the different birds were used in falconry, how they attacked their prey, what their flight styles are. It was very different from any other bird of prey exhibit I'd ever seen.
After the last falconry session, we came back to our room, then went to Mass at nearby Holy Redeemer since we're headed back to London tomorrow.
London, Gatwick airport, 5 July 2009
On the way to London, we stopped at Bayham Abbey, a small but picturesque ruin along the Kent/Sussex border. There's a somewhat ancient beech tree overgrowing some of the ruins, which gives a bit of an idea of just how long it had been that way. An 18th century house also stands on the grounds, with two rooms accessible to visitors that talked about the Premonstratensians, the monastic order whose abbey it was.
After spending an hour or so exploring on a pleasant sunny day, we continued on toward Gatwick, opting to take the scenic route (in this case, the A264) instead of heading all the way up the A21 to the London ring road and back down. As it turns out, this was a wise move on multiple counts - an accident had traffic stalled for hours on the M25 clockwise, which is the way we would have gone.
The downside of the scenic route is that DD is prone to carsickness, and even with the ginger beer that we'd been using to stave that off the past few days, we needed to stop again. This time, for lunch at a pub in Crawley called The Duke's Head. The food was quite good, and they offered a rather nice cider (Aspall) that was new to me.
Back on the road, we arrived safely at Gatwick and are preparing for tomorrow's flight home.
Interested in other pictures? Check out the UK 2009 trip gallery.