Our nine days on the East Sussex and Kent Border from 9th of May

We prepared for our journey by car to Kent some months ago, but first a farewell to our friends from Canada who have been staying with us whilst visiting their family here in the UK, leaving them in charge of our place.

If you are heading to Kent the journey on an old fashion highway is a must, where do you find it do I hear you ask. The A272 from Winchester or Petersfield to Five Ashes, near Mayfield TN20 6JH East Sussex . The most beautiful journey in England through quaint villages with names like Cowfold, winding along country roads with fabulous trees of all manner and lovely houses some dating back hundreds of years. It looks on the face of it that a journey like this will take you much longer than taking the motorway, but that is not the case, yes certainly it takes a hour or so longer but the leisurely pace of the trip more than makes up for it. Stopping for lunch near Haywards Heath in a tree sheltered side road which was closed off into a no through road, how good is that.

But in our case we were heading to Goudhurst just north of Five Ashes in Kent. If you use your imagination the area of Kent looks like a dog’s snout looking to the right, ok big imagination! Anyway the accommodation at Goudhurst was an ideal spot for Delia to meet with a second cousin, whom she had never met. Her Grandfather on her mothers side’s Brother’s Grandaughter. If you are still with me ?

Put a little more simply the granddaughter of her grandfather’s brother, got it ? Who just happened to live in Crowborough, and with whom she has made contact. Malcolm had wanted to go back to the area as his father’s family all came from around the Sussex/Kent area from Horsham up to Wrotham (pronounced rootam) and Maidstone. That’s it for the family history for the moment.

After breakfast on Saturday we just looked around Goudhurst and got our bearings, Its a lovey village unfortunately the main road goes right through the centre and in parts it’s incredibly narrow up by the church. On the day we arrived two lorries met each other and one blew 4 tyres which cost £1000 each but worse the road was blocked off for 4 hours whilst the tyre shop ran over and back to get the tyres, oh joy. That didn’t stop us, we wandered around the local church, St Marys followed by some lunch at The Star and Eagle, wonderful inn just oozing history. Later, going to Hartley Farm Shop a couple of miles away for coffee and stocking up with some fresh bread, cheese and some wonderful looking bacon that we can’t get at home.

Our other reason for coming to this area was to see some of the NT (National Trust) properties in this area, of which they are blessed with many.

Starting with Scotney Castle

On Sunday after going to St Marys for the morning service we headed to Scotney Castle for Lunch. More a large grand house than Castle

What a stunning garden primarily because it is very natural and a mass of Rhododendron and the season of May was perfect for them. You have the present castle at the top in the main picture surrounded by walking area and laid to lawn. Then looking down the rambling paths of Rhododendrons you can make out the moated old original castle which creates a go to destination the only downside at 80 is the walk back up, but this is what we came for. Within the old castle there was a naturalist photographer with a display of her work and video of her latest trips. Brochure. The Motel Castle thought to have been built as a fortified House as a result of the French invasion the late 14the century,

Monday the 12th of May

On Monday Delia’s Cousin had invited us to get together to compare family history. So we set off early and arrived at Julia’s around 10:30 for Coffee and a pow wow around the table of who’s was who and what was what in family history terms. Delia and Julia scutinised each other closely for similarities in looks and a conclusion was made that Julia’s family had the advantage in the height gene. The pictures below shows Stewart, Julia’s Husband and Delia in the middle and Julia and one of a family wedding from the early 1900. The third picture was a skittle team proudly displaying their success (Delia’s mother 2nd from Right and her grandad front 3rd from Left) One thing that was clear, they got on very well and enjoyed discovering what they shared

After Coffee we headed off for some lunch at a local pub the “Boars Head” and then they took us on a tour of the local family haunts, Nutley (the marriage location for Charles William Sargent Jnr & Ethel Ellmer), Pippingford Park(Charles William Sargent Jnr working there), Chelwood Gate,The Ashdown Forrest, Catsfield (birthplace of both Grandfathers) and then back to Julia’s for Tea and Biscuits, finally getting back to the cottage around 7pm exhausted after what was a lovely day. Pippingford Park, sadly the grounds don’t look as splendid as they once were, the Army use the grounds which has a sadness for those who would have previously known it. So much to take in and a big thanks to Stewart and Julia for the preparation and the driving, Stewart.

Pippingford Park

The Pictures of Pippingford Park were given to Delia’s Mother by the original owners of the property. Copy of the Letter from the son of the owners Allen Morriss owners; Letter The History

Tuesday 13th of May

After a busy day on Monday we decided on Tuesday to go for coffee and a pastry at Taywell Farm shop

We had said we would look a a couple of areas that Malcolm’s father’s family had originated from, Its a tall call because where do you start? Records suggest that they probably started from Lower Bleeding near Horsham perhaps in the 1400/1500 and gradually moved north to Royal Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone, records suggest East Peckham and West Peckham. Pictures of the very pretty village of West Peckham below, which 100 or 200 years ago would have been very different

We also called in at the Village my Auntie used to live in and Wrotham before finally heading back to Goudhurst and The Peacock Inn for something to eat

Wednesday 14th May

Would you believe it day 5 of our break, it has been so relaxing we have scarcely know where the time has gone. But that is the main advantage of getting away. So having identified places to visit Ightham (pronounced: Item)Mote was the direction we headed, a National Trust House, Jill, my sister, had previously visited and had loved. When we arrived the carpark was filling quite fast but my parking angel had a location all lined up near the entrance, but first Coffee and biscuit.

To gain entry to the property you have to go through the registration of purchasing a pass, if you are not a member, this applies to all NT (National Trust) properties and is quick. Once in you can wander at leisure around the 221 Hectare site. Throughout the property itself there are guides to help answer any questions you may have about the history of the owners over the centuries. We spent some considerable time going through the House which was built around 1320 and has had many changes in the building through its history. Brochure

Thursday the 15th of May

Well Sussex and Kent are awash with National Trust properties and coming from Devon where we have just a few we tend to gorge on NT, its the mixture of property and gardens we like and you can just enjoy peaceful and restful atmosphere the NT offers. Anyway Bateman’s was somewhere Delia spotted and liked the look of, it had been the home since 1930 of Rudyard Kipling the famous author (Not the cake maker) of the Just so Stories and Jungle Book to mention a few. It was a Manor House in it earlier days and did not display the grandeur of Castles and the like, but somewhere anyone might like to live, well if you can afford it. A Dovecote, Picture at the bottom on the left is spelt Dovecote or Dovecot, Doocot (Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or barn. Brochure The terrible picture of the car is because it’s behind Glass! A Rolls Royce Phantom 1Purchased in the 1928

The Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 was Rolls-Royce’s replacement for the original Silver Ghost. Introduced as the New Phantom in 1925, the Phantom had a larger engine than the Silver Ghost and used pushrod-operated overhead valves instead of the Silver Ghost’s side valves. The Phantom was built in Derby, England.

Finally Coffee and chat with couple we met from Paignton before wandering back up the footpath to the to the car park and driving back to the cottage for a meal of Spaghetti Bolognaise and a glass of Red. A wonderful day and now ready to for our trip to Canterbury which Delia is very excited about and looking forward to.

Friday the 16th of May – Off to Canterbury Cathedral

We made good start had an early breakfast loaded the car and the cottage owner gave us a a short route across country to avoid the big towns and traffic, a coffee stop at a garden centre before arriving at Canterbury Cathedral bang on 11am, although we were not supposed to be able to park until 4pm. Malcolm worked his magic and with a bit of luck and we were able to park right outside the cathedral and the accommodation. We had a tour booked for 12 noon so all was working out well. The Tour guide was excellent making it interesting and was so enthusiastic, it was only at the end we found she had just completed her training with the training examiner throughout the tour with us! She was so good she came over as an old hand. By this time now 2:30 pm we were able to book in and unpack before grabbing a bite to eat before attending the evensong at 5:30pm a very special occasion, every seat filled, wonderful service. Finally going to an Italian restaurant, Pinocchio’s around 7pm for a lovely evening meal and friendly staff. Brochure

Saturday 17

After breakfast we retuned to the Cathedral to take some pictures we had not had time to get on Friday, we also needed to make a good start for the rural drive back to Christchurch in Dorset to meet up with Steven and Alexandra and the boys tomorrow before the final leg home.

Saturday the 17th of May

After our time taking photo graphs, some time after 11.00 we headed off making our way back towards Christchurch and enjoying the pleasure of the A272 again. On Sunday the 18th we met Alex and Family stayed a while and had lunch and chat and home getting back around 5pm phew.