This is a personal blog about our recent family holiday around the south coast of England. My partner’s eldest daughter (C) invited us to her wedding and, as she lives almost 200 miles away, we couldn’t just pop down and come back in a day. We also have the problem that my other half (D) gets ill after travelling so would likely need a day to recover. This also meant that going down just for the weekend would have been taking a chance with his health.
As I had already decided that we were going to have a holiday this year, and had been trying to arrange to see my partner’s daughters, it made sense to make this our holiday so we booked a caravan for a week.
We did quite a few things so I’ll put it in sections per day.
Day 1: 7th August 2017
This day wasn’t particularly interesting as it was when we travelled. It’s a good thing I like driving! It took us around five and a half hours in total. We started out around 10am. On the way, we made two stops. The first was just a convenience break and to stretch our legs. The second was for lunch. We had noodles. I may have been a little more excited about there being a noodle place than I ought to have been. Well, I was happy.
We arrived at Winchelsea Sands in Winchelsea Beach at about 3:30pm. The caravan was lovely. It had three bedrooms, a large living and kitchen space, a shower room with sink, and a separate toilet and sink. We had expected the boys to share a bedroom but they didn’t need to so they were happy. They don’t mind sharing but it’s nice that they had their own space.
My eldest son (R) and I decided to have a wander and explore the area. There was not much to explore. These pictures show some ducks, a small church, and a view from the beach.
It was very quiet at Winchelsea. There are a couple of pubs within walking distance of the caravan park, and a couple more within a short drive. Apart from that, there was a shop and a barber next to one of the pubs, and a game dealer along the other end of the road.
The caravan park did have an entertainment venue although the ‘entertainment’ was mostly bingo at The Lobster Pot. We had one meal there. There was a small arcade where we popped in a couple of times. We won enough prize tickets for the boys to get a couple of small toys and sweets. There was also an outdoor swimming pool. We had taken our swimming things as we like swimming but didn’t use the pool as we spent most of the days out so the pool was closed by the time we got back.
Day 2: 8th August 2017
This was my favourite day mainly because D finally got to meet his two granddaughters. Well, he had met the first one (Baby1) but she was only a couple of weeks old then, D never got to hold her, and it had been two years since then. This was the first time we had met the second one (Baby2). It was the first time the boys had met C or the babies.
Anyway, we had arranged to meet up with C and the babies at Hastings. I’d never been there and it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go.
Well, we met up with them outside the Royal Standard pub. I thought we were going to go for lunch but they’d already eaten before they came out. So, because I like to go to every sealife centre in every place where there is one, and I thought they would like it, I suggested going there. With three adults, a 17 year old boy, a 12 year old boy, a 2 year old girl, and a 9 month old girl, it’s not easy to find something that everyone will enjoy and be able to do!
So, we went to the sealife centre (I think it’s called Blue Reef Aquarium). There were rays, sharks, an octopus, seahorses, and lots of different fish. Everyone had a good time there. Baby1 looked like she was trying to tell us all about the fish while Baby2 seemed to be more interested in R’s long hair! They both tried to take some pictures with my camera.
After we had looked at all the sea creatures, we walked by the beach to Hastings Miniature Railway. It goes a little way along near the seafront and back again. D didn’t go on but the rest of us did. Baby1 fell asleep on me on the way back but she liked being on the train. It was lovely to see everyone happy (except F, he always looks grumpy but he said he was happy).
Once we arrived back where we started, we went to an ice-cream shop. D took a fingerful of my ice-cream to give to Baby2, who enjoyed it so much that she tried to wrap her hands around the whole thing and made lots of mess!
R loved making a fuss of the little ones, as did D. It was quite funny (but also cute) to see a former soldier and a teenage boy cooing over a baby.
Day 3: 9th August
This was a Wednesday. After a busy day with the girls, D needed a rest so I took the boys out for the day. We had a list of places we’d like to visit and a friend had offered another suggestion. I asked the boys where they wanted to go and we decided on St. Leonard’s Church in Hythe.
It was a good drive away from where we were staying. I’d given the choice of there or Herstmonceux (which is one of the places we wanted to go but didn’t so we’ll be doing that next time) as they were both about a 45 minute drive but in opposite directions.
We went to The Crypt at St. Leonard’s. There are skulls and bones on display from where a burial site had been dug up to build on. It was small and we didn’t stay for long. It was interesting, though. We had seen a few things on the way there so, as we drove back, I told the boys we could do one of the other things. We got to Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch Light Railway. We had arrived at Dymchurch station and decided to go to Romney on the train. We were going to go to St. Mary’s Bay as it was nearest and cheapest. However, when we were told there was nothing there but there was an exhibition at Romney, we decided on that instead.
Images: bones and skulls at The Crypt, St. Leonard’s; sheep have the TARDIS at Model Railway Exhibition display
The model railway exhibition was good. There were lots of buttons to press as well as models and memorabilia. We had lunch at the cafe there but that wasn’t worth writing about. The man in the railway shop was very nice. He corrected himself on his tautology when he asked for a PIN number, and he seemed rather joyed about having sold his first heraldic keyring (I’d bought one for D as he’s the only one of us whose surname has any English heraldry).
We went on diesel trains. I was a little disappointed as I was hoping for a stinky steamy at least one way! It was a nice day out, though. When we got back to the caravan, I can’t remember what we did. I think R and I probably played Boggle (we did a lot of that in the evenings). As Wednesday is usually date night for me and D, we decided to still have a date night. We went to the pub round the corner (Pub 31). It was OK but D was boring. We had one drink there, a pigeon came inside, and then we went back to the caravan. It looked like they were doing karaoke at The Lobster Pot (on the caravan site) but D didn’t want to do that. I don’t really understand why. He said he only does that if he knows people. Now, that would make sense if he actually got up and sang but he won’t. So, the one time they did something other than bingo, we didn’t go anyway!
Day 4: 10th August
We had planned on seeing K (D’s younger daughter) but she was at work in the morning so we couldn’t see her until late afternoon. So we decided to do something in the morning. We went to the town of Rye. Considering how small it is, it wasn’t easy to find things! We visited Rye Castle Museum and Ypres Tower (it’s all one thing). For a small place, there is a lot to see. I really should review some of these places (I reviewed a couple but forgot some). We walked up the steps of the tower, had a great view over the harbour from the rooftop, and had a wander around the cannons in the gun garden.
After that, we wanted to go somewhere for a cup of tea. There were lots of tea rooms but it was lunch time so they were mostly packed. We found one called The Cobbles Tea Room. Like many of the best places, it was along a side path thingy. None of us actually had tea. The boys and I all had hot chocolate, D had coffee, and we all had a piece of cake. It was ever so nice in there. The two young girls were working so hard, doing their best to accommodate people when they started to get busy.
Once we had finished in there, it was time to make our way over to see K. We weren’t sure if we were going to do anything with her. We hadn’t made plans but said she could decide when we got there. As it happened, she hadn’t been too well so we just stayed at her home, had a cup of tea, and chatted with K and, later, her mum and mum’s partner.
K told us about her work at a zoo, and about her plans to go to university next year. R plans to go to university next year too so they have that in common. In fact, all four of the children got on well. The boys had met K once before but that was two years ago. Hopefully, it won’t be that long before we see them all again.
I think it was this day that we tried looking for a chip shop for tea when we got near to the caravan park. It turns out that there are no chip shops around Winchelsea. I think the nearest was at Rye but there was nowhere to park by it. We ended up at a pub called The Smugglers. The food there was nice and fresh, and good portions for the price. I had a dressed crab salad.
Day 5: 11th August
We visited Battle Abbey. It was one of the places on our list of places we wanted to go. I’m glad we did go, and I’m sure the others were glad, too. We spent a couple of hours there exploring ruins of the Abbey and some of its associated buildings as well as a walled garden, walks, and a play area. I think I did review this one but I can’t remember where (probably Tripadvisor).
When we arrived at Battle Abbey, there was a lady promoting English Heritage membership who wanted my t-shirt – I was wearing a purple Doctor Who t-shirt (which I also happen to be wearing as I write this).
As we left Battle Abbey, I did decide to join English Heritage, especially when the lady suggested visiting Dover Castle. Between that and Battle Abbey, it was cheaper to get a year’s membership. Even better is the fact that R, being 17, counts as an adult for non-member price purposes but a child for membership.
Anyway, we had an enjoyable day there. We would have stayed longer but D was getting tired from all the walking and climbing. We had some lunch at a little cafe/tea room. We went to go into one but then we realised it was dirty and didn’t sell real food (only had pastries and pre-packaged sandwiches) so we went into a different one, which was clean and had a good selection of food. I think it was called Bluebells Tea Room.
We drove a long way back (partly because it was easier to get out of Battle that way but mostly because we got a bit lost). We drove along some country roads and some coastal roads so it was a nice drive. When we got back, we found that there was a fish and chip van which visited the nearby pub on a Friday. If we’d known that, we’d not have had a big lunch! Oh, well, I think my jacket potato and salmon was a better option than fish and chips.
Day 6: 12th August
The day of C’s wedding, the reason we had gone down south. We had a relaxed morning of not doing a lot. The wedding wasn’t until the afternoon. We started out in, what we thought would be, plenty of time to get there and decided to drive through the villages, thinking it would be a little quicker as it meant cutting off a rather tricky corner.
As we drove through the villages, we were held up by a group of cyclists. Once we had passed them, every single traffic light was on red (I’m sure I don’t remember there being that many traffic lights) so we ended up a little late. Only a few minutes, and we weren’t the last ones there so that wasn’t too bad. We missed C walk down the aisle but we didn’t miss anything else.
Personally, I always find weddings boring but Baby1 offered a little entertainment with her cheeky grin and trying to upstage her mum and dad.
Later, there was the reception (well, two of them, one afternoon and one evening) which was nice. We got to spend time with D’s family. He said he felt accepted by all of them, and he hadn’t felt like that before. He got to have more cuddles with his granddaughters and my boys went outside with D’s niece and nephew to look for meteor showers. It’s nice that they’re all of a similar age with some similar interests.
D and R played with bubbles outside with Baby1 as well, and the boys and K played bubbles with each other. They were all smiling, which was nice, especially for F as, I mentioned before, he doesn’t do much of that. It looked like everyone had a good time. We went straight to bed when we got back to the caravan.
Day 7: 13th August
After such a busy day, D needed to rest on the Sunday so I took the boys out. We took the Battle Abbey lady’s advice and visited Dover Castle.
As there was an event, we had to pay a little bit to get in but nowhere near the amount it would have been without membership! We also had to park quite a long way from the castle because the car parks were full. It was about a half an hour walk from where we parked to the castle. It was a good thing D hadn’t come with us, he’d never have made that, never mind the walking around the castle!
It was fantastic there, though. We spent about three hours climbing steps up to the top of the castle, down to the underground tunnels, wandering the battlements, visiting buildings, and enjoying beautiful views.
Images: in and around Dover Castle. F looking out to France; part of the castle buildings; cannons inside medieval underground tunnels; barrels in a castle room; a great hall inside the castle; Roman lighthouse and Anglo-Saxon church; near the entrance to the castle
We also enjoyed a meal at the NAAFI restaurant, which was expensive but otherwise very nice. The event was medieval jousting so we had a quick look at that but couldn’t get a good view so we went to the event tents and bought some marshmallow.
I think F mostly liked looking through the talking telescope across the sea, where we could see France. I think R particularly liked the Anglo-Saxon church and Roman lighthouse.
After three hours of exploring, we called it a day and took the coastal route back to the caravan. Once we got back, we started packing. D had made himself useful by tidying up.
Day 8: 14th August
This was the day we came home so it wasn’t very interesting. We had to leave the caravan by 10am so we started out quite early. It didn’t take us quite as long to get home as it had done to get there. We only made one stop, which was at Oxford service station, where we had lunch.
We were all quite tired when we arrived home. Well, we got to D’s first. I got us some chips from the chip shop as we hadn’t had any while we were away. Then we had a cup of tea, watch some TV, and I brought the boys back to mine.
I think there were probably a couple of other things we did. Oh, I remember, R and I had a wander to the beach one evening, D and I had a wander to the beach a different evening. F didn’t go on a beach at all but he didn’t want to. We spent a little time at the arcade, and R and I had a walk around Winchelsea (there’s not much there but a pub and you can see the sea from the top of the hill). I couldn’t remember which evening that was!
We took lots of good pictures (and some not so good ones). I wrote about a couple of places we visited here.
I think that’s all for now. It took a while to write that for some reason. I could seem to get my head into gear! Anyway, it’s done now. I hope you enjoy it. I’ve decided that we’re going abroad next year or the year after so I’ll be back to tell you how that goes (I’m sure I’ll write something before then).
Thank you for reading. Goodbye for now.
Becky J. Harvey 