Ashdown Forest was a royal hunting ground and many kings and their entourages came here regularly. Forest Row, a village you will certainly visit, was built specifically to provide hunting accomodation for royals and nobles. Nearby Anne Boleyn’s beautiful childhood home seems to overflow with history. It also has gorgeous gardens, a water and a hedge maze, a rose garden, an Italian garden, a playground and a great deal more. Sometimes there are knights taking part in lancing competitions and royal dances. It’s a place of pure enjoyment for the whole family.
Along the south coast we can visit fishing and seaside towns, and towns where battles took place with the Normans who conquered England, led by William the Conqueror. There are many houses that are six hundred and even a thousand years old, historic castles, museums and houses of famous writers, poets, painters and intellectuals who lived here or were inspired by the area. These include AA Milne who wrote Winnie the Pooh, Sir Winston Churchill, Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote Sherlock Holmes, Virginia Woolf, and CS Lewis who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia (he was inspired by a hidden lion’s head statue in Forest Row from which pure spring water flows). A few miles away authentic steam trains travel on a regular route between several stations. One of the stations hosts a large building full of locomotives and carriages from the end of the 19th century and a historical museum. If you’re lucky your trip may coincide with some of the more spectacular fairs and fetes that we have in the area.
In Brighton there is the amazing Indian pleasure palace – The Brighton Pavilion – built by George IV who was fascinated by Far Eastern culture. There’s also the famous and historic seafront with its pier, beach and promenade, which characterises the coast of England and was one of the main holiday destinations of the residents of southern England and London. We can also visit the wonderful ancient winding Lanes and super trendy North Laines.
