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England > South East England > Sussex

West Sussex has lovely countryside, lots of charming villages and the former Roman city of Winchester with its famous cathedral. East Sussex has stunning scenery, both coastal and inland and seaside resorts like Brighton and Hastings. Click on the headings to find out more: Rye is a picturesque medieval town with narrow, cobbled streets lined with half-timbered houses dating back to Tudor times. Although 2 miles inland, the town was once a coastal port. Seek out steep, cobbled Mermaid St where most houses are over 300 years old and the famous Mermaid Inn, which has been serving ale since 1420. If you only have time to nip out of London for a night or two, the Mermaid Inn is THE spot to soak up a piece of Olde Englande, with its great food and atmosphere, big log fires in winter and snuggly medieval rooms, it was once a haunt of smugglers and home to a resident ghost. Dr Syn's Bedchamber is where Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, slept when she visited).


You should allow a good half-day to explore the cathedral - look for the alabaster shrine of Henry IV who is buried with his wife Queen Joan of Navarre and the tomb of The Black Prince with its effigy and the prince's shield and sword. Also, the tomb of Archbishop Sudbury. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, he introduced the highly unpopular poll tax and was beheaded in the Peasant's Revolt of 1381. His body is buried with a ball of lead and his head is in a church in Suffolk.


Battle, north of Hastings, is the site of that battle - where William the Conqueror defeated Harold II in 1066. It's a charming little town itself - allow an hour or two for a walk around the battlefield where 7000 troops on both sides went head to head and poor Harold copped an arrow in the eye, which saw the beginning of the end for his side.
Hastings is a big, seaside resort town - calmer than Brighton. Parts of it are charming and atmospheric, like the Old Town and the fishing area of The Stade, but it is run down and sometimes tacky in other parts.
Charleston farmhouse is at the foot of the South Downs between Lewes and Eastbourne. The entire house is covered in murals and full of decorative ceramics, textiles and paintings. What makes it also quite unusual is its former inhabitants. From 1916 the painter, Vanessa Bell (sister of Virginia Woolf) lived there with her lover, fellow artist Duncan Grant... and his lover, writer David Garnett… who were then later joined by Vanessa's husband Clive. And you thought the 1960's had a mortgage on open relationships! Brings a whole new meaning to sus-sex?
Lewes is an attractive old Georgian town and is the administrative capital of East Sussex. Lewes Castle is in ruins but the view is good, as is the adjacent museum.
Anne of Cleves House (in High Street, Southover) was given to her by Henry VIII as part of the divorce settlement (more than some of his wives got!). It's now a museum full of interesting oddities.
Brighton is England's premier seaside resort town. It's a lively, tacky, terrific place with a thriving arts community, excellent shopping and eating-out choices, great pubs, hot nightlife and a large, theatrical gay scene. It is the number one commute region/city to work in London, and now considered an extension of Greater London with its huge commute to London community. The pebble beach is part of its charm, as is the pier and Palace of Fun. And no visitor should miss the outrageous summer palace built by the Prince Regent in the 1780's for his lavish and wild weekend parties. This Royal pavilion looks like an eastern palace from the outside and an over-the-top bordello within. Definitely a must-see.
Burwash is an interesting village 11 miles south-east of Tunbridge Wells. It has an attractive, winding main street and on the western side (just off the A265) is a rambling stone manor called Bateman's where Rudyard Kipling lived from 1902 until his death in 1936. It's open to the public. Do you like Kipling? Why, I haven't kippled for years!
East Hoathly is on the A22, about 12 miles northwest of Eastbourne, and is interesting because of one Thomas Turner who lived in a house just south of the post office. The house is now four cottages but a plaque marks the spot. So, what's interesting about Mr Turner, an ordinary local shopkeeper? Well, he kept an intimate diary between 1745 and 1765, which gives a real insight into 18th century England. Many of his entries were full of remorse about how he drank too much. Often he was unable to walk home as the alcohol had "rendered his legs useless" and, during one binge, he rode his horse into a shed. The village as a whole liked a wild time - one morning, at 6:00am, the vicar (a Mr Porter) dragged Thomas from his bed to join a party that was still raging from the night before. His gravestone (d.1793) is near the eastern end of the parish church if you'd like to raise your glass to him.
Chichester Cathedral, in West Sussex, (dedicated in 1108) is surprisingly intimate. It's best to take a guided tour to discover all the treasures inside like the statue of William Huskisson MP, the world's first railway fatality, the window designed by Marc Chagall, and the Earl of Arundel (d. 1376) with his countess - their stone effigies, side by side, holding hands, their feet resting on their pet dogs. What is it with the English and dogs???
Arundel itself is a nice little spot with a fine, romantic castle and is the family seat of the Dukes of Norfolk.
Fishbourne is an ordinary little village but what is extraordinary is a Roman building nearby unearthed in 1960. It's an ancient palace with mosaic floors that visitors can see close up via a network of timber bridges and walkways.
12 miles northeast of Chichester is Petworth House, where the painter Turner was a regular visitor and today the impressive building houses 20 Turners, the largest collection outside the Tate Gallery in London.
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