Thursday 5 September 2013

Four Went To Kent

Recently we went away for a few days to the south coast of Kent.
Day 1
En route we stopped off at Inghtham Mote, a beautiful medieval house, surrounded by a moat.
The drawing room saw quite stunning with its 18thC hand painted Chinese wallpaper and highly decorated fireplaces.
We rounded off the first day with a moonlit walk along the beach at Greatstone.
Day 2
On the second day we headed to Dungeness old lighthouse
and climbed the 169 steps to the top.
We walked along the shingle beach and stopped to admire the former home of the late Derek Jarman.
Throughout the week we visited some of the medieval churches dotted around Romney Marsh - St Augustine's, at Brookland, had an unusual wooden bell tower detached from the church.
Late afternoon we headed into Rye for a meal and walk around,
before finishing off the day with a stroll along Dymchurch beach.
Or in Fay's case, a paddle.  This girl can't resist water!
Day 3
Day 3 started with another church visit - St Mary in the Marsh.  The simple wooden rail in the photo marks the grave of E. Nesbit.
The weather was glorious, ideal for a walk along the top of the famous white cliffs at Dover.
We headed for the South Foreland Lighthouse, where we had a very interesting guided tour.
Unsurprisingly we ended up on the beach at Greatstone.  The Three Crazies had decided to go for a swim!  The tide was out so they had a long walk!
Day 4
My Husband is very interested in all things radar and world war-related, so a peek at the Sound Mirrors at former RAF Denge was in order.
It had rained heavily overnight and the skies still looked stormy when we arrived at the iconic marsh church of St Thomas Becket at Fairfield.  Just as we got out of the car the sun broke through and lit up the church.
The interior was beautiful - possibly the prettiest church we have ever visited.
Next up was a history lesson at Battle Abbey, founded by William the Conqueror in gratitude for his victory on the battlefield in 1066 and as a memorial to those that had died there.
The Battlefield
As was our habit, we finished the day beside the sea!  This time we were at Hastings Old Town for fish and chips and an ice cream.
Day 5
Our last day of the holiday began with my Husband praying to the God of Geocaching! :) Actually, there is a cache under that lump of concrete.
Finally we visited some more marsh churches:-
St Peter and St Paul, at Newchurch, with its bent tower.
St Clement at Old Romney.
The interior had been painted pink by Walt Disney Productions for the 1963 film Dr Syn!
St. Mary, at East Guldeford, the only marsh church to be in Sussex.
We finished our holiday with a visit to the village of Winchelsea.
The inside of the church took our breathe away - we were not expecting the amazing stained glass and intricate stonework.  This church was more like a cathedral!
It was great to have a few days away as a family of four before Fay goes back to uni for her second year and Jay leaves for his first year.

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