A quick visit to East Sussex

We are in East Sussex, at a camping ground in a small town called Crowborough.   Not far from home, I know, but we needed to take the caravan out for a few days to make sure that everything worked, and more importantly, that we remembered how to use it again.   Before we take it on a long trip, out of the country.

It has been six months since we last used it, and we certainly felt like novices as we hitched up.  Thank goodness we had a checklist.   There were no problems on the road, and the caravan mover did its job, once Walter remembered to connect the leads on the leisure battery.    Then I forgot that I had left all the taps open when we packed the caravan up, in case of extremely cold weather.  Consequently when we turned the pump on, the bathroom got an extra large clean when the shower sprayed water everywhere.   And now the gas hot water system is playing up, which will definitely need fixing before we use it next.  The joys of caravaning!

The the camping ground is next to sports fields, a playground and leisure centre, which has a swimming pool.  I had been here previously with Jackson and Isabel, and Donna, Scott and Lucy.  A fantastic area for walking, and great facilities to keep children amused, and plenty of space for dogs too.   A very muddy place though. Luckily I brought my new pink Wellingtons.

The car and caravan, all set up in brilliant sunshine.

Today we visited Tunbridge Wells or more correctly Royal Tunbridge Wells, which is about a twenty minute drive from here.  Although we have often driven around the edge of the town, this was the first visit in about twenty years.

We were specifically intending to visit The Pantiles, the most historical part, and where The Bath House and Chalybeate Spring was situated on the edge.  We parked in the carpark opposite the railway station and followed everyone else up the hill, which was in the opposite direction to the Pantiles.  We soon found that our destination was a large shopping centre.  Oh well a little bit of retail therapy never goes astray.

We went through a beautiful arcade on the way, and past some very upmarket shops.

After parting with some money, in more familiar shops, such as Poundland, BHS and and Maplin, we decided that it was time for lunch.   And luckily we found a Weatherspoon pub, in the old Opera House.  Such a magnificent setting, for a very cheap lunch.  We ordered the menu specials, Mexican dishes, washed down with lime and soda.  Total price £10.50.  

After checking Google maps, we realised that we needed to walk down the hill, past the railway station, and then keep walking downhill until we reached The Pantiles.  It makes sense that the spring would be down in the valley rather than on top of a hill.

There were plenty of beautiful Georgian and Victorian buildings lining the roads.

And little boutique shops.

The spire of the Church of King Charles the Matyr, built and added to,  between 1678 and 1760.

The upper walk in The Pantiles, which is now home to many restaurants and cafes, plus a weekly market, and open air concerts and plays.   We saw many historic buildings, including the Corn Exchange, once a theatre, and now holding small shops.

The Bath House and Chalybeate Springs is at one ènd of The Pantiles.  The spring was first discovered around 1606 by Lord North, who was riding through Waterdown Forest, which was once sited there.   The iron in the water was thought to have health restoring properties, and after Lord North found the spring, increasing numbers of people started coming to the area, to 'take the waters', either by drinking it or bathing in it.  Consequently a town was built to cater for the large numbers of people who visited the spring.  

However we did not sample the water.   Instead we found a small cafe and sampled the coffee instead, which was more to our liking really.   We also found a home made ice cream parlour, and also sampled their ice cream.

Tomorrow we pack up again, and head off home.  Hopefully all will go well, and the sun shines.  A little sunshine makes all the difference, as we know.