Daytripping Yeh!

As the last in a series of posts about our recent short break in East Sussex, I thought I'd tell you about  a couple of trips out and about we made to various places in the surrounding area.  One was to the lovely historic town of Rye, which was just a few miles down the road from Camber.  As my other half was feeling laid low with a cold for part of the holiday, we had a gentle mooch around the town for an hour or so one afternoon.  There are lots of interesting things to do in Rye, as there is a Castle Museum, Art Gallery and Heritage Centre, plus a weekly market on a Thursday, I believe, although we didn't visit on this particular day.

As we had the puppy with us, we were somewhat limited in terms of taking in the cultural aspects of the town and settled for a walk around the lovely mix of independent shops in this historic Cinque Port Antient town.  If, like me, you are a lover of all things antique and vintage, you too would probably enjoy browsing around the wonderful shops here.  Unfortunately on this visit, I didn't have a lot of money to spend, as it was nearing the end of the month, so I restrained myself and didn't actually buy anything, but I would definitely recommend it as a place to visit if you are the vicinity.

Another trip out that we made was back over the border into Kent, to the beautiful community of Dungeness.  Again a few miles from Camber.  It you've never been here before, it is like taking a step back to a simpler time.  It co-exists alongside one of the UK's nuclear power stations, and is an eerily beautiful spot, with simple but beautiful wooden dwellings.  Many have gardens made in the shingle that surround them, there is a lighthouse and the smallest of steam powered railways that loops its way around this lovely spot.

On the day that we visited it was bitterly cold and getting dark, so cold and grey in fact that I couldn't take a decent photograph to share it's beauty.  I remember reading about it in Derek Jarman's book about the wonderful garden he created when he lived here, and being completely fascinated by the place.  Visiting in person was no disappointment.  I am just sorry that the weather was so unrelenting, as I would have liked to linger longer and take a long walk on the shingle with the puppy, take a ride on the steam train and even drop into the pub for a drink. (Unfortunately it was closed on the day we visited).  Never mind, I've already made a mental note to visit again, possibly in the summer months and see it in the sunshine.  Above is a copy of a 1930's postcard advertising the railway, that I bought in the local cafe.