If Sue were writing this, she could start with, “Sleeping in an unfamiliar bed usually takes some getting used to but I was blessed with a restful night …”
But as I am – I can’t get used to this bed and didn’t sleep too well, waking many times.
Just before seven, I gave up the fight and got up, dressed and out of the front door.
The previous night, looking at the geocaching app, I noticed that there was a cache in the nearby village of Sedlescombe, less that a kilometre away across hte fields.
After a few minutes, I found the bridleway which I followed through the early morning mist to a steadily rising footpath leading to the village.
The cache was soon found but, unfortunately, the log was far too soggy to sign so I posted a photo as proof of visitation.
Whereas, I’d got to the cache by going cross-country, I returned to the Corn Bin along the country lanes, arriving back as the hazy sun was rising above the giant tin can.
I potted around for a while until Sue emerged from her restful night’s slumbers.
Then it was on with the frying pans for a cooked breakfast.
On the cards for today was a visit to the Spa Valley Railway in Royal Tunbridge Wells then an Adventure Lab in said town.
We arrived to a queue at the entrance of the Spa Valley because they were hosting a model railway exhibition. We had a quick look around and I was impressed with a layout of LEGO trains including a model of the very station we were at.
A very impressive, Battle of Britain class 4-6-2, pulled into the station. I thought that the loco looked a little familiar but didn’t recognise the name, 303 Squadron. A bit of googling later revealed that the engine used to be called Sir Kieth Park, which we saw a few times at the Severn Valley Railway. It has been renamed to the squadron that Sir Kieth commanded in the Battle of Britain.
AT the other end of the train was a Class 31 diesel operating a push pull service with the Pacific.
Being a special event day, the railway was rather busy so after a trip to the end and back we adjourned to the town centre for an AdLab entitled ‘A Walk Around the Pantiles’. The Pantiles is a Georgian colonnade and the main shopping thoroughfare.
Part way around, and looking for somewhere to grab a drink, Sue, uncharacteristically drags us into a bar.
To give her her due, the Pantiles Tap, housed in the cellar of the first pub to open on the Pantiles, this is a little gem of an ale house serving a wide selection of craft ales and ciders, including the Great Wall of Cider. The decor was a mix of Halloween and Voodoo with an abundance of sugar skulls.
Sue further surprised my by downing a couple of halves of her fave cider, Thistly Cross whilst I had a pint of a 6% American IPA.
Post drinks (and with Sue a little under the influence – well we are on holiday) we completed the AdLab before making our way to a local park for a bonus cache from said AdLab.
From Tunbridge, we made our way back, stopping at Scotney Castle, a National Trust property that we’d spotted on the way out.
Pulling up to the entrance we spotted a sign stating that “Parking Booking in place” – sounds busy. At the gate we explained that we hadn’t booked but apparently that wasn’t a problem and we were directed to the main car park where we occupied one of quite a few empty spots.
Before going in proper, we stopped off for an ice cream on this unexpectedly hot afternoon. The staff (as is usual for NT catering) were not quick and we were asked for a name so they could call us when the order was ready. Like a flash I replied, “Mr. Whippy” which, if nothing else, gave the servers a smile.
Suitably cooled, we made our way to the entrance, picking up an AdLab location, and had a look around the house which was built in the eighteen hundreds as a companion to the nearby ruined castle.
After the house we walked the grounds (not all of them) to pick up another AdLab location and to admire the English Longhorn cattle.
After the obligatory shop visit (lemon curd and a guide book) it was back to the car to look for somewhere to eat.
Finding nothing en route, we ended up in Hastings (no horrendous traffic today) where we parked on the front at the start of the St. Leonards and Hastings Seaside Stroll.
We spied a chippy but decided to pick up a couple of AdLab locations before eating.
As we approached the pier, and with someone needing a loo break, Sue spotted a restaurant actually on the pier called Casa Pier. A quick glance at the menu and we decided that we could both find something suitable to eat at this establishment.
The food was excellent (sea Bass / Seafood Risotto) and the staff very friendly.
With dinner consumed it was back to the AdLab with a handful of proper caches thrown in.
The AdLab bits were easy enough but we only managed one out of three caches.
By the time we had made the walk back to the car we were both feeling a little fatigued so returned to the corn bin to chill out in front of the TV.
A new series from the writers of Wandervision has just started on Disney+ (Marvel) s owe gave that a try. You can definitely tells it’s from the same hand as Wandervision – suitably weird.
Checking on Strava, later, I discovered that the walk along the prom was just over three miles long.
We arrived to a queue at the entrance of the Spa Valley because they were hosting a model railway exhibition. We had a quick look around and I was impressed with a layout of LEGO trains including a model of the very station we were at.
