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Published: September 2nd 2007
1066 Country
This one's for you Mr SkinnerFor the August bank holiday weekend Yolande, Phillips, Trav and I headed to Rye about 2 hours drive south east of London. I would usually plan to go overseas, but my passport is with the Home Office while I try and become highly skilled. So, it was a good chance to check out some more of England and take the tent-mahal for its last outing before Ben and Yolande head back to Australia.
For once, the weather on the long weekend was fab - we even managed to get a bit sunburnt (who knew that that was even possible in the UK?).
On the way to Rye, we stopped at a town called Wye, where Ben's aunt and uncle live, for lunch at the 'Duck Pub'. Now the Duck Pub is actually called the Tickled Trout, but has been renamed the Duck Pub by Ben and Yolande because of the tame ducks who hang out in the beer garden and beg for chips. Yolande has a slight duck obsession, so the ducks make her very happy.
After we set up the tent, we checked out Hastings, which is not actually the site of the Battle of Hastings (a
nearby town called Battle is - but guess someone thought the Battle of Battle did not have the same ring to it. My personal opinion is that they were wrong, but there you go). Hastings is a bit like Brighton, although less full on. The beach is still made of pebbles though - disappointing. In honour of Mr Skinner I re-enacted the 'arrow in the eye incident' with a bow and arrow set I bought - best 1 pound 50 I ever spent.
We also went to Hertsmonceux castle. When we arrived, it turned out that they were having a medieval festival. There were many costumed people wishing us 'good morrow' and saying 'Fare thee well'. There were also birds of prey, a recreation of a village, a play, traditional games and much much more. However, the highlight was the re-enactment of one of the battles of the War of the Roses. There were people in armour, with swords, arrows flying, and cannons firing. You could hear the clanging of swords and everything - awesome! They did not go so far as to try and create 'real' wounds. It is probably a good thing that the medieval festival was
on, beause you aren't actually allowed in the castle itself - it's used as a conference centre.
Rye itself is a picturesque medieval town, with tudor buildings, cobbled streets and the oldest working turret clock in England. It is just lovely. Apparently, it used to be surrounded by the sea on three sides, but the sea has since retreated and is now about 7 km away. Another great thing about Rye is the yummy food.
Continuing the castle theme, we headed to Bodium Castle. I liked it because it has a proper moat around it, with actual water in it (and ducks for Yolande). All too often the moats are waterless, and therefore not as interesting. The insides were quite ruined, and you could walk around the parapets - all good.
It was a great chance to bond with Ben and Yolande before they leave the UK and a great time was had by all.
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