Day Three - Hasting, Bodiam Castle and Bateman's (Rudyard Kipling's home)
Today was fantastic sunshine and 23 degrees - beautiful freeway driving and on the trip home enjoying David Bowie's 'Modern Love' watching the exquisite greenery as we sped along the freeway! Might I say that Ken is doing a fabulous job driving too - he hired a manual car, so unfortunately that excludes me from driving.
First stop today was to the township of Battle in Hastings.
Hastings English Heritage Trust
We spent a few leisurely hours wandering around the battlefield listening to the audio tour, marvelling at the greenery and the landscape and feeling well and truly steeped in history. Walking through the Abbey as also a great experience.
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| Carved soldiers along the trail |
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| So green!! Green everywhere!!! |
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| Foxglove/Digitalis - handy for use with AF apparently! |
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| Looking toward the Abbey from the battlefield |
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| There were sheep everywhere - Oliver "wanted to snuggle up with them" ... so cute! |
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| The Abbey built to commemorate the battle |
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| From the wall, overlooking the town of Battle |
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| Vaulted ceilings - apparently the interiors were painted white with red markings denoting the joins in the brickwork |
Next stop today was to Bodiam Castle.
Bodium Castle
Again, we took time to sit and rest in the sun of the Great Court after time spent wandering around the castle. The boys had a blast - particularly in chasing the ducks in the grounds! This is a very well preserved site and we certainly got a feeling for the layout and use of the rooms. There were many families enjoying their sunny Saturday, picnicking, playing archery and doing a spot of falconing. We enjoyed our lunch on the grounds before heading into the castle.
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| Enjoying the sunshine in the Great Court |
Our last stop today was to Bateman's 'Rudyard Kipling's Home'
Bateman's
This 17th century house was filled with oak beams and timber panelling, the original furniture and assorted ephemera from his life, and of course his Nobel Prize. It was very dark inside as you can imagine with all the timber panelling, but the beautifully manicured gardens provided cheery contrast.
