Seafront and 2 Award Winning Parks Stroll...

So, a 90 minute stroll was enjoyed this morning, from the town centre, along the seafront, up through St Leonard's Gardens, over to Alexandra Park via West/Tower Road, and back down through the park to the town centre, a mostly peaceful walk, but more of that later. Here (above photograph), below Warrior Square, is the pleasingly successful Goat Ledge Cafe; winter opening 9.00am to 4.00pm (website).

Entering award-winning (blog), and excellently designed, St Leonard's Gardens (blog) from behind the Royal Victoria Hotel (above), and I found myself in an oasis of peace and quiet, indeed. Walking up...

... and you soon find the pond, literally swimming with wildlife, and it's family of moorhens make their presence felt, and one sad looking herring gull too!

At the North Lodge at the top of Maze Hill, and above St Leonard's Gardens, is the first of 2 closely assigned blue plaques, this one for author Henry Rider Haggard, who lived here from 1918 to 1923.

A little further up in Upper Maze Hill is where the father of computer science and artificial intelligence, and famous for breaking German codes during World War II, Alan Turing lived whilst at school from 1922 to 1926. In July 2019 the Governor of the Bank of England announced that Turing's face will be on the new polymer £50 note, expected to enter circulation in 2021 (Bank of England website). 

Entering Alexandra Park

I carried on up Upper Maze Hill, then crossed over via Tower Road West/Tower Road, where my peace was disrupted for a couple of minutes when 3 police cars shot up Tower Road West from Tower Road, presumably previously from Bohemia Road, 2 of them with sirens blaring (approximately 09.30 hours).

Anyway, peace returned, and I carried on to the far eastern corner of Alexandra Park (blog), another another excellently designed and award winning park in Hastings, and gradually walked back down to the town centre.

And Alexandra Park has its own fair share of wildlife, and it's own families of moorhens too, for example in the pond above. The walk was a joy!

Bayeux Tapestry Ending in Battle!

Further to my recent blog about 1066 - A Medieval Mosaic, the final scenes of the Bayeux Tapestry, though more recently created in Alderney, are coming to Battle for the 950th anniversary show (BBC website), bring it on!

The Bayeux Tapestry in Hastings!

Yes really, though not the original, but a mighty fine replica of the tapestry in the form of 1066 - A Medieval Mosaic created by Michael Linton from New Zealand, and which is sited in the Crypt of St Mary in the Castle, Pelham Arcade, to the east of Iceland (next to and behind St Mary's Restaurant).

How was this made? Well, it would take a rather a long paragraph to explain in full, but it took Michael 33 years to fashion an accurate copy of the tapestry made up of tiny pieces of steel broken from disks used in knitting machines and hand painted using a very wee nylon brush that Michael can show you, and which he did show me happily. For the full explanation and plenty more information, have a look at his website, very impressive! Of course, you can also visit and find out from Michael himself...

Indeed, the mosaic is in the Guinness Book of Records for being the world's largest steel mosaic, made of 3,000,000 pieces of steel, 64 metres long, and weighing 450kg.

I'd recommend you visit soon, although the exhibition will remain here until the 28th of October 2016, so you do have plenty of time, but it is well worth the visit, truly awesome! Whilst there, you could also have a drink at the very recently opened St Mary's bar too...

Nice one Michael, just in time for the 950th Anniversary!