Part 2 - Battle to Hastings via Bexhill

Having walked from Hastings to Battle we believed we deserved refreshments, especially as the day was pretty warm and, also, in-between our birthdays (a week apart), so a dual celebration and well deserved indeed! Consequently, we wandered along the High Street, a short distance from Battle Abbey to, built in the 17th century with stone from the Battle Abbey kitchen, The Bull Inn, 27 High Street, TN33 0EA, where I met someone I always seem to meet here, and sometimes in Hastings hostelries too, so not a surprise. We had a pint of ale each of course (sorry I forgot to make a note of it, but certain to either be from Sussex or Kent, so local), and a meal each too; I shall not tell you what it was, at risk of someone who knows what I shouldn't eat reading this, but good value tasty meals both, well enjoyed, cheers!

We followed the same root back southwards to Crowhurst and stopped in at the early 19th century The Plough Inn, 1 Plough Lane, TN33 9AW (facebook). Here we drank a pint each of Sussex brewer Weltons (website) American Graffiti (4.5%), a pale golden US style pale ale with hints of citrus and marmalade, dry and bitter, very refreshing!

We continued back along the 1066 Country Walk - Behill Link, this time not heading towards the Combe Valley Country Park once we'd walked under the new road, but following the newly built pathway that incorporates the old disused railway line all the way to Bexhill, where we enjoyed a coffee at the iconic De La Warr Pavilion (website).

Our final walk was towards the east, back along the seafront to Hastings where, early evening Friday (we'd had a short walk to Bexhill and back on Friday) and Saturday, we passed the Goat Ledge cafe (website) with a thriving clientele, whereas the Pier in the back ground was closed/near empty, sad, but glad for Goat Ledge, nice one!

A review of Goat Ledge is well overdue...

A Weekend Walk from Hastings...

Filsham Reedbed Entrance

We undertook this (roughly) 20 mile walk at the weekend, first heading westwards along the seafront from Hastings & St Leonards, then we crossed the railway line via the footbridge at Bulverhythe. We had to cope with a few hundred yards walking back along the A259 before turning onto the public footpath that took us up Combe Haven valley where, after passing the holiday park, we soon found Sussex Wildlife Trust's Filsham Reedbed Nature Reserve entrance to the right (website).

As a member of/donor to Sussex Wildlife Trust, I regularly visit Filsham Reedbed, a haven of peace and tranquility, with the call of birds the only noise we heard, and we saw 20 or 30 martins swooping in the sky. During our time in the Combe Valley Countryside Park (website) we saw many different birds, including martins, egrets and plovers, as we continued on our way...

We were going to stop at Crowhurst for a drink, after walking further along the footpath, and under the new road, but were too early, so we continued on to Battle. On leaving Crowhurst from St George's church and its famous 4,000 year-old Yew Tree, we rejoined the footpath, walking through Fore Wood Nature Reserve, and northwards to Battle, where there was a famous battle apparently (Battle Abbey Gatehouse above).

Anyway, we definitely required a drink, having run out of water, so we popped into the pub we always use when visiting Battle, though usually at the end of a walk before catching a bus or train back to Hastings, that is The Bull Inn (website). This is a 17th century coaching inn, built with stones from the original Battle Abbey, whose ales tend to include quite locally produced beers, we had a pint each of an Old Dairy ale, brewed in Kent, and the kind young woman behind the bar refilled our water bottle, cheers! 

We walked back the way we came to Crowhurst, and sat outside the Norman St George's church (website) to eat a sandwich, admire the yew trees and read the stones of the 2 Commonwealth war graves...

... before we returned to the now open Plough Inn in Crowhurst, and drank a pint each of Sussex brewer Long Man Best Bitter, cheers! This pub opens at 12.00 noon at weekends, we had been about 40 minutes early when we passed it in the morning.

De La Warr Pavilion

Anyway, we carried on walking along the 1066 Country Walk - Bexhill Link under the new road, and following the newly built pathway to Bexhill, where we stopped outside the iconic modernism meets art deco De La Warr Pavilion (website), opened in 1935, to enjoy our last snack of the walk. We then headed home to Hastings, followed by a wind from south of west bringing with it rain, still, it had been dry all day before that, so we couldn't complain, indeed, it was a grand day out, thank you very much.