Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent

In Georgian times this popular spa town gained a reputation as the place to see and be seen amongst royalty and fashionable members of the aristocracy. Retaining much of the charm and elegance of its Georgian heyday, Royal Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding area today remain a favoured destination for those who want to enjoy elegant surroundings in the countryside and yet just a short distance from the hustle and bustle of London.
The town owes its existence to the chance discovery of the Chalybeate Spring in 1606 by a young nobleman, Dudley Lord North.
Visitors flocked to the small settlement which developed alongside the Spring which later became known as Tunbridge Wells.
Queen Henrietta Maria (Mother of King Charles II) Queen Anne, Princess (later Queen) Victoria, Samuel Pepys, Daniel Defoe and
William Makepeace Thackery all became regular visitors to the wells. The town was granted "Royal" prefix in 1909 by King Edward VII.



We arrived in the rain to the area called The Pantiles
wanting a light lunch before heading back to the 'traffic'

Safe to say that nobody would be sitting outside

However one can still stay dry under the overhangs 

The Cake Shed - too early I am afraid, it is lunch we are wanting

We settle for here and it looks like Alan is chatting up the girls again!

and decided on Welsh Rarebit with bacon and side salad

If you have never had Welsh Rarebit the mixture is made up of

flour, butter, strong beer, strong Cheddar Cheese, English mustard, 

Worcestershire Sauce and black pepper and grilled till it bubbles.

Replenished and having a stroll

Lots to do and see in this town but we want get onto the motorways before the rush hour traffic

About 50 minutes to home but takes much longer if the traffic is bad. Just getting through the town can take that!

Driving Back Home from Rye

Driving back from Rye and it is September

This Waterside Cafe in Hawkhurst is always a pleasant place to stop for coffee

It is cool and damp so we are the only ones sitting outside

Onward we go

and stop in the village of Goudhurst

Good use for an old horse watering trough on the village green

A different and interesting garden

we walk up the High Street to see if we want to lunch here

but then it starts to rain

so we will drive on into Royal Tunbridge Wells

which is a lovely town with plenty of shelter and lots of 

great eating places

Next post!

Winchelsea, East Sussex

At last I am back to posting on some of our trips from last year and believe it or not, I still have a few from late 2012.
After the weather we have had here through December and continuing into January it's good to look back on some finer weather.
We are fortunate, we do not live near to a river and we are on a hill but thousands in the south and west, and some further north, have had their homes flooded for the second time in weeks and some of the coastal areas are devastated with roads torn up and railway lines twisted. My heart and prayers go out to them.
I am also aware of the extreme weather in North America and only today on the news it said that the new ice and snow storms there will be here in a few days but because of the current mild temperature, it will fall as rain bringing hundreds more flood alerts.
So as much as I am looking back and enjoying some better weather I am not forgetting those who are suffering right now. 

Those who regularly follow my blog will be aware that September found us in Rye. We did not stay in the centre of Rye but 2 miles outside in the small town of Winchelsea.

The Strand House B & B that we stayed in is at the bottom of the hill on the left on the other side of the railings, so we chose to scramble up the hill as a short cut into the town 

where we pass through Strand Gate which was once part of the coastal defences of the Cinque Ports, which are 5 towns on the coast of Kent and Sussex. The various castles were built to defend invasion from France which is only 21 miles away at the narrowest part of the English Channel. 

Looking back towards the coast

Where we drove to the following day with sun and blue sky

Back in Winchelsea with the town sign

The town was founded in 1288 by Edward I

Where we walk around the Parish Church of St. Thomas the Martyr (built in 1215) which is a combination of ruins (where it was partially destroyed in the late 15th century) and the part that is very much still in use today. 

http://www.winchelseachurch.co.uk/ourhistory.htm

and here in the churchyard we see the grave of

Spike Milligan 

Continuing to walk around the town

I really like the way these box shrubs have been grown

Here we see the town well from 1851

The New Inn and hotel

and straight opposite the tree under which John Wesley preached his last open air sermon on 7th October 1790

John Wesley first preached in Winchelsea in 1771 and the Townspeople were so taken with his preaching that they responded in 1785 by building a preaching house, known locally as The John Wesley Chapel. 

It is unique and contains many of the original features but unfortunately it was closed when we visited 

The Old Court Hall now a Museum which in the 19th century was also the town gaol, holding up to 12 prisoners in very cramped conditions

Parts of the building are 700 years old 

and lastly the underground Medieval cellars

There are 56 altogether and 33 of them are currently accessible to the public through a guided tour

The cellars were built for the wine trade in the 14th century when

4 million bottles a year passed this way.

These pictures were taken on 2 different days which is obvious by the mixed blue and grey skies