Grand Tour of England Day 18

A bad night as a result of a snoring Mr C and a runny nose on the 5th day of a cold or hay fever. Running out of Kleenex and loo roll.

After breakfast we went with Marian and Brian to Holmes Gardens. She was really keen that I see it and I’m so glad Mr C didn’t want to rush to get on the road. It was a garden centre/gardens/wild flower meadows place and I thought it just lovely. The wild flower meadows were my favourite thing even though Marian thought they were a bit over now.

We got bread and fruit in the farm shop and headed off for our site at Playden, near Rye on the Sussex/Kent border. The drive was ghastly. Gertie Google told us 3.5 hours via the M25, almost to London. Mr C knew better and ignored her, taking the roads and roundabouts via Poole, Bournemouth, the New Forest, Southampton, Chichester, Worthing, Brighton bypass, Eastbourne, Hastings and Rye. In the narrow streets of Rye she gave up and had no signal so we took the wrong road. As google had given up, we had no idea which road we were actually on. We saw a man stopped in a little lay-by and much to Mr C’s disapproval I went to ask his help. (It’s a skill some men have not yet evolved to, asking directions). He explained we had gone out to the Danger Zone of the marshes on an old Military Road. He told us to go back to the outskirts of Rye and turn uphill at the Globe pub. Hay presto, we found the site. (Expensive at £20 a night and needing cash.) so the journey took 6.5 hours from the gardens. Sometimes the computer does know best, as we didn’t even get good views. Unless suburbia is you thing.

We are going to have to cycle down to Rye to meet Chloe and Graham from the London train tomorrow as it has been decreed that nobody pays £12 to park a van.

The sun is shining, it is warm enough to sit out with a very welcome G&T looking out over little fields and woodland. We are here for 4 nights. I’m saying nothing yet about the NT house where Henry James wrote Turn of the screw and E L Benson the Mapp and Lucia stories. I want to visit Lamb House aka Mallards. Also there’s Dungeness Nuclear Power Station near where Derek Jarman had his shingle garden. Oh, and also not too far is the only church in UK with Chagall stained glass windows.