This was our first longer distance trip with Arthur (18 months old at time of walk) so we decided to buy a proper carrier rather than using the sling. We opted for a LittleLife All Terrain S2 Carrier, a friend recommended the brand and there wasn't really much difference between the various higher end models so we went with the one that sounded like it would best suit our walking style now and in the future.
Safetots were a great place to order from, they weren't the cheapest but they got the carrier to us next day without any problems and were lovely to deal with.
Anyone planning on walking more than a few miles cross-country with a toddler I'd thoroughly recommend one of these types of carrier, just make sure you get something that fits tightly on the hips, has a good strong/light metal frame and ensure you don't take the weight on your shoulders. Spending 5 minutes adjusting to start with can save your back and shoulders!
Day 1 - Eastbourne to Bexhill (train) - Bexhill to Battle (walking)
We started our walk with a 15 minute train journey from Eastbourne to Bexhill. It wasn't an early start and hopped on an Ashford train direct to Bexhill. From Bexhill station we walked up towards the Manor Barn Gardens (looks like some nice remains of some building or other there, we decided to come back another day to have a look around) and out through the back of the town onto the 1066 Bexhill Walk (which we followed all the way to Battle).
The route itself is straight forward, well signed and generally flat. We walked mainly through fields and paths, past the old dismantled railway and over the new Bexhill bypass (currently being built).
We followed Powdermill Stream up towards Crowhurst and stopped for lunch just outside. We couldn't go through Crowhurst without letting Arthur have a go in the playground so we stayed a while there, it's a good playground and has a number of pub benches and a car park.
We then walked up and out of Crowhurst, following the 1066 route through more fields to Forewood Lane and out again to Fore Wood Nature Reserve (RSPB). This is a beautiful old wood and well worth spending some time in if you can, the 1066 route skirts around the edge of the wood but there are a number of footpaths you could take instead and then join up with the 1066 route on Powdermill Stream again on your way out.
Through Stumbletts Wood and then up the road past Peppering Eye Farm and to the B2095. Cross carefully (horrible junction) and
then just follow the route up, over and around to Battle Abbey.
We booked a room at The George Hotel, it was very reasonable and came with a continental breakfast (no cooked breakfast due to renovation work). The location was excellent (right on the highstreet), the sound proofing between rooms very good but quite noisy when people were coming and going which was a shame. On the whole though very nice and would definitely stay again.
Day 2 - Battle to Robertsbridge (walking)
We started the day with a continental breakfast at the hotel followed by a coffee from a nearby lovely cafe, picked up some sandwiches and headed off up the highstreet, right at the roundabout down London Road and then left into Chain Lane, we followed the lane right to the end where it forks off right out of sight down a tree covered path into the fields.
The view here is lovely, we walked down through the field and then up the next to a farm (Beech Farm), cut through the first field and then into the next where an Archery lesson has been setup. Past the farm we walked through two more fields before coming to a wonderful small lake (Pond Bay), the path took us along side the lake and into Ashes Wood.
Today we followed foot paths only (leaving the 1066 route at Battle) and as such the terrain was far more varied. Starting off the day we walked through fields and now we started through the woods. Ashes Wood is full of very tall, large trees, there's a lot of space in this wood and the paths are wide and clear. We followed the main path up through the wood past Netherfield Place across Netherfield road and into a large wooded area composed of Eatenden Wood, Burnthouse Wood and Goldspur Wood.
This was a very strange wood, very spooky Tanya called it. The paths were very narrow and overgrown, the trees much smaller, thinner and denser and very quickly, even in the middle of the day, either side of the path grew dark. It felt like an old wood. Right in the middle, as we passed over the stream we entered a clearing where a fairly large number of trees had been felled, here we stopped for lunch.
Arthur enjoyed this area as he could stretch his legs and have a walk about. We stayed here for about half an hour but saw no-one else, in fact we saw very few people the whole trip.
We headed off up to Eatenden Lane, crossed over and then walked down through Crowhurst Wood. Rather than taking the main path (which we missed) we ended up on a very leafy path blocked by many fallen trees. Arthur was picked up and rolled under them all until we got to the bottom, he enjoyed picking up sticks here and walked the whole path himself. We emerged from the wood right at the fork in the railway which we needed to cross at luckily!
Up and over the railway, across a field, right along Church Lane and into Mountfield Estate along the road. We walked past the wonderful old house (Mountfield Court) and down through the grazing sheep to the railway tunnel. Through the tunnel and then an easy final mile or so along the stream next to the railway line into Robertsbridge.
That evening we stayed at Robertsbridge Retreat at Cornhill, lower flat. This was a great end to the day, we were met by Meg who showed us around and gave us a very thorough run down of all the possible food we could get in the area!
We popped into The George Inn pub for a drink and some snacks, managed to get Arthur into a highchair and even sat indoors (this is a very nice pub)! Afterwards we opted for the pizza van who was parked just back along the road past the football fields, probably one of the best pizzas we've had!
One episode of Marple later and we were all fast asleep...
Day 3 - Robertsbridge to Bodium (walking) - Bodium to Tenterden (steam train) - Tenterden to Rye (taxi) - Rye to Eastbourne (train)
We left at about 10 (checkout time 10:30) and popped into Judges Bakery for a coffee before heading off up Fair Lane and across Robertsbridge bypass.
Coffee in the morning on a walk is a bit of a luxury, we walked down Redlands Lane past what looks like a vinyard and stopped just south of the church to listen to the wedding bells, a very serene moment, even Arthur was just humming away with the bells.
We followed the lane all the way along to Robertsbridge Abbey (we're pretty sure this is now a private residence but appears to be have been built on part of the old Abbey), the remains also appear to be in a private field sadly.
The path the runs parallel to the River Rother on the left and the beautiful Fowlbrook Wood on the right, it was very tempting to take a detour through the wood but we decided to head straight to our destination to give us time to look around the castle. Where the river turns north our map ran out so we first attempted to follow it on what we think now is an old footpath, we had to turn back as got cut off by streams.
We hit a crazy busy and dangerous road (Junction Road) and couldn't see any signs along it, however there was a footpath through Udiam Cottages in the direction of the castle which we followed. As it turns out, this was a mistake, we wound up on private land being questioned by the owner...
Winding up accidentally on private land does happen from time to time, especially when you don't have a map! The land owner was understandably angered as they clearly have a problem with walkers either getting lost or cutting through, it's a beautiful piece of land actually and very well looked after. We explained clearly where we were coming from and going to and that we were using public footpaths all the way, he explained where the footpath to Bodium castle actually went and also kindly offered to allow us through his land but we decided not to take him up on the offer as we had no intention of being there in the first place.
So we walked back up and around Udium Cottages to the busy road, unfortunately the footpath takes you onto the road and through a couple of very narrow bridges, this is probably the worst part of a footpath we've used to date and needs serious attention, it's a ridiculous dangerous piece of road to be walking along.
After that little adventure we carried along the Rother for a mile or so until we arrived at Bodium. We stopped for some food in the cafe, Arthur watched the ducks, we walked around the grounds and then had a look around the castle, Arthur was getting a bit cranky so I took him out and Tanya was able to go up all the steep turrets and take some great photos of the area.
I had the chance to do a bit of Archery and we watched the ducks and fish before heading off to Bodium station to catch a steam train on the Kent and East Sussex railway. We had booked this in advance, it was a one off mothers day special from Bodium to Tenterden complete with cream tea, box of chocolates and a daffodil to take away :)
The steam trains running on this line are wonderful and well worth a trip. We arrived at Tenterden at 5:30 and started trying to get a taxi, none were in sight and none of the local numbers worked. Eventually we were lucky enough for one of the local drivers to be able to pick us up at 7:30 so we found a pub (the Vine Inn) and got a roast to finish us off!
One taxi ride to Rye (just in time to catch the 7:55) and a train ride to Eastbourne later we found ourselves back at home, safe and sound.
