Pevensey Bay

 South England was hit by a heatwave at the weekend, which luckily coincided with a holiday Laurie and I had been planning for a couple of weeks now. We decided to get out of London and go to the south east coast to a small beach in East Sussex, called Pevensey Bay.

Pevensey is located in "1066 country", so we knew that the area would be brimming with history. We took our bikes down on the train which was undeniably helpful once we got there, as it seems the area has a very limited bus service and very winding roads which would have proved quite a walk to get that one mile down to the beach. We stayed at this lovely family-run farm called Fairfields which wasn't too busy (despite the glorious weather) and with incredibly clean facilities.

Not far from the farm was a medieval castle that was built shortly after the arrival of William The Conqueror in 1066. Pevensey castle was actually originally a Roman fort (called "Anderitum" - said to date back to 290 AD) and the remains of this still remain around the edges of the castle. It's a beautiful castle with a bridge over the moat, and dungeons that you can explore (one which you get to via a spiral staircase!).

We went on a ghost walk of the castle grounds and the immediate area near the castle, which also led us to the St Mary's Church - the first Norman church of England. In the church yard are seven stones in a form of circle which is the Stuart Plague Pit. All those who sadly lost their lives during the plague in the 17th Century were buried here. Nearby are the remains of the old village cross, which was converted into a sundial in the 18th Century.  

There was a very cute little cafe right next to the castle that I adored - Castle Cottage Tea Rooms - that served up a great english breakfast as well as traditional cream teas (which you could have with cucumber sandwiches and champagne too).

The beach at Pevensey Bay was a pebble beach - similar to Brighton but far cleaner and much quieter. It was quite a small beach and we felt safe leaving our belongings there as we went for a swim.