The main aim of my stay in Sussex was to meet up with two Swiss friends. Last year when I was staying with Barbara in Bern for the weekend the idea of visiting Charleston and all those ‘Bloomsbury’ related places in Sussex was suggested. I said I’d also wanted to visit them and showed Barbara the Landmark Trust website. When she saw Laughton Place tower she would not be budged to look elsewhere for accommodation. So we ended up last weekend in the tower and visiting as many Bloomsbury locations as we could manage.
Alfriston Church and Village Sign
Badgers Alfriston (Note the Boot Bags – it’s on the route of the South Downs Way)
Barbara and Kathryn first wanted to have a few days in London so I spent the first two nights at Laughton Place on my own. But for the most part I wasn’t alone thanks to Fran being able to spend Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday with me.
Knowing my love of hiking she had planned a walking expedition for us but the weather was not kind on the Wednesday morning so we took lunch in Alfriston and drove later in the afternoon to the Seven Sisters Country Park car park, donned our boots and set off on a shorter walk following the River Cuckmere to where it joins the English Channel. At the sea’s edge you have a wonderful view of The Seven Sisters cliffs over which we might have walked part of the South Downs Way had the morning’s weather been different.
The Seven Sisters (looking east)
Looking west
River Cuckmere behind the Footpath Signpost
River Cuckmere with Ox Bow Lakes, Meanders and the English Channel
Meanders and Buttercups
Thank you, Fran, for your good company and for being the most informative guide possible!
The Village of Firle nestled below the South Downs
On Sunday Barbara, Kathryn and I drove to the car park above the village of Firle and walked a mile or so each way to Firle Beacon and back. At the Beacon (an Ordnance Survey Triangulation Point) we could see the Channel and a cross-channel ferry arriving at Newhaven in one direction and the flat levels and meadows that surround Laughton Place in the other. There right in front of us but a little distant was our Tower itself.
Sunday Morning on the South Downs
After our walk we headed down into Firle village. Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant (see future posts about ‘Bloomsbury-on-Sea) are buried in the churchyard; Virginia and Leonard Woolf had a house in Firle before they moved to Monk’s House and we had a drink in the warm sunshine at The Ram Inn.
Firle Churchyard : Graves of Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell
Little Talland House, Firle
I also managed to fit in a short walk directly from the Tower towards Laughton village but I never quite made it. I was anxious to see the village but had the time constraint of meeting the London train too so after a mile or so I turned back and drove to Laughton (the village of the buckle).
Complicated Bridge/Stile near Laughton Place
Laughton Place in its Landscape
Lovely photos, and a memorable walk for me! Just sorry the sun didn’t shine a few days earlier.
Thank you, Fran. It was just lovely – never mind about the lack of sunshine at least we never got drenched.
Really enjoyed seeing some of my favourite places and thanks also for the context 🙂
Very happy to oblige, DSW!
I love to watch cows watch activity near where they live. They are always so interested. Beautiful scenery and the cows made me laugh. Great photos.
Thank you. Cows are OK when their thoughts and eyes are elsewhere and not on me!
One of my favourite parts of the country – we love the South Downs, the Seven Sisters and Cuckmere Valley. And we must find Laughton next time we visit.
Good luck finding the Tower! It’s marked on the OS map but not exactly near the village. I hope I can visit again soon.
[…] that I would have to take my Swiss friends to one of these minor Sussex institutions. So, after the walk on Sunday at Firle Beacon and the visit to Firle village we headed for Litlington Tea […]