Magical Mystery Tour - part II

When last we saw Stefanie & Ashley, they were trapped on the Hastings Pier, being forced to eat jellied eels and play crazy golf in the rain... did they escape to go on to new adventures the next day???

Of course we did - and without the eels or golf.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny, how lucky were WE?! So I packed up my shiny new backpack (except mine is red), and off we went. Up the Hastings East Hill - you could walk, but we took the railway, to get some great views of the town (it looks a lot better with some distance!)


Then, off we strode to Rye, some 11 or so miles away. The first few miles were quite steep (think cinque terre) but then after about mile 4 or 5 it leveled out, and we had a lovely stroll in the sunshine, through fields, by canals, hill & dale, over the river and through the wood... We stopped in Winchelsea for a late lunch - with a pyschological advantage of it being about 3/4 of the way through the walk, so the last bit was easy-peasy.
Winchelsea was "soooo cuuute" - really, it was, and we ate at a charming classic pub, the New Inn, for some hearty walkers' fare. My big question, however, is how to pronounce Winchelsea. Is it Win'chel-sea', or Win'-Chel'sea. I think the former, but have heard more people say the latter. And the oracle that is google had no light to shed.

The walk ended in the old town of Rye, "medieval gem", doncha know. Where we wandered around for a few hours, saw the castle, and also the home of Henry James, and had tea at a cool boutiquey hotel, where yes I did feel a tad out of place in my tee-shirt & backpack, despite its shiny newness.

Sadly, the weekend had to come to an end; Monday bank holiday we slept in, but did have to check out & head back to London. At least it rained again, so made going back to work a little more palatable!