Christmas at Bedgebury - Lights Trail: Your Questions Answered

I am so pleased that we finally got to experience Christmas at Bedgebury this year. We were booked to visit last year but Covid stopped that, but no cancellations this year and despite high infection rates, as it is all outside we felt very comfortable to go along and enjoy the festive feel! First off, I can honestly tell you, it is such a lovely trail to walk with your friends or family and we will definitely be booking again for next year.

There are quite a few places that offer these kinds of Christmas lights trails now and if you book to go along to Bedgebury, you won't be disappointed for sure! There are over 1 million lights at Bedgebury and fifteen distinct areas, each with its own distinct sounds. It really is the most magical woodland walk and Bedgebury is a great setting for this light trail. 

East Sussex Walks: Seaford Head to Cuckmere Haven Beach

I absolutely love going for a long walk and exploring new places and to my mind, there is nowhere better to do this than by the sea. I've posted many times about walking the cliffs at Beachy Head, Birling Gap and the Seven Sisters but this was the first time I have walked the cliffs in the opposite direction starting at Seaford Head and walking to the Cuckmere Valley. It really is beautiful and I can't recommend it highly enough.

Drive to Seaford and you can park on the seafront and plenty of it is free for up to 12 hours, so that's great news! Definitely take some time to enjoy walking along the prom and in low season you'll hardly see anyone. They have the classic pastel-coloured beach huts and lots of nice little beach hut cafes as you wander along. We've had coffee at Martello's Coffee before and they have plenty of seating on a deck right on the beach. But my favourite is Frankie's cafe where you can get a slice of homemade cake and a toastie for a very reasonable price. 

Walk down the seafront towards Splash Point. You can fail to notice the enormous white cliff face there, so you'll know you're heading in the right direction. In parts, there is quite an incline to climb up onto the clifftop and I wouldn't say I'm the most proficient hill walker, but I managed fine.  So just make sure you have on good shoes and wear a backpack, rather than a handbag like I did. Turn back to look over Seaford as you head up as it is a really nice view and not too spoilt. You see the gold course at the start of this walk and I can't say I'd fancy golfing on the cliff.

Pick Your Own Fruit at Tibbs Farm, Near Rye, East Sussex

We visited Tibbs Farm in the picturesque Tillingham Valley, just outside Rye for the first time last July and we loved it. Pick Your Own fruit places are such fun. You can have a couple of hours out in the East Sussex sunshine having fun as a family and take home some tasty produce too. We're determined to get along to Tibbs Farm at least a couple of times this year, once restrictions lift. 

Pick Your Own Fruit

Tibbs Farm has been running as a PYO for decades now and you can tell, as their operation is slick. There is great variety in what they grow too. We went there for raspberries last year but keep an eye on their Instagram page that they update regularly and you'll see what is ready for picking and when. Looking at last year the schedule was roughly as follows (but of course each year can be different depending on the weather, rainfall etc) -

• Early June for gooseberries (a whole host of varieties, some of which are sweet enough to eat like a grape) 
• Early to mid-June for strawberries, 
• Quickly followed by tayberries from mid-June
• Loganberries end of June
• Blackcurrants and chillies in mid-July
• Early August for plums

Their picking season opened on 11th June 2020 last year, so I am planning for similar this year and already have a weekend in my diary, so I don't forget!

Visiting Bewl Water, East Sussex/ Kent - Fun for all the Family

I'm so optimistic about this summer with better weather and a greater ability to be able to see friends and family in the coming months. Of course, not all is lost at the moment though as there are places we can safely go and visit and as of tomorrow, we'll even be back to the rule of 6 or able to meet with another household outdoors.

Bewl Water is a perfect place to be able to visit now or later in the year as it is all open air and there is so much space to explore. The reservoir itself is a huge 308 hectares and if you take the walking path around the reservoir will keep going for just over 12 miles. With this kind of space, it is perfect for exploring on bikes, foot, sailing or even horseriding.

We visited last year for the first time and had an enjoyable couple of hours there in the early summer sun, there were plenty of families with children paddling in the shallow waters by the adventure playground, but I'm not sure they are supposed to! lol

Before you travel check the current opening hours but right now in March, they are 8am - 4pm for the car park and adventure playground. The toilets are open from 9am to 4pm and the cafe (for take-away only) is just Wednesday to Sunday 11am - 3pm currently. 

National Trust Bodiam Castle - Wider River Walk, East Sussex

I adore the National Trust, I make no secret of that and I've posted so many times about the sites we have visited. Bodiam Castle is probably the closest site to my home, so we have been there dozens and dozens of times. My husband and one of our daughters love to feed the ducks (with birdseed, no human food please), whilst I have a coffee and read my book. It works well. This is one of my husband's photos from a recent visit.

You can read about our previous visits to Bodiam Castle, about the superb Living History events they put on in normal times and how it is fabulous for all ages. This post is about the wider area, if you park at Bodiam Castle you can take a 3KM river walk and enjoy some great views as well as time at the castle itself.

This is perfect at the moment, as you can't explore inside the castle right now, so it gives you somewhere extra to walk and make your visit really worthwhile, as the actual Bodiam Castle grounds are not very extensive. 

We are all being encouraged to book in advance before visiting any National Trust site at the moment as this allows the site to prepare and ensure that social distancing can be maintained. We have been to Bodiam Castle a number of times in the last year and we have always felt safe with sanitiser available, toilet entry being managed, the cafe having a one way system and card payments only and as the site is outside, you can keep a good distance from other people. 

Visiting Herstmonceux Castle and Gardens, East Sussex

The castle gardens and grounds will re-open 13th February 2021.

We've lived about a ten-minute drive from Herstmonceux castle for over seven years and had never yet visited it. We've been talking about going for quite some time and finally, in early October 2020 my husband and I headed over there and I am so glad we did, as it is lovely. Just as nice as many National Trust sites I've visited before and a good price too.

We paid £7 per adult to visit the gardens and grounds, and it would have been £17.50 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children. Normally you can have a tour of the castle, which is used as a study centre for the Queen's University in Canada, but not at the moment during the pandemic. It didn't matter though as there are 300 acres to explore and in nice weather, you could spend a number of hours here.

An Amazing Slice of History

Herstmonceux castle really is a beautiful example of a moated castle. It started to be built in 1441 to replace the original manor house that stood here. On completion, it was the largest private home in the country. It was lived in as a private dwelling for the next 300 odd years and started to fall into disrepair. It was remodelled in 1776 and then parts of the castle became a ruin, until 1911 when a new owner started a restoration project, which was finally completed in 1932.

Bedgebury, Goudhurst, Kent - An Amazing Day Out for all the Family

Back in April 2017, we visited Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest as we were going to try out the Go Ape course. Despite having lived only 30 minutes away for a good few years it was our first visit there and we were impressed. We all had an amazing day at the Forestry Commission site that is a 200-acre Pinetum and 2000-acre forest. I'd heard many times before that it is a great place for families to visit but I wasn't in a hurry to drive over and pay for parking as we ourselves live in 220 acres of glorious East Sussex countryside. 

It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago when we were due to head to Go Ape again that we made our next trip to Bedgebury, and it still is as glorious as ever. We need to go back as a family and take a picnic to spend a number of hours there walking the trails without the distraction of doing Go Ape and being tried afterwards!

I love that the Forestry Commission describe Bedgebury as a 'world of trees' and you can check out their website before you travel if you want to know more about all the tree species you'll see once there. If you like to be outside there is so much to do at Bedgebury and it is open 8am - 7pm daily at the moment -

Walking Trails

Again head to the website to download maps for various trails across the massive site. There are gentle strolls, nordic walking trails, seasonal trails, challenging health walks and calorie mapped trails. Normally you can pick up maps in the Visitor Centre too, but right now, due to Covid-19 it is closed. They are working on reopening it soon though and you can find lots of information on the website.

There are four orienteering trails for all abilities, they are professionally designed and affiliated to the British Orienteering Federation. The four different routes are suitable for children, beginners, intermediate and advanced.

Dogs are welcome at Bedgebury, but of course, you must follow the forest rules.

Go Ape Treetop Challenge in a time of Social Distancing, Bedgebury, Kent

It's my girls birthday next week and for quite some time they've been wanting to do the Go Ape Treetop Challenge. They've both completed the Treetop Adventure a few times and enjoyed it but as tall girls, they were ready for a new challenge. I have to admit, that I have never fancied going up into the treetops myself and had put off going as I assumed they needed an adult up there with them, what I now know is that if the child is under 13, they have to have an adult participating with them, but if they are 13 or over the adult can supervise from the ground. Perfect, I suspect we'll be going more often now I know that!

There used to be a minimum age for participation on the Treetop Challenge but now with new safety technology it is just a minimum height and any child can have a go (along with their supervising adult) as long as they are 1.4M (4FT 7”) or more.

The cost to do the Treetop Challenge is £25 for an under 18-year-old and £33 for 18 years plus. It's advised that the course will probably take around 2-3 hours. We arrived for a safety briefing at 9.45am, but it didn't start until closer to 10am by the time all participants had arrived and it probably went on until about 10.30am, because of the need to keep a distance from others.  We finished the course at 12.25pm, so that was just under two hours up in the air. It's great that there is no time limit and you can enjoy the course at a leisurely pace if you so wish.

Enjoying the Parkland at National Trust Sheffield Park during Lockdown

As lockdown started to ease in the UK the National Trust started to open up some of its larger estates for people to be able to enjoy the outdoor space whilst also observing social distancing. We headed over to Sheffield Park in East Sussex a few weeks back on a Wednesday afternoon, taking advantage of my husband being on furlough at that time.

Then, only the wider estate/ parkland was open, but now they have opened up the formal gardens too and you have to book online to be able to visit and ensure your parking space and entry. Tickets are being released each Friday for all their sites across the UK that are open and they are the only way you can gain access. You need to book at least the day before, but I'd recommend looking on a Friday as it gets super busy and sites are selling out quickly. I had to wait in the Eventbrite queue for about 40 minutes last week to get tickets for a different East Sussex site.

I wanted to share some photos from our time walking the 250 acres of parkland, as it is really beautiful and just perfect for families to get some fresh air. Dogs are welcome on short leads but you need to be mindful of the sheep and cattle that are in the fields you'll pass through. Normally the kids can enjoy the natural play trail but it's closed at the moment.

6 Great Walks for Social Distancing in East Sussex

Thank the Lord for a change in what we're allowed to do in the UK during this pandemic. I know that some people are not happy that lockdown has lightened and don't want to be heading out for walks, and that is OK, we are all different. It is your prerogative to choose what is right for your family. I'm happy for my family to go out together and enjoy the great outdoors and keep a 2-metre distance between us and other families, or if necessary to quickly pass each other on a path.

There seems to be agreement from the scientists that the risk of contracting the coronavirus in the great outdoors is far less than indoors, and it is certainly more fun to be to in the sun taking some exercise than it is to head into a supermarket.

We've decided to stay fairly local to home when we head out for a trip, as there doesn't seem any need to start travelling massive long distances when there are great places on our doorstep, and if everyone did this there would be far fewer worries about areas becoming inundated with visitors from afar.

Here are our recommendations for six walks you can take in East Sussex and enjoy the great outdoors, whilst also being sensible and applying the rules of social distancing.

1.   Seven Sisters Cliffs and Country Park (near Eastbourne - BN20 0AB)

This week I dropped my husband and children at Birling Gap (the National Trust car park is open and charging, but the toilets and cafe area closed) so they could take the 4-mile walk across the cliffs. The seven sisters are seven cliffs that elevate up and down, so this can be a bit of a challenging walk, but it is well worth it when you get to the Cuckmere valley and you can walk to either the beach or through the meandering river and up to the car park where I had parked to collect them.

A word of warning if you're new to this area, the cliffs are made of chalk and prone to crumble, so please stay away from the edge as they can be super dangerous and no photo is worth your life.

Thanks to my husband for this image

Visiting Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, East Sussex

A great free place to visit

A couple of weeks ago when life was more normal, my husband and I headed out for a walk around the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and had a quiet lunch together. Of course, right now, we couldn't do that as the pubs are closed and we're all staying home to heed off the coronavirus but I think it is important that we can enjoy the wider outdoors from the comfort of our homes right now.

Also, it's enjoyable to plan where we can go once the lockdown is over and things are safer again. Looking back on photos of all the amazing places I have visited is definitely helping me not to feel so cooped up since we started to self-isolate nearly two weeks ago. 

We were really impressed with the nature reserve, it's free, it is massive (465 hectares to be precise) and there is loads of free parking at the entrance to it, as long as your vehicle is under 2 metres. You are encouraged to make a donation in the car park, to help with its upkeep and ensure it stays free for all to use, but you can't moan at that!

There are easily accessible public toilets too, and nearby are a couple of pubs, a cafe, bed and breakfast, shop and the lifeboat station, all just a few minutes walk from the parking. 

Bodiam Castle - Amazing History and Great for all the Family

Amazing History

The other week after Storm Clara, my family were desperate to get out for a bit and enjoy the blue sky that had shown itself. As it was already after lunch we didn’t want to travel too far and thus decided to head just twenty minutes up the road from us to Bodiam. I hadn't been to the castle for 3 or 4 years and whilst nothing much changes at this 14th century moated castle, the views are always beautiful and there are plenty of walks local to the castle to enjoy.

Bodiam Castle is what many people refer to as a ‘proper’ castle as it’s outer walls are beautifully intact, and it sits fully surrounded by a moat. It makes for the most magnificent pictures and is fun inside too, despite being ruins. You can still climb some of the spiral staircases to go up and see how it looks from the top of the castle on a rampart and also the Posters tower, but be aware these are narrow, well-worn and spindly stone steps. If you don’t like enclosed spaces or have physical difficulties they might not be for you. I’m fully able, but was a bit nervous and took it slowly up and down the rampart staircases. However, I declined to go up the tower as that has two-way traffic on one small staircase and that was too much for me. My husband and daughter went up there and said it had amazing views though.

Low Cost or Free February Half Term Fun in East Sussex

We're only a couple of weeks away from the February half-term and the weather can be unpredictable at this time of the year, so if you're anything like me, you'll be looking for things to do with the kids that will keep them occupied, but won't break the bank.

Check out my round-up of fun activities going on in East Sussex for February 2020 half term -

Scotney Castle, National Trust, Lamberhurst
The National Trust are amazing at catering for primary school aged children and each half-term there seems to be some great activities going on. Scotney Castle has a murder mystery trail this half-term, along with a great outdoor play area and of course the ongoing initiative of ticking off the 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4.

Scotney Castle is a great site as it has the large manor house, which you can explore inside, the old castle ruins, again you can explore inside, massive grounds, a play area and cafe.

Check out my review of Scotney Castle. We are very lucky in East Sussex as there are loads of good NT sites. I've written about Batemans, Bodium Castle, Standon, Sheffield Park, Sissinghurst Gardens and they're all fun to visit, especially if you have membership!

Top Tip: Visit the second hand bookshop where you can always pick up a great book for a donation, and whilst you're there have a look through the binoculars and see if you can spot some birds out the massive windows.

Christmas at Bateman's National Trust, East Sussex

Bateman's is the former home of the renowned author Rudyard Kipling. It is a beautiful sandstone house surrounded by gardens, farmland and the beautiful rolling East Sussex countryside. I love that you can acess most of the house and get a real feel for how Rudyard must have lived. Walking through his study is particularly special. 

Christmas Theme 2019

The theme for Christmas 2019 was Rudyards book series, the 'Just So Stories' which were aimed at younger children. Each room was themed around a particular story and this worked really well. I have visited Bateman's a couple of times before and this special theming added an extra something for this visit.

National Trust - Sheffield Park - Summer in Pictures

We've visited the National Trust site Sheffield Park a couple of times before and both times had a lovely visit, but recently with the kids away my husband and I decided to visit again and see what the colours and plant life were like in the summer months (we visited at the beginning of August). 

Sheffield Park is acres of landscaped gardens, surrounded by parkland and woodland. There is a gorgeous looking stately home there too, but that is a private residence and you can only see if from afar.

So far my favourite time to visit has been Autumn as there is an abundance of colour across the gardens and we could see this developing in August. The colours at this time of year mostly seem to come from the trees and foliage. There isn't really many floral plants there.

I do love the four lakes, they are probably my favourite feature and there is a nice variety of styles and bridges that you can cross and get great pictures on. You can really see the influence of Capability Brown.

Knockhatch Meerkat Experience: My Girls had the Best Fun! (Review)

During the Easter holiday we took a trip over to Knockhatch Adventure Park in Hailsham, East Sussex.  We've been before (check out my review here) and the girls had a fabulous time, but I'd never been on a weekend or on a school holiday before and wow, it was busy. As we drove up we were directed to an overflow car park and if I'm honest, I started to feel a bit of dread at how busy it might be, but despite it being super busy I have to so I was pleasantly surprised and we had a great day. The girls were able to get one everything they wanted and the queues were nothing like I've experienced at theme parks like Legoland.

I won't go into all the attractions that are available at Knockhatch (you can have a look at my review, I've linked to above if you fancy more insight), but there are loads and they seem to be really good at adding extra attractions and offering more value. This year they've added a great new wooden Dragons play castle and high wire experience. The basic ticket on an orange day (high season) is £12.99 before any discount is applied and if you book online, you get 20% discount, or my favourite is to use our local 1066/ Town City Card and get 25% off. 

Costs and Booking

The great news is that when you are going along to take part in one of their experiences the entrance to the park is included and you can use the park for the whole day. We got a 2 for 1 Meerkat experience via Red Letters Days and the cost for this currently is £49, which is a super bargain, as this allowed both girls entry to do their experience and up to two adults (17 years plus) can go along as their responsible adults/ spectators. So that is £49 for entry for four and two of those got to spend 30 minutes hands on with the meerkats.  They have a few experiences available and we would definitely book for another one as we found the meerkat one excellent. 

When I booked last year, I had to ring but I see now you can book online for the experiences. To get a weekend date I needed to book about 3 months in advance. There are two slots for the meerkat experience each day 10.30am and 4pm, each lasts for half an hour and it will only be your party, which feels really exclusive.  The price to book direct with Knockhatch is £48 for one person and £64 for two people. 

Once booked you're advised to wear long trousers, sleeves and closed in shoes for the experience.

Visiting The Llama Park, Forest Row, Sussex

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I took our twin girls over to The Llama Park, it's about an hours journey from us, but it is a pretty easy one. We had a pleasant few hours there, taking a walk, feeding the animals and enjoying a snack.

The regular price for a family of 2 adults and 2 children is £25 and I think this is a bit steep for what there is. We got a deal on Wowcher, which was £6 for an adult and a child, so we paid £12 entry for the four of us and that felt about the right price.

What Animals are There?
At the park there are llamas, alpacas, sheep, horses, goats, donkeys, pigs, a reindeer and many different types of ducks, geese etc. All the animals are in fairly close proximity and you could easily cover them all in half an hour, if you didn't linger. If you do want to be there longer you can utilise the woodland walks and explore more of the 33 acre site.

We all really enjoyed feeding the animals and you can buy a small bag of feed for £1. We ended up spending £5 on the food, so you need to build that into the cost for the day. I was impressed that there was a couple of hand washing stations with soap and disposable towels to ensure that you don't pick anything up from the animals. Although that shouldn't happen anyway as we saw signs telling us the animals were regularly tested and they all looked happy and well kept.

Visiting the Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex

We've lived in East Sussex for coming on six years now and visited the Seven Sisters cliffs so many times. It is a stunning area and wonderful to walk, but with the massive dips (or seven sisters) it can be a demanding hike and takes a bit of energy and kind weather. Recently we wanted to head out as a family to enjoy a good walk, but not a really demanding one, so we decided to trial the flatter walk from the visitor centre down to the Cuckmere Haven, where the River Cuckmere meets the English channel.

I'm so glad we discovered this area, it was a little further for us to drive than Beachy Head or Birling Gap where we normally go, but it was well worth it. The country park is maintained by East Sussex country council and there are two car parks, one on each side of the road. We found plenty of parking on a mild January day but I'd imagine it would be heaving busy in the summer. It costs £3 for up to 2 hours and £4 for the day. The machine takes coins, credit cards and you can use the Ringo app too.

I was really pleased to see that there are toilets (including an accessible one), a visitors centre (open for limited periods during the year) and a gorgeous cafe serving fabulous coffees, homemade cakes and a super selection of salads.

The easy access trail that we took is 4km down to the beach and back and it is great for pushchairs, wheelchairs, mobility scooters and all sorts of kids fun, like bikes, skates and scooters. My girls preferred to be running all over the place, up the hills, down to the riverside, looking in streams and jumping puddles. It is certainly a fun place to explore.

Knockhatch Adventure Park, Hailsham, East Sussex - Review

Recently my girls were lucky enough to have a Monday inset day and we used this as the perfect opportunity to visit Knockhatch without it being too busy. I would say that Knockhatch Adventure Park is a perfect (and really reasonably priced) day out if your child is aged between about 2 - 12 years. My twins are just about to turn 11 and they’re on the cusp of being a bit big for some of the attractions.

As we were visiting with many friends with kids of varying ages it worked well as they were able to help the little ones in the Pirates Cove splash area and on things like the soft play and Quadapillar ride without feeling too big. I have to admit to being really pleasantly surprised by the whole park. We had briefly visited about five years ago and not been that impressed but this visit was enough to make us want to go back a good few times before the girls really outgrow it.

High Season, Term Time

We visited on an Orange day, which is high season but within term time, so everything was open but we had timed sessions for them all and there was at least three or four sessions (spread throughout the day) for each activity/attraction in the day so you could do most everything. I have to be honest though, we found it hard to fit everything in during the five hours we were there. We were given a leaflet with the times as we arrived so it was easy to be able to plan.

The Highs and Lows of my Spa Day at The Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

What a lovely day it has been. I've been at the Spa with a friend and thoroughly enjoyed a workout in the gym, a swim, jacuzzi, steam, relax and then delightful afternoon tea. Can I do it all again tomorrow please?

A post shared by Michelle Pannell (@michelletwinmum) on Jan 29, 2018 at 11:53am PST

Earlier this week I enjoyed a leisure day at The Grand Hotel Spa in Eastbourne with my friend Annie. I had some spa vouchers to use and it seemed a good idea to gift Annie half as her Christmas present. I choose the Grand Hotel as it isn't far from our homes and as it is a 5 star hotel I expected the spa to be pretty luxurious and it certainly looked good in the photos on the website.

We arrived to the hotel about half an hour before I had booked our treatment times and our first struggle was finding some free parking. The streets round the hotel generally have free on-street parking but it was super busy. You can park in the grounds of the Grand but that's £25 a day and you pay to park on the seafront as well. Luckily just as I was about to give in and pay we found a space close by and headed in to the hotel. We were greeted by a lovely jolly doorman who gave us instructions were to go. Let the fun commence!

The first impression of the hotel is fabulous, it's not called the Grand for nothing but as we headed in the lift to the basement the view gets consistently more grotty. Old carpet, plain cream walls and not a touch of glamour in the corridors or reception areas. Thankfully the staff were in total contrast to the look of the area and they were great. Really friendly, super professional and nothing was too much trouble for them.