Today, it was just pack up camp, stow it away in the old Skoda battlewagaon and the haul it all back to Cinderford. Bit tired by now, so decided to go for the line of least resistance and stay on motorways/A roads, etc. The M25 was awful – petrol crisis ? What crisis? You wouldn’t think so with the amount of traffic on the road.
So, the end of a busy week, but what incredible weather. If I’m that lucky in picking the right week to go away, perhaps I should do the lottery……
All in all, a successful week on all fronts – mission accomplished in spades. Tent worked well first time out. A few tweaks to my storage box organisation required, but generally OK.
Walked quite a lot as well – over 90km according to my Fitbit.
Next jaunt ? A long weekend at Donington Park race circuit for the penultimate round of the British Touring Car Championship – I must be nuts !
Off to see my old Uni friends Pete & Val, who live in Bexhill. Pete and I shared a flat when we were learning to be engineers in Coventry in the late 60’s – yes that long ago !
So I had to drag out the only shirt I’d brought with me and a clean pair of jeans, as we’d decided to go mad and have lunch somewhere nice.
Before that though, I had a small detour to make to look at a railway viaduct, but not just any old viaduct. On the London Brighton railway line ( near Haywards Heath) there is a magnificent brick built Victorian viaduct, still in day to day use. The Ouse Valley Viaduct. I’m indebted to Mr Portillo for pointing me toward this engineering gem.
I won’t even bother to tell you that it was another cracking warm day………
Then off to Bexhill. I stopped at various petrol stations along the way ( mostly empty of E5 97/98 octane that I need for my fire breathing monster Skoda) but managed to do a top up just outside Bexhill.
After a bit of a chit chat at their house, we went down on to the Bexhill seafront and ate at a delightful place called The Sackville Bistro. All out in the sunshine on the terrace, but with umbrella shade if needed. Thanks Pete/Val, my shout next time.
One of the things we had a bit of trouble with was to work out when we had last met up. Eventually we decided it must’ve been September 2017 on my way back from France, via Newhaven. Time flies…….
As is usual on these occasions, we put the world to rights.
Then a short car journey to St Leonards/Hastings for a stroll along the pier and a coffee. It was great to see the beaches a bit busier, with the kiosks on the front doing a roaring trade in drinks, food, etc.
This probably doesn’t sound very familiar as a location, but is the HQ for the Bluebell Railway. My route from Tenterden included more places from my past, including Lamberhurst (now has a bypass !!), Heathfield, Wadhurst and Uckfield.
It was on this leg of my travels that I first noticed shedloads of cars queuing up at village petrol stations…. I later found out about the “so called” petrol shortage and the apparent ensuing chaos. Ho hum.
The Bluebell Railway is one of the more established hertitage railways and appears to be run on quite commercial principles. It was one of the first preserved heritage lines in the country, resulting in one of the finest collections of vintage steam locomotives and carriages – many of which were preserved straight out of service from British Railways.
It started running train services in August 1960 and now runs steam trains between Sheffield Park, north to East Grinstead, stopping at Horstead Keynes and Kingscote. The four stations are preserved in different periods of history including Victorian, 1930s and 1950s, with the staff dressed appropriately for each period.
For some reason, I have always associated the Bluebell with the Bulleid class of loco’s. I like these because I so remember being on a train being hauled by one of those beasts, when I went to a Scout camp in Bridport . The platform at Bridport was on a curve and you virtually fell out of the carriage. How do you remember these sorts of things ???????
There is a static one at the station, awaiting the money for restoration ( above), but below is the real thing under steam! Brilliant.
Our loco for the trip was a beautifully preserved “O” class locomotive. It received a rebuild to class “O1” in 1908, and ran on until finally withdrawn in 1961. . This type of loco was one of the commonest locomotive in this country, with this particular one done out in the livery of the old South Eastern and Chatham Railway. Absolutely immaculately turned out, a credit to the railway.
Please note ( YET AGAIN !!!!) the very blue sky…….
At East Grinstead the Bluebell butts straight onto the national rail network on essentially adjacent platforms, so it’s dead easy to get to by train.
Now on to my last campsite for the trip.
Based on a recommendation from a friend ( thanks Adele) I ended up at somewhere called Wowo campsite. I’d decided to stay there primarily because it was very, very close to the Bluebell Railway station at Sheffield Park. On the face of it, it looked a bit too “eco” for me. I was a bit trepidacious, I will admit, but it turned out OK. I thought it might be a bit “all bran with every meal and composting toilets”….. But no, it was fine. It’s all part of a big farm/estate, with multiple fields with various sorts of occupancy, with a brook running through the middle.
Definitely a different kind of campsite from my previous experiences. There are firepits on each location , etc, make it ideal for families, especially if there are several families together. The shop had organic everything and you could buy logs, firelighters, kindling, etc for your firepit.
Also there are bell tents, tulip tents and yurts. It was obviously very active being the weekend. Would think it was bedlam during high season though !!!!!! – in the nicest possible way !!!! One bonus feature was the daily arrival of various food vans each evening ( F +C, curry, pizza….) and there was always an Indiam themed breakfast offering. I guess you could probably survive without doing ANY cooking. All said, I’d go there again, definitely.
FRONT OFFICE
LOG STORE, READY TO BE RE-SUPPLIED
MAIN TOILET BLOCK
BELL TENTS SET OUT IN A RING FOR MULTI-HOUSEHOLDS
INSIDE OF A BELL TENT
TULIP[ TENT AREA
BREAKFAST !
So that’s the end of the trains – well almost…….. Tomorrow I go to Bexhill to see some old friends
