I have been to... Alfriston and the South Downs

 It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago (feeling old now!) and my main birthday pressie was a mystery trip away somewhere.  My wife and I used to do this a lot, especially when we lived in a small flat, but we hadn't been away for ages so I'd left it to her to plan a trip somewhere, sometime.  She decided not to wait till the spring but to take a chance on a decent couple of days in late November and so I was whisked away for a couple of nights.

We didn't actually go that far... just over an hours drive to East Sussex... but it's not a part of the country we know that well.  Bizarrely, neighbouring West Sussex is really familiar as, until last year, that was part of my patch for work but I rarely crossed the invisible line into the far East.  After a stop off for lunch and a dog walk at Sheffield Park we ended up in the lovely village of Alfriston in the South Downs, staying in the 14thC pub The George Inn (highly recommended for the accommodation , food and beer!).  Alfriston is a lovely little village, home to the 1st property acquired by the National Trust at the end of the 19thC, the medieval Clergy House

I also loved the fact that, where some towns commemorate battles and rebellions, Alfriston thought it important to highlight a 'fracas' with a plaque... things may even have got a bit tetchy...

They also had one of those Sea Mine collecting boxes, again commemorating something that might have happened, but didn't...

It did make me think of Hot Fuzz!

Mostly we spent a lovely long weekend walking the dogs on bits of the South Downs and stopping off for coffee and cake... can I squeeze in anything historical/wargamey??  Well of course...

Elaine knows me too well so had chosen a spot with some historical attractions as well as nice food and walks.  First stop was Pevensey Castle 

Warden of the Cinque Ports to Pevensey with 2 ships...

Part of the outer Roman wall

A tudor cannon (the frame is a replica)

Pevensey first saw life as a Roman fort, part of the Saxon Shore defences, although there's a theory that they may have actually been built to reduce Rome's influence on Britain rather than the raiding tribes from Europe.  It was rebuilt by the Normans and then saw continuous use through to the 16th century including assorted sieges and high ranking prisoners.  William I's army sheltered in the remnants of the original fort after landing at Pevensey in 1066.

We also passed by the nearby Long Man of Wilmington although we didn't get a chance to stop and have a decent explore.  This chalk carving dates back to Neolithic/Iron Age/17th century CE depending on who you believe.

Cuckmere Haven 

Our final historical link is at Cuckmere Haven... a lovely walk along the edge of saltmarshes in a gap in the Seven Sisters... a range of chalky hills along the coast.  Since most of this stretch of coast consists of cliffs, a nice flat gap was a tempting possible landing site during WW2 so there are a range of defences across the gap including several pill boxes, ditches and Dragons Teeth anti tank defences.  

It makes sense to defend the gap but I imagine it would have been a very narrow bottleneck for any invaders and pretty marshy as well.  For anyone who's interested in this kind of thing, this is a type 25 Pillbox (lots more info on pillboxes here).  This one is quite a way back from the coast... there are a couple more guarding the beach but this one seems to be a 2nd line of defence.  It was a steep slippery slope up to it and I nearly broke my neck sliding around in the chalky mud (much to Elaine's amusement!).  She's quite worried that I'm turning into a Pillbox spotter!!

If you're down on the coast I can recommend Alfriston as a lovely base to stay in.  And lastly here are a couple photos of the dogs enjoying the break and guarding the South coast from invaders (although I suspect they'd betray us for a sausage...)

Castles and gravestones

 I didn't think I'd be able to squeeze in a history post on this trip to Glasgow but we managed a couple of trips out in between hospital visits, so here goes...

First up is Dunure Castle.  This used to be a popular family day trip out when I was a wee boy and I still love it.  There's been a castle here since the 13th century although these buildings date to the 15th century.  Mary Queen of Scots stayed here (of course she did... like every castle in Scotland!!) and its other claim to fame is that in the middle of a struggle over who should be the Commendator of Crossrageul Abbey (a lay person who holds the title to the Abbey) in 1570, Gilbert Kennedy, holder of the castle captured and 'roasted and basted'  his rival over a brazier.  The rival was eventually rescued and survived the ordeal!

As today is International Dog Day my 2 hounds make an appearance in the photos...

A 15th century doocot

Cleo guarding the beach against raiding Vikings.

And Cisco on the look out for anyone with treats.

A couple of days earlier we went up to Loch Lomond and the very pretty (but busy) village of Luss.  Mainly famous for being the location for TV soap Take the High Road, Luss is a lovely spot on the shore of the Loch.  In the churchyard I came across a Viking Hogback stone.  These are carved and decorated  grave markers.. in this case from the 11th century.  The information board suggested it may be linked to a Viking raid on Luss and Loch Lomond in 1263

A weekend in Dorset

 

We've had a spell of bugs and illness over the last month, so last weekend we decided to take advantage of the long Bank Holiday weekend and take a short break away to cheer ourselves up.  We found a lovely, dog-friendly pub/small hotel near Bournemouth.  It was a lovely weekend and the perfect antidote to the Coronation.  

In amongst the cream teas in the New Forest and walking the dogs on the beach we managed to find a couple of historical things.

Mudeford Quay

One of our favourite spots has always been Mudeford.. a nice sheltered bay with short ferry trip to a huge sandbank filled with beach huts.  We've been here countless times but I'd never heard of the Battle of Mudeford.. a skirmish between 2 smugglers ships and a couple of navy cutters and a sloop.  All the details are on the plaque below but it involved a skirmish between sailors and marines trying to seize the smugglers ships before resorting to the more sensible option of using the navy ships' firepower to disperse the smugglers.  A scenario with huge gaming potential!

On the second day, after a lovely evening in the pub with 2 very well-behaved dogs (that's not always guaranteed!!) we had a wander along the beach and then stopped off in Christchurch.  This is Place Mill... a restored Anglo-Saxon mill which is now an arts centre.

And this is Christchurch Castle.  Dating back to 1107, it was attacked by supporters of King Stephen and later was seized by Parliamentary troops in the Civil War and then successfully fended off attacks by Royalists.

This is the Norman House which is a rare example of a Norman domestic building and dates from 1160... much nicer than a drafty old castle.

A trio of castles...

 I posted the other day about Cadzow Castle near Glasgow.  A couple of days after getting back home from out trip back home we were off again, this time to Herefordshire and the Welsh Borders.  My wife was taking part in a days blacksmithing experience which my son and I had gifted to her for last years birthday: she loved it and I can highly recommend Oldfield Forge.  

We had a lovely day meandering up to the Forest of Dean and Ross on Wye before staying overnight at a local pub.  It's a part of the country we used to spend a lot of time in but haven't been to for years so it was a special trip.  Once I'd dropped her off at the forge I went off in search of castles.  Let's be honest, you can't move in Wales without tripping over a castle and there are the Three Castles within 15 minutes of each other a short distance from the forge.

Skenfrith Castle:

White Castle:

Grosmont Castle:

3 fantastic castles in beautiful locations.  White Castle is the most physically impressive but I loved Skenfrith with a lovely river (the Monnow) flowing past the walls and otters splashing on the bank.  I can even claim to have walked the Offa's Dyke Path, even if it was only for about 200 yards!!

Cadzow Castle

 We're just back from a week back home in Glasgow which, thanks to a horrendous gastric bug, turned out to be the week from hell!  We're all recovered now but it was a tough few days, especially for my elderly mum.  Just before we all succumbed to the lurgy, we'd taken the dogs off for a long walk at ended up at Chatelherault which is a large wooded park near Hamilton in Lanarkshire.  It was the site of a ridiculously over the top 'hunting lodge' for one of the Dukes of Hamilton

I've been there quite a few times but hadn't realised until this trip that it is also the location of the ruins of Cadzow Castle.  This is what's left of a 16thC castle, built on the site of an older Fort, dating back to David I.  This was probably also a hunting lodge but was visited by lots of Scottish Kings and eventually ended up with the Comyns who were embroiled in the Wars of Independence but picked the wrong side.

The later castle was built in around 1530 and Mary Queen of Scots stayed there after escaping from Lochleven (because of course she did..  there isn't a castle in Scotland that MQoS hasn't stayed in!).  As a result of this it was later demolished by the Earl of Mar, leaving the ruins that are visible today. Its in a pretty poor state and you can't actually get I to the ruins as they're a bit precarious but it's worth a visit if you're in the area.

As the sites were all hunting lodges, here is a pic of our hound hunting for big game (or possibly mice) and the rabbit he completely failed to spot!

 

Mains Castle and a trip back home

No games for a couple of weeks as we finally managed to get away for a week to visit family in Rutherglen, near Glasgow.  A combination of Covid restrictions and lots of decorating and refurbishment at my mum's house meant we haven't been able to get up for a year so it was great to finally be able to see everyone.

The week was pretty much all spent locally with family so we didn't get out to see any sights but I did get out early most mornings with the dogs and tried to walk in few different places locally to give them (and me!) a bit of variety from the local park.

Eek!!  The Return of
 the Giant Hogweed

The Clyde

Not far from home is the Cuningar Loop,  new woodland Park created on industrial ground in Dalmarnock.  This was originally reservoirs which were filled in with rubble from the demolition of the Gorbals in the 1960s.  After the 2014 Commonwealth Games the site was redeveloped and transformed into a lovely woodland park on the  banks of the Clyde.

There's an interesting project being run here and in Rutherglen looking at using naturally heated water which fills disused mining tunnels as a source of geothermal heating.  Of course it isn't worrying at all that the town seems to be riddled with disused tunnels...

We also had a walk at Stewartfield near East Kilbride.  This is another new-ish country park.  This was made by creating a loch out of several marshy fields and has attracted a host of wildlife

Now for the wargamey bit...

Mains Castle

I haven't been inside...this is taken
from a  news article!

Next to the park is Mains Castle.  This was built in the late 15th century by the Lindsay family who had been given the lands   during the reign of David II.  The original landowners were the Comyns who came unstuck fighting against Robert the Bruce. The castle gradually declined and was eventually abandoned in 1723 before being restored in the 19th Century.  Its now a private home... one day, when I win the lottery...