Kent and Sussex

My first day of the trip was a long-awaited meeting with my aunt and uncle. I had last seen Aunty Jane and Rufus at their wedding, sometime around 1981.

I was a little apprehensive about meeting up with someone I had last seen when I was 7, but keen to catch up - at the very least, my mother would have killed me if I went all the way to England and didn't go and see Aunty Jane!

We arranged to meet at Gatwick airport - there is a train from Reading to Gatwick. It was pretty exciting venturing onto the train on my own - here I was, in a whole different country, heading out to a place I'd never been.

Ninety minutes later, (after eavesdropping on conversations - like in NZ, everyone on the train was on the phone... but they all had English accents! - apart from the guy who was talking in French) I arrived at Gatwick. It was easy enough to find the entrance to the airport, just follow the signs. And after 36 hours spent either on planes or in airports, I was pretty confident. However, there was no sign of Jane.


So I hung about, scrutinising every 50+ woman without luggage, hoping that I would recognise her. After about 15 minutes I was getting a bit worried, but then, way down past all the gates, I saw her: instant recognition. I shouldn't have worried at all. Some say there is a little resemblance between Jane and I...

Our first stop was a tiny cafe in a tiny village. No idea what the name of it was, but it appeared like hundreds of other villages around the area. After a cuppa, it was off to see a friend of theirs - another Kiwi, who lived just 2 minutes walk away, in a 600 year old house.

This was my first experience of a building older than 160 years (I'm thinking of the Stone Store in Kerikeri). Low ceilings, huge blackened beams, massive fireplaces and doors where you had to duck to enter. The house was furnished to make the most of its era, and it was beautiful.

After this it was a quick side-trip down a lane to Brambletye House. Rufus explained to me that this had been burnt down in the Civil War - a party of men had travelled from London, set the house on fire, and I imagine, merrily danced in the light of the flames. Truly haunting, most impressive to me was that this was completely unmarked, down a side road - you would only see it if you were visiting someone who lived there. Where were the signposts, the tour guide, the celebration of such a vivid piece of history? That's right, I was in England. Home of the historical monument. http://www.garenewing.co.uk/home/collections/brambletye.html

Next stop was West Hoathly. This village was full of ancient (to me) houses and buildings. It was just breathtaking walking up the narrow road, right next to houses that had stood for hundreds and hundreds of years. Wow

Our last historical venture was to Hever Castle, erstwhile home of Anne Boleyn, later bought by William Waldorf Astor and restored. My first thought on seeing the castle was that it just wasn't really big. But getting inside, and doing the tour changed my impressions. Magnificently restored, the audio guide provides you with a comprehensive history of the castle and its inhabitants. Most stunning was the tiny chapel up on the third floor off the main Astor suite. A small room with one wall almost all taken up with stained glass - the atmosphere was definitely spiritual. http://www.hevercastle.co.uk/

After an hour or two (and we could have spent all day), it was time to leave. While we tried to get a meal at the pub opposite (called Henry the 8th - very apt), but there was no success. It wasn't open for meals.