Day 54 – Saturday 16 March 2002 - Bexhill to Eastbourne

10.5 miles walked today

640.5 miles walked in total (average 11.86)

Sam and I left Epsom at 8.00 am and were ready to walk from the De La Warr Pavilion at 9.45 am.  The sun was shining and it was dry, although the weather forecast hadn’t been good.

From Bexhill, we were on the prom to Cooden Beach, a place I always wanted to live in when I was at Hastings, because the houses were so enormous!  From the beach side, we got to see the back gardens of these houses, one of which had a full size tennis court.

There’s obviously been some erosion along this stretch of coast and we could see a lot of concrete making its way into the gardens to shore things up.  One plant which seemed to have taken over was Hottentot’s Fig, a succulent with bright pink flowers.  (We didn’t identify the name though until looking it up when we got back to Sam’s this evening.)

From the Cooden Beach Hotel, we took the sea road beside the golf course and railway line.  Sam waved at a guardsman on a train just as it pulled into Cooden Beach station, so we had to hide in the shadows of the hotel until the train moved on, just in case they thought we were flagging it down!

A bit further along the road, we soon left the beach to head inland slightly and we had to wait at a level crossing.  Further around the bends, we waited at another level crossing to cross the same line – the tracks ran in dead straight lines, while the road curved. This second crossing was manned because the gates are permanently closed and are only opened on request.

Sam appeared to have let the sea air get to her as we sat on the sea wall for yet another snack break – muffins (cooked by Sam), hot cross buns and sandwiches were consumed on a very regular basis to try and keep the weight of the rucksacks down!  She was telling me a long involved story about Auntie June being cousin Edward’s godmother, but, for some reason – perhaps the sea air had got to me too – I thought she was talking about Sheila.  As Sheila is only a couple of years older than Ed, I thought this sounded fairly implausible.  At which point, Sam declared that, in that case, Sheila would have been his “god toddler”.  Too much fresh air, methinks!

From Norman’s Bay, we were on roads – albeit quiet roads – through the village to Pevensey.  We’ve seen loads of daffodils and primroses today and it certainly felt very springlike, with the warm sun shining on us.  Layers of clothing have been removed and reinstated all day!

As we neared Pevensey Castle, the over riding smell was of garlic – more likely from the Castle Inn, than anything the Normans left behind in 1066!

The road became a main road into Eastbourne, although we passed a lot of caravan parks just opening up for the season and three Martello towers.

Sam’s feet began to blister as we walked into Eastbourne and we had to stop a couple of times for emergency sock and first aid treatment.  When you’re desperate to get somewhere, it never seems to get any nearer and we were a bit fed up until we got back on the sea wall behind the Sovereign Leisure Centre, from where we could clearly see the pier.  We decided to stop there for a cup of tea, before deciding whether we could carry on to Birling Gap.

However, as we approached the pier, the rain came down and it seemed an ideal opportunity to stop and go shopping instead!