Friday: If you saw Clark’s FB pic, we were wheeling our bags this morning to the Esher train station in order to head South to Brighton Beach, England style! Our dear family friends, Paul and Lynda West, were collecting us (as they say here) at the train station to enjoy a couple days with them around the coast. Train was hot and crowded; guess lots of people want to beach for the weekend. But we made it readily enough and found Paul and Lynda, who we haven’t seen in 10 years. The kids were tiny back then compared to now.
We explored Brighton first with Lynda, enjoying the pier, that’s 120 years old!, having lunch there by the water, seeing the massive Royal Pavilion that is a palace that was built for King George IV, in the style of Russian and Indian architecture interestingly enough, and its lovely gardens. Then, Paul collected us and gave the running commentary on the towns we drove through as we headed to their town, Seaford. We stopped at their home for tea and biscuits and to enjoy their gorgeous gardens!
After our afternoon break, Paul served as tour guide to Seven Sisters Country Park to see the Seven Sisters (white chalk cliffs), Seaford Head, Beechy Head, and the Channel at Birling Gap where we could walk down to the water and get the perspective of how big those cliffs truly are! Our walks to the vistas included tromping through a sheep field that is privately owned, but that the owner happily allows folks to walk through for the views. It was perfect and all that comes to mind when I think of England! We even touched the water at the Gap and found it not too cold really. I did find approaching the cliffs’ edge quite unnerving and even blood-pressure-raising. But they are gorgeous and beautifully wild, defying the sea to cut more and more into the earth it would seem, as it breaks against the shore in its relentless and habitual way.
Our day’s journey ended in Eastbourne where we are staying at the Cavendish Hotel directly across from the Sea. How marvelous! It was all fabulous, and we look forward to seeing our friends again tomorrow.
P.S.—not sure why, but unable to add pics here...I’ll post a few on FB
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