My girlfriend recently triumphed in a competition with Cadbury for Olympic tickets. So we decided to make the most of the good weather and enjoy a long weekend in the south east of England to see Bodiam Castle and Hastings.

It would be a great way to spend a few days before heading to London to see the Olympics.

Bodium Castle

After a long drive from Swansea, we finally arrived at our destination, Bodiam Castle in East Sussex.

The castle is surrounded by a large moat which gives photographers a great opportunity to get some good shots. It was quite an experience walking across the bridge to the castle. You could imagine the difficulties that invading armies might have in times gone by!

The castle courtyard is very impressive and if you scale the narrow spiral staircases to its towers, you’ll get a nice view of the surrounding parkland. The park was full of families and other visitors enjoying the sun.

It’s definitely worth paying the £7 to gain access to the castle and there is a nice cafe to enjoy a well deserved coffee before leaving.

Hastings

As Hastings is only 11 miles from Bodiam, we decided to make a quick visit.

We walked along the seafront on our way to the old town. It was quite sad to see that pier is currently in a state of disrepair. Are there plans to restore it?

In the old town of Hastings we walked along George Street, which is full of some quirky pubs and shops. I made sure we had time for a real ale.

I had never visited Hastings before, and even though it looks like a decent town, it wasn’t exactly what I’d imagined.

After returning to Ecto-1, it was only a short drive back to our hotel in Tunbridge Wells.

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