A few weeks ago we went on a meetup hike with a group of about 20 people. We met at a train station in a town called Robertsbridge in Sussex, which is about an hour's drive from us. We were slightly delayed at that point as three of our group didn't manage to make it off the train and had to go to the next town and take the train back. We were happy to enjoy a cup of tea while we waited and got to know some of the other groups members. We were a nice collection of British, Canadian, American, Spanish, French, Serbian and Chinese of various ages. Everyone was very down to earth, easy going, and friendly.
Our trek to Bodiam Castle was a 1.5 hour leisurely stroll through forest and valley, past a WWII bunker, horses and finally to a lovely pub where we had lunch before exploring the castle.
At the castle, we decided to join the National Trust so that we can enjoy the many lovely properties and homes it maintains over the course of the next year. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
(Check out the link to see a shot of the next landscape we hope to pursue).
The castle itself was incredible. Everything you would expect a castle to be, moat and towers included.
Afterwards we started on the second leg of our journey: Bodiam to Battle. I expected this to take us 2.5 hours and only brought an apple and some water. Our group leader was at least 6'4" and could walk twice as fast as most of us. So we were moving at a very steady pace. The only thing that slowed us down were the stiles that we had to climb over at the end of each field, which caused a bottle neck each time as we filed over one at a time. It ended up being a 4 hour race for the train. I don't go 4 hours without eating, for one thing. And I really like to enjoy the view, take pictures, and ideally stop for tea! But this was not to be done. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful walk with tiny white flowers covering the valley floor and an exciting barbed wire fence climb (with uninvited though not ill-intentioned bum-grabbing heave by our leader for each of us to get over the fence) when a naughty landowner wouldn't let us cross his land and we had to make our own path.
All in all, it was a fabulous hike and we look forward to more. Here is a map of our 12.5 mile journey. If you zoom in on Bodiam, you'll see a lovely aerial view of the castle:
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