Page 83 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - England's South Coast

KENT AND SUSSEX  81

and an excellent base for touring s Charleston
the South Downs. The path Firle, near Lewes. Map D2. Tel 01323
begins at Beachy Head, the 811626. 3 Lewes then taxi.
163-m (536-ft) chalk cliff just Open Mar–Jun & Oct: 1–6pm Wed–
west of the town. From here Sat, 1–5:30pm Sun; Jul–Sep: noon–
there is a bracing clifftop walk 6pm Wed–Sat, noon–5:30pm Sun.
to Birling Gap, with views to the Closed Nov–Feb. & 8 obligatory in
Seven Sisters, another row of house, booking advisable. 7 except
massive cliffs that end abruptly upper floor of house. - =
when they meet the River _ Charleston Festival: May.
Cuckmere. The cliffs are part of ∑ charleston.org.uk
the Seven Sisters Country Park, The imposing Lewes War Memorial, located
a 280-ha (690-acre) area of chalk An artistic time capsule, this at the top of School Hill
cliffs and downland marsh. pretty, secluded farmhouse is
inseparable from the circle of d Lewes
} Seven Sisters Country Park avant-garde artists, designers East Sussex. Map D2. * 17,000. 3
Exceat, near Seaford. Tel 0345 608 0193. and writers known as the n 187 High St; 01273 483448. ( Fri.
Open Visitor Centre: Mar & Nov: 11am– Bloomsbury Group – after the ∑ staylewes.info
4pm Sat & Sun; Apr–Sep: 10:30am– area of London in which they
4:30pm daily; Oct: 11am–4pm daily. first met in the early 1900s (see The ancient town of Lewes was
7 limited. ∑ sevensisters.org.uk p57). Members included novelist a vital strategic site for the Saxons.
Virginia Woolf, her husband William the Conqueror built a
Environs Leonard, writers Lytton Strachey wooden castle here in 1067, but
Bexhill-on-Sea, 19 km (12 miles) and E M Forster, and economist this was soon replaced by the
east of Eastbourne, features the J M Keynes. In 1916, Virginia stone Lewes Castle, the ruins
Art Deco De La Warr Pavilion, Woolf’s sister Vanessa Bell and of which can be visited today.
commis sioned by a town mayor her lover Duncan Grant, both In 1264 Lewes was the site of a
in 1935. Recently restored, it artists, moved to this Sussex major battle in which Simon
hosts art exhibitions, and the farmhouse, and in the following de Montfort defeated Henry III.
café is popular for its fabulous years it became the group’s The impressive Tudor Anne
views. To the west, north of Seven favourite country retreat. of Cleves House is a museum of
Sisters, is the village of Alfriston, Over the years, Bell and Grant, local history, although Anne of
with an ancient market cross with help from their family and Cleves, Henry VIII’s fourth wife,
and a 15th-century inn, the Star. friends, decorated the house never actually lived here.
Nearby is the 14th-century Clergy with post-Impressionist-style The town is famed for its
House, which became the first paintings, textiles and ceramics. celebrations of Guy Fawkes Night
National Trust property in 1896. The house soon amassed an art on 5 November (see p30).
collection that includes works
E De La Warr Pavilion by Picasso, Derain and Renoir + Lewes Castle
Marina, Bexhill-on-Sea. Tel 01424 among others. The grounds High St, Lewes Tel 01273 486290.
229111. Open 10am–5pm daily. & to also feature a distinctive walled Open daily; times vary, check website.
concerts. 7 0 - = ∑ dlwp.com garden created by Bell and Grant. & = ∑ sussexpast.co.uk
P Clergy House The house and garden have E Anne of Cleves House
The Tye, Alfriston. Tel 01323 871961. been carefully preserved and 52 Southover High St. Tel 01273
Open mid-Mar–Oct: 10:30am–5pm restored as they were when the 474610. Open late Feb–Dec: 10am–
5pm daily. & 7 limited. -=
Sat–Wed; Nov–mid-Dec: 11am–4pm Bells left, and host varied artistic ∑ sussexpast.co.uk
Sat & Sun. & = ø ∑ national events, including an arts festival
trust.org.uk every year in May.
Environs
East of Lewes is Glyndebourne,
the site of a private opera house
which hosts the famous annual
opera festival (see p28). Further
south, in Rodmell, is Monk’s
House, another Bloomsbury
Group residence. In 1919 Woolf
and her husband bought this
house as a country retreat.
P Monk’s House
Rodmell. Tel 01273 474760. Open
House: Apr–Oct: 1–5pm daily. Garden:
Apr–Oct: noon–5:30pm Wed–Sun. &
Spectacular view of the Seven Sisters, a series of dramatic chalk cliffs near Birling Gap = ø ∑ nationaltrust.org.uk

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