It’s funny how Battleaxe often appreciates the lovely places around us when they are viewed through the eyes of people who don’t live here. Our friends Sue and Alex came down to stay from Birmingham. They come every year, so not real strangers, but it’s a change for them, from the busy city. It was a biggish birthday weekend for me… but not that big or interesting, or I’d have made more fuss about it. These days, birthdays just add on more years. Oh, and in case you are wondering, the violent riots discussed in the last post have, as one might have predicted, fizzled out with a tide of anti-racist rallies up and down the country, which have swallowed up the rioters…
On the evening of the actual day we had an excellent meal at Webbes in the Old Town. They did us proud. Battleaxe would totally recommend.
But this is about Winchelsea Beach. It was a sunny, breezy day, so we took a picnic lunch. Started off with a coffee in the garden of the Ship. Now, Battleaxe has written about the place plenty often, and we witnessed all its changing incarnations, and have sat in the fabulous garden umpteen times, but the last couple of times we’ve been it has felt as if the garden is getting out of hand. It was obviously created at substantial expense by professional garden designers, but still – this picture is from 2018 – it was a bit wild then…
After that we headed down to the sea, and walked along the sea-side path until we reached the Mary Stanford Lifeboat House. Have not been there for years, and we were alarmed to see it in such a poor state of repair. We thought there was a project to restore the building, which is preserved as a memorial to the 1928 Mary Stanford Lifeboat disaster, when 17 RNLI crewmen from the local area drowned. Here is information about the disaster. However, the restoration project seems to have run into the sand… here is a recent article about the current perilous state of the building.
Then we went along the beach a little way and settled down to shelter from the wind behind a half-collapsed groyne. Here are a few pictures of us all…
Sue and Alex were struck by the quiet. ‘We have been sitting here for over an hour and not seen another soul,’ said Alex. True. Battleaxe readers will know that every year we go to Cornwall with our Birmingham friends. There are always people down there, wherever and whenever you go. Not at Winchelsea Beach though. All we could hear was the sea and the gulls. Sue and Alex also commented on the wide horizon, and the quality of the light…
We were sitting surrounded by a selection of crumbling groynes, most just jagged black stumps sticking out of the shingle. Interestingly, for my birthday I was given a book about the history of Pett Level. (On the Level: Pett Level Then and Now, Keith Swallow). He says that these strange smaller stumps, which Philosopher likened to dragon’s teeth, are actually the remains of a 1930’s attempt at constructing a sea-wall to protect the Level. In those days, for reasons best known to themselves, they built sea defences out of blackthorn ‘faggots.’
After lunch, we set out along a path inland until we hit another path running alongside a lake/reservoir. Encountered this half-crumbled WW2 pillbox. It looks like a strange sculpture.
Eventually arrived back at the Ship again for a welcome swig of Harvey’s Best.
A very simple outing, with a nice circular walk. But lovely.
