2003/05 Prague and Sussex trip - Bluebell Railway and Leonardslea |
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On Sunday we needed to give the legs a bit of a rest, so we headed to the Bluebell Railway and took a return trip through Horsted Keynes, enjoying the Sussex countryside without having to watch out for traffic. The railway still seems to be doing well, with the car park full when we left.
From there we headed over to Lower Beeding and Leonardslea Gardens, and I was a bit 
surprised that I found it OK. By now the sky was full of little black clouds and we spent the rest of the day in a mixture of sunshine and showers.
The gardens are mainly on the hillsides, with the valleys filled with lakes and walking paths. So, there are lots of steep ups and downs, which were difficult for Mum, but she was OK as soon as we got down to the lakes. As expected, the rhododendrons and azaleas were gorgeous, and so were the Japanese maples. We even saw a wallaby hopping across our path. I suppose this means that all those kangaroos originated in Sussex 
and migrated to Australia along with the convicts, rabbits, and cricket.
On the way back we went through Pyecombe and up over Ditchling Beacon. That all looked much the same, but the M27 has made big changes to the area around Coldean Lane and the way to Hollingbury. We stopped off for a quick look at Varndean School, which also looks much the same except for the “temporary” huts for additional classrooms.
That evening I walked over to look at the West Pier and can report that the only piece that looked salvageable back in February has since been completely burned out, with just the framework left above the water line.