Eastbourne and Rochester

Eastbourne

The pier

Eastbourne is one of my favourite places to go in the UK. I went to University here, so lived here for 3 years, so I always have lots of friends to see when I go. Eastbourne is not as busy as Brighton, but still has a lot to do. There is Beachy Head and the 7 sisters if you like walking. There are some great cafes and restaurants, as well as museums and Sovereign Harbour which is a nice place to go. Currently Eastbourne is under redevelopment, with new housing and development of the high street. I am not sure when these are due to finish, but will hopefully improve the facilities further. The beach, bandstand and the pier are all iconic places and in good weather the beach is obviously great. There are lots of events held throughout the year in Eastbourne including a beer festival, 999 weekend, extreme sports, an air show and international markets.

All Souls, Eastbourne

In good weather all these events are extremely popular. If the weather is good for the air show in August the beach is standing room only. The Western Lawns is also home to a motor show every May bank holiday and there is generally a lot going on if you are looking for something to do. It is not as expensive as Brighton and only 1hr35mins by train from London, so accessible for a great day (or weekend) away. There is a good chance there will be more blog posts for Eastbourne as I go there quite a lot and there is always something going on.

Rochester

I went to Rochester specifically for the Dickens festival. This is held annually over a weekend, with special events along the high street, parades and lots of period costumes. Rochester is less than an hour by train from London, so we went for the day along with lots of other people. There were lots of places to eat and some pretty good sweet shops. It makes for a great day out. Rochester also has a cathedral and a castle (see further down page)

My favourite sign

The photos below are from the parade, held at midday:

Dickens

One of many Miss Haversham's

A Christmas Carol

We also visited Rochester Cathedral, pictured below and looked at the castle from the outside as it was relatively expensive to get in. There were organised tours of the Cathedral, or you could walk around it yourself. It has lots of memorials on the walls and is alongside a lovely courtyard. The castle grounds were full of stalls and was rather busy. It was free to access the outer grounds and provided a nice place to sit in the sun with ice cream. The Dickens festival definitely made our day trip more exciting and we had a lovely day out.

Rochester Cathedral