Activities

Within a 20-minute drive are Bewl Water, Scotney Castle, Finchcocks Musical Museum, Batemans (home of Rudyard Kipling) and Lamberhurst Vineyard. The National Pinetum at Bedgebury has miles of cycle paths, bird and mushroom identification tours and hosts a series of summer evening concerts.

Groombridge Place – is ideal for families, with enormous tree swings, enchanted forest and lakes. The National Monument of High Rocks - a stone age camp with acres of breathtaking sandstone rocks interlinked with eleven bridges, providing a scenic walk in tranquil woodland.

Arena Pursuits at Bewl Water provides a range of bookable activities including quad biking, clay pigeon shooting, paint-balling, orienteering and team building events.

Within half an hour’s drive are Battle Abbey, Bodiam Castle, the coast at Hastings Sissinghurst Castle, where writer Vita Sackville-West created her beautiful garden. Leeds Castle, Anne of Cleves House at Lewes, Winston Churchill’s home at Chartwell and the Hever Castle (childhood home of Anne Boleyn are all about 40 minutes drive away as is the coast at Rye, Eastbourne and Brighton.

Day trips to France - Calais or Paris - are easy by Eurostar from Ashford or by sea from Dover & Folkstone. Excellent shopping at Dieppe by ferry from nearby Newhaven.

There are weekly local farmers produce and fish markets, village fetes, and famous firework society events in Battle, Lewes and surrounding villages in November. In the summer there are open air concerts and festivals at Batemans, Bedgebury and Battle Abbey. Some village pubs have live music on a weekend evening – and all have roaring log fires in winter. The nearby village of Mayfield has medieval buildings and a 16th century coaching Inn with a reputation for good food.

For families there is the Bluebell Railway, the Spa Valley Railway, Drusillas Wildlife Park and lots of regular events and activities at Bewl Water (including charity Dragon Boat racing in September). Along the South coast, from Rye across to Brighton, there is surfing, good beaches and a wide range of watersports. The coast at Hastings offers sea fishing, arcades on the piers as well as the quaint shops of the lanes to explore. You can also take a tour of smugglers caves and go to Underwater World. Brighton, Eastbourne and Rye also offer huge variety of things to see and do.

Golf is available a ten minute drive away at Dale Hill – a course designed by Ian Woosnam.

Cycling – superb cycling on purpose made off road tracks around Bewl Water, at Bedgebury Pinetum and along the Cuckoo Trail.

Rambling. This is great walking country, with lovely rolling countryside, ancient woodland and miles of tracks.

Fishing – there are beautifully maintained and well stocked lake with seven swims and carp up to around 30 lbs nearby. You can buy a day tickets and hire equipment at a reasonable price. There are multiple large and match lakes nearby including those at Wylands, Frant, Five Ashes, and Bodium. Local river fishing is available and there is bookable trout fishing at Bewl Water.