Harvey and I were treated to a weekend in Hastings with Keven, Viv and Ian. When they originally booked their visit from Australia I had hoped to be living in Hastings by now so Hastings was on the itinerary. When they realised I wasn’t, they rented a great house through AirBnB on Priory Road with a bedroom for us to stay in too.
There was a lovely courtyard garden with several places to sit in it – all good inspiration for my future home.
The house was apparently the first Victorian house built in Hastings. It was filled with interesting pieces of art and was very comfortable.
And they had lots of vinyl to play which I really enjoyed.
The best thing about the house was the light and views.
On Saturday we met my sister Abi and her family at the cafe in Alexandra Park. We walked there from the AirBnB house via the house I am buying so we could show Keven our new home (hopefully). It was a lovely walk with more great views.
After lunch we went to Bexhill-On-Sea and enjoyed a long walk along the sea front in warm sunshine; it was like a summers day.
We finished our visit to Bexhill at sunset with a beer in Rocksalt before heading back to Hastings for a Chinese for supper. It was an amusing meal, in part due to the well meaning but comical waitress who explained to us that the 3 hours (yes, she did say 3) between 11pm and 1 am were the most important to be asleep so our blood could be changed and we wouldn’t wake up with yellow eyes!
I walked nearly 19,000 steps which I was very pleased with.
Today (Sunday) we spent some time in the morning relaxing in the house. Viv made me a fruit bowl and Keven cooked up some veggies and toast and a cup of green tea for breakfast. It was so lovely to have food prepared for me; a real treat. Lucy joined us for the day and we went to Seed on George Street for lunch.
These tempura aubergines were delicious. They were very accommodating in Seed and provided me with a lovely vegan meal, including salad which was not on the menu. Thank you Ian for buying lunch for us all.
I have been up the East Hill lift many times but never the West Hill lift and today I made it. This lift takes you through a tunnel which is an interesting experience.
The view at the top was spectacular and was very close to Keven’s house. There is a cafe here with stunning views and I will come back to enjoy a cuppa and this view over the Old Town.
Keven, Lucy, Harvey and I then spent the afternoon enjoying a leisurely stroll around the Old Town.
The variety of charming buildings makes this place such a pleasure to walk around.
If you visit Hastings, you should include Hendy’s. It is more like a museum than a shop!
All too soon it was time to say good-bye to our very dear and special friend. I think it is our turn to travel down under to visit Keven next time.
We both really enjoyed our visit to Hastings and saw parts of the town we have never seen before. The company was the best bit but the comfortable house, great weather and interesting towns all helped. That was a weekend i could repeat again.
The advantage of the 2:30am start was that we were in Sardinia by 9:30am and after a fairly challenging drive to our hotel (2 and a half hours in a manual car for the first time in years on the right hand side of the road) we arrived by lunch time and had the afternoon to relax by the pool.
The following day we discovered the delights of the hotel beach; a delightful cove.
There was a lifeguard and kayaks and paddle boards to borrow.
A quiet and beautiful spot.
Our hotel was spread over such a large area they had little trains to take you around. I managed to get lost one evening which was frustrating but I got to see the resort.
At the entrance to the park was a large lake filled with birds.
I ended up in completely the wrong part of the park which caused a lot of worry for Lara and Harvey but I eventually made it back.
We were up and out early for our first full day on holiday.
We had a bed and breakfast deal and the breakfasts were a bit limited for me but great for everyone else.
Having discovered the hotel beach, we didn’t waste time at the pool anymore.
There was a second pool at the hotel which was quiet and peaceful but still no where near as alluring as the little cove.
We went in to Arbatax for supper on our second day. Not much there but it was good to get out and have a stroll around.
Mushroom pizza and salad for me which was delicious.
We spent a couple of unplanned days in the South of Sardinia near Villasimius. I think I would stay in the South the next time I come as the beaches are lovely there. We were meant to be out on a boat for the day on Tuesday but the trip was postponed due to a thunderstorm!
So we hopped in to our car and headed South to Villasimius in the South Eastern part of Sardinia. It was about 2 hours to drive there. We had lunch overlooking the main beach but decided to move on in search of somewhere quieter and more scenic to spend the afternoon.
We found a really pretty beach at Spiaggi de Punta Molentis and settled in to the sun loungers for an afternoons relaxing.
This was a very well crafted sand sculpture.
It was a sea serpent that was part buried in the sand. Unfortunately his nose was washed off before I took my photo.
This was a very pretty beach.
We liked it so much we came back the following day as the weather further North remained unsettled with the risk of rain. We were actually trying to find a way to Cala Caterina but failed so we went back to yesterday’s beach as that was lovely.
View from my sun lounger.
Paying Euro 25 for 2 sun loungers also gave you access to a variety of ball games which we all had a go with.
This beach was found down a sand track where everyone just parked in a rather random way but it did the job!
After a tough day on the beach we wandered in to town to find somewhere for a drink and for supper before driving back to Arbatax.
Villasimius was a pretty little place.
Aperol Spritzer was the drink of the holiday this year.
We had dinner in a charming first floor pizzeria looking out over the main street – La Tartana.
Obviously the vegan pizza was mine and no prizes for guessing who had the sausage and chips pizza and who had the more sophisticated smoked salmon. This lovely meal was a good ending to another lovely day.
On our penultimate day we actually made it to the boat trip cancelled on Tuesday due to thunderstorms. This is the pretty little port in Arbatax.
We set off on our boat, with about 12 other people and headed North along the East coast of Sardinia. The scenery was stunning.
When we stopped at a beach we could not believe the colour of the water. It was extraordinary.
It was such a lovely day, possibly the best day of the year. We spent about 4 hours on 2 beaches, stopped in several places to swim/snorkel and the rest of the day relaxing on the boat.
Yes, that is Harvey, leaping from the rock!
The captain of our boat delivered each family a large cool box containing lunch. There was a box of cold meat, cheese and olives, pasta, Sardinian dried bread, water and a chilled bottle of red wine.
Not a bad spot for lunch (and no I didn’t eat the prawn).
This was the perfect beach. Amazing water with a good swell to bob about in and beautiful scenery.
I didn’t want the day to end but end it had to.
We spent our last day on holiday beside the beautiful cove at our hotel. I loved this little spot.
I liked the platform with sun loungers and sunshades. Apart from a toilet and freshwater showers, there was nothing else there. And not too many people either.
There was usually a choice of sun or shade, to suit your mood or skin type.
The water round Sardinia is clean and clear and full of fish but with nothing dangerous so Harvey could relax and enjoy snorkelling and I could enjoy my book.
I was sorry to leave this beach heaven.
We considered having our final Sardinian supper in the swanky restaurant at our hotel with its lovely views.
But decided against it because it seemed too quiet so we headed in to town instead.
We went out to a local Osteria, Bepi da Guia for a special meal to end a really lovely holiday. It was a lovely restaurant; good service with lovely food and a relaxed and friendly ambience.
We sat outside and ate Italian style with a Primi (pasta) and Secondi (meat or fish) dish. I had bread followed by pasta with swordfish and then a fried sea bream. It was all very delicious but no vegetables which I found a bit odd. No complaints from Harvey on that score though! This was a great place to sit and relax in a pleasant location, watching the sunset over the port.
We stayed at the Arbatax Park Resort which was very good although rather hilly which I got fed up with at times, especially in the heat of the day. It was designed in the style of a traditional hill top village and really was very beautiful to wander around in. Our room was at the top of these stairs. We had 2 large bedrooms and a shared bathroom and it was very comfortable.
I was reluctant to leave; I could easily have stayed much longer.
There was a large animal park on the site which we wandered around before leaving.
We took a wrong road on the way back to the airport in Olbia and ended up on a high mountain road. We got there in time for our flight but I was rather tense on the very high and in parts, narrow roads.
Sardinia was a very pleasant surprise and I hope to go back one day and swim in those wonderful seas and eat the lovely, fresh and local food. Ideally with Lara and Harvey who are fantastic holiday companions.
The sun shone, everyone turned up who we were expecting plus a special guest, Keven, a very dear friend of our family who we have known since we were teenagers. It was a really wonderful day. It could not have been better.
I recently returned from a lovely holiday to find my greenhouse full of ripe tomatoes. I have never had such success with tomatoes and I pick and eat them and they continue to ripen. It’s rather a never ending supply at the moment which is such a treat.
This lot were oven roasted with some olive oil, garlic and herbs and then blended with some potato and consumed as a soup, nearly every day this week
This week I have eaten very healthily but also eaten too much in terms of portion size and had too many snacks and calorific meals such as the irresistible fruit bread from Timberyard, which they toast and spread with almond butter and cinnamon seeds. It has far too many calories, especially when washed down with a large oat milk latte ! So that will have to be resisted in future.
Lunch was….. wait for it…… more tomatoes! I oven roasted this lot with a little salt and pepper and enjoyed them with a large handful of mixed green leaves and a baked sweet potato. No oil added and no dressings required. The tomatoes are so juicy I didn’t need to add oil when I cooked them or mayonnaise or dressing to the leaves or vegan butter equivalent to the potato.
That kept me full all afternoon and I nearly didn’t bother with supper but then decided I might get hungry later and snack so I had a simple pasta supper. This red lentil pasta is excellent. It only has 2 ingredients; red lentil flour and water so sounds healthy enough to me.
I ate it with a courgette, spring onions and more tomatoes. Perfectly adequate. That was all I ate all day and I feel perfectly sated. I drank water, black and green tea and a black coffee. Tracked and weighed everything too so I can see how close I am to 80:10:10.
I will miss this extraordinary view from the house. This picture was taken from the gate.
We walked along to the little parade of restaurants nearest the house for lunch on the Saturday.
I celebrated my 50th in the Italian restaurant so for old times sake, we had lunch there.
These girls look happy.
We sat outside, overlooking the marina.
Pizza – yummy.
This is the only royal harbour in England and it is beautiful and always a pleasure to walk around.
I walked and Harvey cycled around the harbour, beside the beach and along the promenade.
In the evening we went to Sandwich to see my cousin Hannah’s new house. This beautiful river is just behind them.
Aunty Marion joined us for a stroll around Sandwich which is well worth a visit.
Behind this wall is ‘The Salutation’, the house of Steph and Dom, well known to Gogglebox fans.
Nice pad!
There was a big motorbike event setting up along the seafront on the road leading to the port; we peered at it from above but didn’t go down.
When the haze cleared, the sky was so blue. It was a perfect beach day.
After a good walk we headed on to the sand and had a wonderful time swimming and walking along the main beach at Ramsgate. It was glorious and luckily we didn’t come across any jellyfish in the sea.
We both enjoyed our swim very much.
We eventually dragged ourselves away and in to our favourite place to eat; The Belgian Cafe.
We got a booth – yay 🙂
Vegan sausages and mash for me which was really good and so filling because of all the vegetables.
One final potter about before heading home.
Final stop of the weekend was Revolution where Harvey BMXd and Oscar scootered and they had a great time. I did too, chatting to Hannah and Alex.
We had a very busy day ahead of us so we began with a full English – vegan version for me -at one of the little cafes on the local parade.
After a very long and busy day sorting everything out, it was time to say farewell. 
I will miss this beautiful Georgian house beside the sea but have plans for a different way of life in another town beside the sea.
I love the effects of this one as it looks as if the tunnel is spinning.
No danger of deep water at low tide.
We popped in to a pub for a little drink.
Cheers.
This is the house opposite the pub – love the house name.
The 15th Century building housing the Mermaid pub was a great place to have a drink and a relax.
Beside the river we walked past Ferry Cottage. Rye has such an interesting history.
It also had a great playground which Harvey was very happy to use while I made my 10,000 step target by walking along the river bank.
We nearly stayed in but I am really glad we went out. I walked my 10,000 steps and we enjoyed pottering about the lovely then of Rye.
We walked in to the Old Town.
Once upon a time I would have gone for coffee and cake. Nowadays I rarely eat sweet things like cake as it is too hard to find vegan versions. I have not become ultra healthy though as I have swapped the coffee and cake for a drink and a packet of crisps and nuts.
Which is exactly what I had in the First In Last Out pub. We enjoyed ourselves in this traditional pub.
I met my sister Abi with my lovely nieces and nephew and we had fish and chips on the beach. Well, I had chips.
After lunch we went up the funicular to the East Hill where there is a large country park.
Plus great views of the Old Town and the beach.
We walked down from the Country Park and along some charming roads, back to the Old Town.
I spy with my little eye, some gorgeous cherry print deckchairs I might aspire to own.
The new pier beckoned. It is such a great space to walk along with fabulous views back to shore.
We had a lovely day and left Hastings bathed in bright sunshine. I can’t wait until we can have a lovely day in Hastings and don’t have to walk away.
We occupied the left hand side of these tables and benches until 11:30 pm as it was such an incredibly warm evening. The children played football on the beach and swam in the sea. We all drank too much and chatted, laughed and cried. It was a magical evening after a very emotional day.
On Saturday we had a late start to the day. I enjoyed a peaceful sit in this lovely sunny spot in my sister Lucy’s garden. Sunshine, their dog, wanted a walk.
So we went for a walk beside the river . This was a reasonable length walk and as is so often the case in Lyme, it involved a very steep hill, on the way down to sea level and then again on the way back up!
It was such a sunny and hot day it was lovely to be in the shade of the trees lining the river.
Pretty Lyme Regis cottages near the river.
I might like to have a bridge from the path to my house.
I got very hot and worn out walking back up to my sister’s house and was happy to see this unusual shaped thatched house as I know when I see this that I am nearly there.
It had been hard for me to eat properly on Friday so I really enjoyed the fresh fruit I had for breakfast and the pasta with lots of vegetables we had for lunch after our riverside walk. We then headed down the hill again to the beach, where we met up with our cousins and their families.
These two dear cousins, Miranda and Edwina, have been such superstars, the way they have supported their Mum and Dad all year. They are amazing and despite everything they have been through recently, they organised the beach get together and supper in the evening for us all too.
I am very lucky to have such lovely cousins.
I wish every day could be a beach day.
Especially if it was at Lyme Regis which is such a delightful place. We all had supper together at the Harbour Inn; a reservation for 30 people and they coped very well. We had a good dinner and a fairly early night.
A shorter walk on Sunday, in the woods.
I made a vegan shepherd’s pie for lunch which was good and we watched the French Lieutenant’s Woman in the afternoon; well my sister did but I fell asleep! I took Harvey and Harry to Grandpa Ian’s for supper and we had a lovely drink in his beautiful garden, followed by a simple but delicious supper of pasta with a roasted garlic and tomato sauce.
Luckily my trail companions were happy to wait for me when necessary.
We passed a donkey sanctuary which was cute. I haven’t seen donkeys for a long time and they trotted over to say hello.
We had a great view of the sea.
I had an open sandwich made with humous, avocado, tomato and balsamic vinegar which was delicious and a much needed cold soda water with lime. It was good to have a rest from cycling.
After lunch we decided to go along the seafront as far as we could, rather then head back to Darts Farm.
We could go as far as Orcombe Red Rocks which was a charming and quiet little beach. I have never been here before but would definitely return. Probably not on a Ashley though because they are really heavy.
I really enjoyed the cycling but was very tired and sore by the time we returned the bikes.
We walked over the fields in to town, rather than down the road or beside the river.
These two were excellent company.
There is so much history here on the Cobb.
There was so much to sit and look at.
All too soon it was time to head back to my sister’s, pack up and hit the road home. Up that bl**dy hill again !!!
Farewell lovely Lyme, this was an excellent visit and I look forward, all always, to returning.
Regular readers may remember I was surprised to see some astro turf and a little picket fence beside the beach when I walked past here on Monday; all was revealed as being part of a cafe where you could sit on the bench or in a deckchair and enjoy the sea views. Too soon for a coffee for us so we kept going.
I really like this walk.
So many charming beach huts.
Looking back towards St.Leonard’s.
This statue marks the spot of a cafe and this time we were ready for a coffee.
Or an ice-cream for some.
Onwards to Bexhill.
This walk really is delightful. It’s a very easy walk with a path the entire way.
It didn’t seem to take long before we were at Bexhill. I could have walked much further as I was enjoying it so much.
We beat the rain too so that was lucky.
Harvey and I had enjoyed Rocksalt-On-Sea so much last Friday we took Lara there and had another good meal. They were very helpful to me and instead of having the linguine in a creamy sauce, they made it for me vegan style and it was delicious. I fancied a bowl of pasta after a good walk.
We caught the train back to St.Leonard’s where it was raining quite hard so instead of going to the Hastings carnival we headed home, via the Kino in Hawkhurst where we watched the BFG. It was brilliant and we all enjoyed it very much.
Today we went to visit my Dad and Step-Mother and they took us out to a Chinese restaurant which was excellent. I had vegetable spring rolls followed by aubergine in black bean sauce, with stir fried broccoli and pak choi in garlic and rice. It was all delicious and the company was perfect. Thanks Dad for a very enjoyable lunch.
So another weekend comes to an end. I did very well with the exercise but not so well with the eating, particularly the too many delicious snacks at Judy’s on Friday night, the chocolate in the cinema or the crisps and Prosecco at home with Lara on Saturday night. But I enjoyed myself hugely which was important. I will eat better this week and maintain the regular walking.
I wasn’t expecting to see a white picket fence and astro turf next to the beach huts !
The path runs on from the end of the promenade at St.Leonard’s and there is a car park which is very convenient.
I confess, I do have beach hut envy. I would love one and one day I will treat myself but I think I need to wait until I know which town I will be living in as the beach hut needs to be easy to get to to make it more useable.
Everything about this walk was lovely. Obviously the company was great (boy and dog), the weather was perfect as it was sunny and warm but not too hot and there were so many interesting things to look at. There were people also walking/cycling/running along the track but mainly it was peaceful and quiet so you could really enjoy the sounds of the sea.
Harvey loved the route and cycled many miles as he went backwards and forwards, up and down the gentle hills and along the flat. This is looking towards Bexhill.
If I close my eyes and breathe deep I can imagine I am back there, with my boy, with the sun and the sound of the waves.
I definitely did not expect the profusion of wildflowers so they were an added bonus. This is the view looking towards St.Leonard’s.
After the walk we picked up some fish and chips (no fish for me obviously) and headed to Rebecca’s. She had just made a fabulous dal which she gave me a bowlful of and which I must try and recreate. We then sat in her pretty garden with its views over Hastings (and the ‘haunted house’ next door) and chatted away while the sun went down. A lovely ending to a wonderful evening.
I walked and Harvey cycled along to the far end of Hastings, Rock-A-Nore. The beach had fewer people on it than I expected.
These two were having fun on their paddle boards; they paddled out and then raced back in on the waves. I really fancy trying that and sea kayaking.
It was a very pleasant stroll and cycle.
As we approached Rock-A-Nore we came to the business end of the beach, where the fishing shacks are which sell fresh fish, the beach with the boats on it and the fishing net huts.
Hastings really is a photographers dream. I must dust off the large camera and come back as it is so picturesque.
This is the coastline beyond Rock-A-Nore.
The end of the road for us so we about turned in the direction of the pier for a cold drink.
I love the lines of the pier and how they reflect in the wet sand.
It was such a beautiful evening.
A cold beer drink and crisps and peanuts were just the thing. The only negative aspect of the evening was the ghastly rap style music being blasted out by a ‘DJ’ on the pier. It seemed an unusual choice of music for a crowd of mainly families or middle aged people. 
Harvey chose to eat pizza which meant we had to walk back towards the Old Town to find a restaurant which sold pizzas and was on the sea front and had a table for us. We ate in Bella Napoli at Pelham Crescent. It was very good value; we nibbled on bread with Balsamic and olives, I had a pizza and Harvey a Calzone plus a glass of wine came to £24 which I think is really good. The portions were so large we had to take half of it home so that’s lunch sorted!
Much of the garden looks really good, thanks to the weekly endeavours of my gardener, Adrian but certain bits, like the pots and veggie garden are all mine.
I worked on the pots on the patio which were a mess and planted up a flower bed next to the veggie patch. I haven’t been so inspired to grow as many veggies as usual as I was expecting to have moved. Rather than look at an empty bed, I bought some flowers and planted them out.
I only have tomatoes and squash in the greenhouse this year and they are doing really well. We have already eaten some tomatoes which is the earliest I have ever had any.
There are so many trusses on each plant.
I enjoyed being outside, gardening and was inspired by all the plants in the garden to make a juice for breakfast. I picked some rainbow chard and juiced it with half a pineapple, an orange, a kiwi and red pepper and then blended it with half an avocado.
I was aiming for a green juice but it was more brown than green. It tasted good though.
For supper I picked lots of peas and spent a pleasant time, sitting in the garden, shucking them.
I also picked all the raspberries I could find and some rhubarb and made a crumble. I haven’t made a ‘proper’ pudding for ages and thought it was about time I did.
It was cooler today than yesterday with a pleasant breeze and in the afternoon we enjoyed a walk over the road in the woods.
It is so lush and green in the woods at the moment.
Look how high the ferns are? They are huge, almost tropical.
We ate supper in the garden.
As we were having a pudding we had a light supper; stir fried vegetables (peas and chard from the garden) with smoked tofu with sesame seeds and almonds.
The crumble was delicious. I had about 5 cups of fruit which I placed in an ovenproof dish I had coated lightly with coconut oil. I added 3 tbsp brown sugar. I made a topping by blitzing together 1 cup of oats, half a cup of wholewheat flour, half a cup of pecan nuts, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and 4 tbsp vegan spread. Baked in the oven at 180 degrees for 45 minutes. Served with vegan custard. We both really enjoyed it and have another portion to look forward to tomorrow.
For the first visit, I took Harvey and we went with Lucy who by coincidence had been to Bexhill that week and was also pleasantly surprised by how lovely it was. We strolled around the De La Warr Pavilion and then along the promenade. Unlike Hastings and St.Leonards, where there is a road between the seafront houses and the promenade and beach, there are many houses in Bexhill with gardens directly on the promenade. I could live in one of these!
We also walked up to the Old Town which is like a rural village. Very charming but not lively enough for what I am looking for so we headed back to the front.
That was the first visit of many I have made since. The following weekend I went to St.Leonard’s and was pleased to discover a mainly vegan cafe had opened on Norman Road. They provide cow’s milk for coffee but the rest of their produce is vegan. I had a fabulous chocolate cake with my coffee. This is newly opened and I wish them well with their venture.
I strolled up Kings Road and bought some veggies in this shop and then pottered about the street market as by chance, it was the St.Leonard’s festival weekend.
As usual I was drawn to the sea front. The planting in St.Leonard’s is pretty so I enjoyed a walk along the front and then hopped over to Bexhill.
This time I walked away from the centre of Bexhill and headed West towards Eastbourne. This is such a pretty promenade.
Handy to know the rules about dogs on the beach.
It seems so peaceful and quiet here but not isolated or lonely.
I would love a beach chalet on the beach!
After a long and lazy afternoon I headed home, all the happier for another jaunt to Bexhill.
We moved along the coast to Hastings to see what Pirate’s Day was all about.
I wouldn’t argue with this lot either.
When the sun came out is was very hot; much too hot for Milton so we took him home. Next year we will leave Milton at home and will hopefully be living in Hastings because I would like to experience Pirate’s Day properly.
I sat outside one of the restaurants and enjoyed a pizza and glass of wine with a colleague from the office.
I wish I had time to explore Edinburgh; the little I see of it every time I come is extremely appealing and I would love to see more of it.
I also enjoyed relaxing and snoozing on the beach afterwards. Despite the very warm day, there were only a few others on the beach at Bexhill as I think most people head to Hastings beach but I prefer the peace and quiet of Bexhill.
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