12-13 July 2023 Hastings to Brighton

Here’s a two for one. Things got a little crazy yesterday, so I didn’t have time to blog last night. I have decided to wrap my trip up after 30 days instead of sticking it out for the 97 that I had planned. I am not a spring chicken anymore, and didn’t realize how hard this was going to be on my body. I also miss my wife Terry, and know that she is pretty busy this Summer without me around, so this trip will end on August 6th. My daughter Alex goes back to Alaska on July 21st, and it has been a great time visiting with her, but being a solo traveler is a lot tougher at 59 than it was 30 years ago.

Yesterday we dedicated the whole day to the Battle of Hastings, and the Battle Abbey and town. We had a great volunteer guide from the English Heritage Trust, Robert Catt, give us a tour around the facilities and the battlefield, and I really enjoyed the history lesson of how William the Conqueror defeated Harald and the Anglo-Saxon army to become King of England in 1066. I also found out that I had many relatives who joined up with William, Duke of Normandy, to help him conquer England. My relatives were: William, Duke of Normandy, Robert de Conteville, Count of Mortain and first Earl of Cornwall, and Robert de Beaumont first Earl of Leicester.








On the 13th, we headed to Lewes (pronounced “Lewis”) priory ruins. The builders of this priory were the de Warenne brothers (my ancestors), but many events took place there, including the battle of Lewes on May 14th, 1264. One of my ancestors, Simon de Montfort, was involved in the negotiations after defeating the King’s army, called the Mise of Lewes. This treaty restricted the authority of the king (Henry III), 49 years after the Magna Carta.







After our visit to Lewes Priory, Alex wanted to go see some lavender fields. The Lordington Lavender fields are only open from 12-16 July, and there were many people taking pictures of the lavender, their babies, and their dogs. There were a lot of bees pollinating the flowers, and the whole place had a nice smell to it. I’d never been to something like this, but it was a pretty cool moment to share with my daughter, who is a lover of all things nature related, flora and fauna alike.













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