Travel is certainly a funny old space right now; it’s scary to know whether or not you’ll end up stuck in quarantine if there’s an announcement during your time away, or if you should even be going away in the first place. A couple of weeks ago, J&I took some tentative steps for a day trip down to East Sussex. We’re big fans of being outdoors and hiking, and we decided to go super early for a quick hike and a swim in the sea, provided the crowds didn’t look like you’d end up on the front of the Daily Mail.
Alarms set for 05:30am the next day to get one of the first trains out of Clapham. As the sun rose over the English countryside, we found ourselves stopping in a tiny train station and stepping off the train to the call of seagulls.
Jess had done a hike nearby before, so with her trusty navigational skills, we set off down to the pebble beach.
This was just before 9am, and the temperature was already creeping up slowly but surely; we eyed the steep incline in front of us and with a hesitant nod at one another, pushed on up, stopping now and then to take in the view of East Sussex below.
We continued until we came to a little, quieter patch of beach where we watched the waves roll in and the sun climb a little higher.
Looping back around and surrounded by rolling fields and farm animals we slowly ambled down the hill we’d just come up, to return to the beach.
We’d expected the beach to be horrendously busy given the weather, so we were delighted to see that we were set to be one of only a handful of people. We threw our stuff down and got straight in the sea which was the perfect temperature.
After a while we wandered to the pub, enjoyed a crisp white wine and some lunch before deciding to get back in the sea for one last dip.
Drying off, we packed up and decided to get front row seats, sundowners in hand, for what promised to be a spectacular sunset – and we weren’t disappointed.
Have you been to East Sussex?
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This looks absolutely beautiful, and sounds like such a nice day! I’m glad the weather was kind to you x
Sophie
Oh wow these photos are bloody beautiful Kate! You can’t beat a staycation or a day trip in the UK right now!
Beautiful pictures and the view is so beautiful
What stunning photos Kate! I’ve only ever been to Brighton so I basically just saw the pier haha. But your hike looks amazing. I love exploring new places in the UK so next time I’m down south I’ll have to have a proper day spent at the beach in East Sussex, it’s truly beautiful!