Our third and last day in East Sussex before heading to France was dry, cloudy with a strong on-shore wind.  I’m used to the blustery gusts we get in our windy corner of Norfolk, but this was a relentless blow, with the flags standing out stiffly as if set in acrylic.

Just along the coast from Hastings is Bexhill-on-Sea, with a charmingly unspoilt sea front, no fun fair, amusement arcades, fish and chips, just a row of tall elegant houses and hotels overlooking the promenade and the Channel. I wonder how many period dramas have been filmed here? A location finders dream. Talking of which, Poirot any one?  He would have been perfectly at home with us as we took tea in the De La Warr Pavilion, an outstanding modernist building.

It’s almost like an ocean liner, and in that wind, we certainly felt all at sea!

In the evening we went for a stroll prior to our evening meal. Tim had his eye on a likely looking pub spotted earlier in the day. We set off along another picturesque street…

…and it was then I had a ‘Life Enhancing Experience’!!  Family and close friends will know that back in the early nineties I succumbed to M.E. It’s been a long haul, and this year has been a time where I have at last felt I have been crawling out of a hole.  Last summer I finally got my system free of drugs which had been deemed helpful but in fact made more problems, and then I could address the weight gain brought about by years of comfort eating.  So I know this time last year all the walking this holiday had entailed so far would have been out of the question. Who can walk far carrying their airport luggage allowance at all times?

Hastings has two hills each side of the town, East Hill and West Hill both reached by their own funicular railway.  Our B & B, Cavalier House sits close to the bottom of the East Hill and the railway was closed for maintenance.

The castle like structure at the top end of the railway is perched above the town and has been taking people up and down since 1902 but I rather wondered why.  So when we spotted the steps on our way to the pub I had a sudden rush of blood to the head and said ‘Come on, let’s do it!’  Followed by a rather dubious husband (he’s the one who gets me out of the fine messes I get into!) I set off up the steps, all 190 of them.

Where we found we were here…

This was obviously a very good place to put a beacon…

..and filled with a huge sense of acheivement, a pretty good place to put me…

Fading light meant any further exploration must wait until the railway is running again, so we made our way back down the 190 steps, and THEN went to the pub!