June 10th – Our last full day in Cornwall was spent doing laundry and packing for the next part of our trip. We again visited the Lugger Inn in Polruan for dinner, ensuring that there were no leftovers to be dealt with. We left Triggabrowne early on Friday morning to drive east to Rye, which took about six hours.

Our arrival in Rye provided us with a bit of downtime before dinner. While out for a walk we met up with Dave and Ted Hunter, two more cousins who will be joining us on the trip to France.

Rye is a cute little town in East Sussex. Many of the buildings and cobblestone walks date back to medieval times. Being just two miles from the open sea, the port has played a big part in the town’s history, including the usual stories of smugglers. The road to our hotel was through the ancient Landgate Arch which dates back to 1329. An interesting fact – in 2015 some 25 tons of pigeon poop was carefully removed from the gate in an effort to ensure its longevity into the future.

Dinner was at a local restaurant called Simply Italian…a bit noisy but good food. Storytelling began in earnest and plans were made for the following day.

June 11th – Different interests and two cars with drivers took us in different directions today. Ted and Dave headed off to Dover to see some of the WWII memorabilia located there while the other four went off to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens for the day.  The buildings on the site date back to Tudor times and have served many purposes over the years, including a prison for French soldiers, a poor house and a family estate during the Victorian period. In the early 1930s Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicholson fell in love with the rundown property and purchased it. An interesting couple, to say the least, they designed and constructed extensive gardens throughout the estate. The gardens are designed as rooms separated by brick walls or hedges. Each room has its own distinctive feel or feature.

Both Harold and Vita were writers and the library contains some 4000 books. Her office was located in the Elizabethan tower from where one can get a full view of the estate. I was really taken by the wonderful use of colour both in monochromatic effect and in combinations.  I also loved the wisteria!

Thanks to the National Trust for renovating and maintaining the gardens as Vita envisaged them. Although members of the family still use the home, it is their hope that some of the residential buildings will be able to be opened in the next year or so for public tours.

The estate also has an extensive vegetable garden, walking trails, a great restaurant and many scheduled activities throughout the year.

Dinner tonight was at the Ship Inn with more stimulating conversation and story-telling.

No visit to the UK would be complete without some discussion of the weather. We have certainly been lucky. Other than the first day we arrived, the rain has been pretty much non-existent. Although daily forecasts often predicted showers, we seemed to be able to avoid them. Most days have been partly sunny/cloudy with temperatures in the 18 to 20* range. A few days reached 23* when the sun was at full strength.

Next stop France where it appears to be non-stop rain this spring.