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Culture, Cannons and Cuisine in Eastbourne

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Mid-Week Break in Eastbourne:

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Eastbourne has the reputation of being the prim maiden aunt of the south coast. It doesn’t have Brighton’s raffishness or Hastings’ artsy scene, but it does have extraordinary scenery on its doorstep and some hidden treasures which I’m hoping to uncover on this trip.
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If you are driving then you should stop at Michelham Priory, a few miles out of Eastbourne and just a ten-minute detour off the A22, the main route into the town.
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The  Augustinian monastery is serenely beautiful and its 800 year history from place of worship in 1229 to working farm is traced through the displays in the house and the grounds.
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It also boasts the longest medieval water filled moat in the UK, an interactive Victorian kitchen, a WWII evacuee bedroom, a Tudor kitchen, as well as 7 acres of grounds with a kitchen garden, physic and herb garden, and a working watermill and forge.
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It’s the sort of place you can lose yourself in for hours; the Tudor interiors are very fine and well preserved and there are lots of nooks and crannies to discover.
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And if the weather is good the gardens are perfect for a leisurely stroll followed by a light bite and cup of tea at the café.
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After the bucolic delights of Michelham our next stop was in Eastbourne’s burgeoning cultural quarter at The Towner art gallery, the south coast’s premier location for contemporary art.
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There are some terrific spaces for big installation works – it’s a bit like a mini Tate Modern – and the gallery features an intriguing mix of contemporary and older works. The Towner was founded in the 1920s on the back of a bequest of  £5000 and 22 paintings by local worthy John Chisholm Towner, mostly local landscapes by local artists.  It now houses 5000 works and since the 1950s under the then curator William Gear, an acclaimed abstract artist himself, the collection has built an intelligently curated collection of contemporary art.
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I really enjoyed the East Sussex Open exhibit, a really strong collection submitted by local artists in a variety of media, and in September the Towner is opening their permanent Ravilious Room– a dedicated space to admire a selection of Eric Ravilious’ (1903-1942) finest watercolours, prints and ceramics. For me, Ravilious is the Sussex artist par excellence. No-one else captures the contours and colours of the local landscape like him so this will be a fantastic addition to the Sussex art scene.
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 The gallery is part of the Coastal Cultural Trail, a 25-mile cycle route that links the Towner with the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings and the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill.
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But if like me you prefer a more sedentary approach to art appreciation then the gallery’s Urban Ground Cafe with its sun-filled balcony will appeal with a choice of filled flatbreads, ciabatta rolls and great cakes!
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Our next stop was the Redoubt Fortress (from the Italian word ‘Redotto’ meaning ecclesiastical retreat) which sits almost hidden from view on the seafront. Our guide Peter, a knowledgeable and delightful Alec Guinessian chap, explained that by 1804 the threat to the southeast from Napoleon was perceived as being so great that PM William Pitt ordered that a defence ditch filled with cannons should run from Hastings to Folkstone, punctuated by a row of Martello towers and the ‘Great Redoubts’-super fortresses stocked with cannons, food and ammo.
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The Redoubt has the military museum for Lord Cardigan’s (of the Charge of the Light Brigade fame) 4th Light Dragoons. It’s full of wonderful military memorabilia and kit and well worth a visit.
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This 1808 model of the Redoubt shows the 24 archways surrounding the parade ground. Inside each arch there are rectangular barrack rooms called casemates and on top of the circular fortress sits 10 cannons with 360 degrees of firepower. The entrance walkways can be dropped into the moat and any of the enemy cheeky enough to get into the watery defences would be shot by 28 musketeers standing in lines of 4 with seven 7 men firing at once out of a Caponier (chicken shed!).
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Thankfully, getting into our hotel, the elegant Hydro Hotel, was much easier task than breaking into the Redoubt Fortress.
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The elegant 120-year-old hotel sits right next to the sea with wonderful views of the South Downs.
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Our room was comfortable and clean with a proper bath in the bathroom!

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For extreme sports addicts, there are croquet and putting greens.

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But if making a splash is more or style then the pool beckons.

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After a swim and a drink by the pool it was time for dinner and we were able to stroll down to the Mirabelle, in The Grand Hotel, which is the place to go for fine-dining in Eastbourne.

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Choosing the set dinner at £44 per head dinner at The Mirabelle is a delightful  way to spend an evening. Any vagaries in the cooking is made up for by old-fashioned service though I wish they would bring back the pianist!
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I particularly enjoyed my main dish of Wild sea bass  with potted shrimp and black truffle (£12.50 supplement) and the honey and apple notes of our bottle of Maçon-Lugny, Les Genièvres, Louis Latour 2013 from the mature wine list.

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To finish off our evening with a bang we headed down to the 1812 Firework Concert with the Lewes, Glynde and Beddingham Brass held at the Eastbourne bandstand, the ‘busiest bandstand in the UK’. With several hundred people in the audience, there was a lovely atmosphere as the band thundered through a selection of popular favourites ending with the firework cannon blasts of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture.

Eastbourne has a very particular type of English charm, restrained and elegant on the surface but underneath there are lots of fun and interesting things to do. It’s well worth a visit. For more information look at the Visit Eastbourne website where there are lots of special offers including 3 nights for the price of two at The Hydro Hotel and reduced price entry to Michelham Priory.

 

About Adrian York

Musician, academic and writer Adrian York is a keen observer of restaurant culture and the gastronomic scene. His spiritual home is Soho where he is mostly to be found playing the piano, propping up a bar or holding forth about politics, art and culture from behind a restaurant table with a linen napkin on his lap and a glass of champagne in his hand.

Comments

  1. Lauren Meshkin says

    What a lovely day! I’ll actually be housesitting near Eastbourne this summer so this is perfect timing to read. I’ll definitely pay a visit to Michelham Priory. Great post, thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply

  2. Vicky and Buddy says

    Eastbourne looks quiet lovely! I would love to visit the monastery. I’m not sure why, but the fact that it has an interactive Victorian kitchen has really piqued my interest! I think it would be so cool to see!

    Reply

  4. RaW | Ramble and Wander says

    Reading this at 5 a.m. and all I could think of is how nice would it be if I can have that date crumble now, haha! But anyways, like you said, Eastbourne has the reputation of being a retirement town so I’d never really considered going there. The closest I have been is to Brighton, which I really love! Reading this however made me realise that maybe I should have taken a detour and explored a bit of Eastbourne!

    Reply

  5. Annie says

    Umm… Wild sea bass with potted shrimp and black truffle?? I would put truffle on anything. I’d put it in my coffee if it didn’t cost so much money! That dish looks heavenly, definitely on my list when visiting Eastbourne.

    Reply

  7. Jenna says

    Looks like a cool region! I love all of the history and the more modern Towner art gallery sounds great too. The bike path would be fun to explore, as well, and it’s always great to end a night with fireworks!

    Reply

  9. Eppie says

    I really like Eastbourne! Haven’t explored a lot of these places but they sound idyllic for a uk getaway, love the sound of the art gallery – the Tate has always been a favourite of mine!

    Reply

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