Sussex Exclusive Magazine Issue 9. Autumn Edition

Issue 9 2024 

48 hours in 

From dragons to Michelin 

star restaurants, escape to 

a land of stunning views & 

intriguing stories 

Stunning Sussex 

sculpture 

Thought provoking and 

conversation starting sculpture 

Reinventing 

Borde Hill 

Jay Goddard reveals 

exciting new plans 

For the Sussex 

gourmand 

Foodie hotspots & the 

best local produce 

Explore the Sussex 

Winelands 

Award winning wines 

& compelling vineyard 

experiences 

Falling for 

autumn 

The best autumn colours 

& ghostly traditions 

102 pages of 

beautiful Sussex 

Weird & wonderful 

places to visit

Discover our incredible 

World of Sleep 

A word 

from the editor 

Chichester | Guildford | Horsham | Worthing 

jonesandtomlin.co.uk 

Editor 

Lucy Pitts 

lucyp@sussexexclusive.com 

Deputy Editor 

Janine Marsh 

Content Editor 

Aifric Peachey 

Design 

Philippa French 

Sales 

sales@sussexexclusive.com 

Sussex Exclusive Magazine 

www.sussexexclusive.com 

Front Cover 

Vine images courtesy 

of Recruitment 

South East 

Welcome to the latest edition of the Sussex Exclusive 

Magazine. At the time of writing, I am excitedly 

awaiting a Sussex Indian summer. Rest assured a sun 

dance to the Sussex weather gods has been done. 

But whatever the next three months brings in terms of sunshine 

and showers, there is much to celebrate in Sussex. If you’re 

reading this from outside our Sussex boundaries, then why 

not pack your bags and try one of our two “48 hours in” mini 

breaks? Discover the Sussex Weald and the Horsham District in 

a county where you’ll find historic buildings and modern art go 

hand in hand, stunning landscapes yield up wonderful food and 

drink and quirky and interesting is sewn into the very fabric of 

our Sussex DNA. 

In this edition, we’re also shining the spotlight on food and 

drink, and in particular on the Sussex wine scene which has now 

branded itself as Sussex Winelands. We’ve got recommended 

ways of exploring and enjoying the vineyards and wines, as well 

as a look behind the scenes. And if wine isn’t your thing, we 

have Sussex cocktails and recipes to tuck into as well. 

Away from the vineyards, this edition also features some 

wonderful Sussex sculpture and an interview with acclaimed 

sculptor, Jon Edgar. On the subject of interviews, we also 

caught up with Jay Goddard, MD and fifth generation of the 

Stephenson Clarke family to be taking the reins as custodian of 

Borde Hill near Haywards Heath. 

On top of all of which we’ve also got some autumn inspiration 

and autumnal walks, gardening advice, our usual health and 

wellbeing, books, a few weird and wonderful places and our In 

The Diary feature. And judging by some of the events that are 

taking place over the next three months, Sussex is all set to be 

the place to be. 

As always, I hope you enjoy reading this edition as much as we 

have all enjoyed putting it together. It never ceases to amaze me 

what a wonderfully diverse and interesting place Sussex is. So, 

pull up a chair, pour yourself a large glass of something Sussex 

and enjoy. Until next time. 

Lucy 

Lucy Pitts 

3

Contents 

8 In the Diary 

Fill your diary with our pick of some of the 

best things taking place in Sussex this season 

44 94 

8 

12 48 hours in Horsham District 

Explore dragon country, enjoy stunning 

sculpture and follow the Knights Templar 

before heading to a chic vineyard 

16 48 hours in the Weald 

Discover Winnie the Pooh, Surrealist art, 

Norman soldiers, the Seven Sisters and a 

Tudor castle 

44 Calling Sussex foodies 

Feast on local venison, artisan biltong, 

food and drink festivals and masses of local 

produce and bakes 

48 In the kitchen 

Gather in the wind falls, as Becci Coombes 

shares three of her delicious autumn 

apple recipes 

16 

31 

24 Reinventing Borde Hill 

Jay Goddard, MD and 5th generation of 

the Borde Hill family, reveals exciting news 

about this nationally important garden 

27 In conversation with 

Jon Edgar 

Discussing improvisation, the process of 

creating large piece works and plans for a 

new project 

54 

52 Cocktail hour 

Relax and unwind with one of these three 

Sussex cocktails, or with all three! 

54 Sussex Winelands 

From self-guided tours to taking part in the 

harvest, choose your perfect way to learn 

more about Sussex wine 

72 The Sussex bookworm 

Curl up with a good book from one of these 

gorgeous Sussex bookshops and read an 

interview with a Sussex author 

31 Sussex sculpture 

A quick glimpse at some of the diverse and 

intriguing sculptures of Sussex 

38 Falling for autumn 

76 Weird and wonderful 

Embrace the unusual with these four 

unusual features of Sussex from a tiny ferry 

to a huge rock 

From Sussex autumn traditions to where to 

find the best autumn colours and the most 

autumn things to do 

81 Inspirational gardens 

Dig deep in the garden with the help of 

Geoff Stonebanks’ gardening ideas and advice 

42 

42 Walks and wanders 

Grab your walking boots for hidden 

caves, autumn colours and bushes 

bursting with blackberries 

81 

94 The Route du Vin 

If you must leave Sussex, how about 

heading to Alsace in France to follow their 

wine route? 

4 | sussexexclusive.com 5

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Contributors 

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Private Client Tax Specialists 

With a focus on the future, we will help you today by looking to tomorrow 

Geoff Stonebanks 

Geoff’s garden, Driftwood, has 

appeared on BBC2’s Gardeners’ 

World, and has won multiple 

awards. He writes monthly for 

several websites and gardening 

media and has a weekly gardening 

column in the Brighton Argus and 

is regularly heard on the radio. 

www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk. 

Janine Lowe 

Janine Lowe is an author and 

classically trained Feng Shui 

consultant, trained in Chinese 

astrology and in the arts of Bazi, 

Flying Stars, Auspicious Dates, Qi 

Men Dun Jia and I Ching. For the 

last 19 years she has worked with 

private and business clients to 

enhance their wealth, relationships, 

careers and everything in between. 

www.janinelowe.co.uk 

Stuart Ritchie 

Expert Tax Advisor helping clients 

manage their wealth, minimise 

tax bills, and solve tax disputes 

& financial problems. Stuart 

specialises in private client taxation 

and has considerable experience 

and expertise with an emphasis 

on agreeing complex taxation 

issues, both onshore and offshore, 

and helping clients achieve their 

financial objectives. 

www.ritchiephillips.co.uk 

Our people are passionate about making a difference 

Vanessa Jamieson 

Vanessa is an enthusiastic, 

amateur cook who likes to make 

sure no one ever leaves her table 

hungry! Working full time, Vanessa 

needs to squeeze in quick to 

prepare food, without losing any 

of the flavour. She also likes to 

experiment with different cuisines, 

which can take her to Morocco, 

Thailand, Japan and back to 

France, all in the space 

of one week! 

Becci Coombes 

Becci spent her childhood holidays 

on the family farm in Denmark, and 

grew up with a love for all things 

Scandinavian. Originally she trained 

as an archaeologist (Vikings, of 

course!), before travelling the 

world and becoming a successful 

glass artist. She now runs 

www.hyggestyle.co.uk, an online 

boutique in Sussex specialising in 

Danish and Scandinavian gifts. She 

is the author of three craft books 

focusing on upcycling. 

Holly Stone 

Holly runs a busy practice in 

Billingshurst and online. Specialising 

in Solution Focused Hypnotherapy, 

Eating Disorder Coaching and CBTi 

she is hoping to bring a team to 

Horsham’s Total Therapy Studio later 

this year to offer 1-2-1 and group 

support to those who are struggling 

with stress and associated issues. 

www.hollystonehypnotherapy.co.uk 

When you are looking for an accountant, you will want people with a passion for and 

understanding of what you need or what you do. Our unique combination of specialist skills 

and experience means that we will always bring fresh ideas and added value to the table. 

We are team players with a focus on helping you. 

The passion that we put into what we do, and the understanding that we have for our clients, 

means that our team will go far beyond simply solving problems. As well as their expertise 

and enthusiasm, all members of the team enjoy working in our specialisations, and are 

encouraged to share this with our clients. 

Ground Floor South Suite, Afon House, Worthing Road, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 1TL 

T: 020 3195 1300 E: mail@ritchiephillips.co.uk W : www.ritchiephillips.co.uk 


In the 

Diary 

As the season slowly starts to change, fill your diary with some of these diverse 

and fascinating events taking place over the next few months 

Ridgeview, near Ditchling 

Throughout the summer 

Discover the 11 acres of this wine 

estate with a self-guided audio tour and 

woodland walk. This brand-new visitor 

experience features insights from the 

Roberts family and showcases how their 

heritage vineyard evolves throughout 

each season. Booking is not required. 

Just visit the winery shop to get details 

on how to download the tour app to 

your smart device. £5 per person / 45 

minutes. 

The Sussex Artists - 'Paintings 

Inspired by Nature', Borde Hill, 

Haywards Heath 

Throughout August and September 

An exhibition of paintings in the 

Victorian Glasshouse by three local 

West Sussex artists. The paintings, in 

acrylic and oil, are themed around the 

beauty of nature and the countryside. 

Arundel Festival of Arts, Arundel 

Various dates throughout August until 

26 August 

The annual Arundel Festival of the Arts 

summer festival celebrates the full range 

of the arts and music. It is a familyfriendly 

event and includes an eclectic 

mix of visual arts, drama, music, dance, 

comedy and street entertainment from 

exceptionally creative local talent and 

carefully curated national artists. 

Glynde Place Specialised Tours - 

Collection Highlights, Glynde 

6 August, 3 September and 1 October 

Take a closer look at some of the key 

artworks in the house, ranging from 17th 

century paintings to the current day, 18th 

century Italian bronze reliefs and specially 

commissioned woodblock wallpaper. 

There will also be an opportunity to view 

related items in the Glynde archives, 

including family photograph albums, 

an 18th century Inventory of Art and 

documentation relating to Grand Tours. 

Heritage Open Days – 

across Sussex 

6 to 15 September 

An annual celebration of our fantastic 

history and culture. It's your chance 

to see hidden places and try out new 

experiences – all of which are free to 

explore. In Sussex, venues include 

Coastguard Cottage at Cuckmere 

Haven, Wilmington Priory, 

The Crypt in Seaford, the Royal 

Hippodrome Theatre and many 

more. Visit the Heritage Open Days 

website for details. 

Rye Arts Festival 


In its 53rd year, this well-respected 

festival includes high quality 

performances in music, literature, 

theatre and other art forms coupled 

with a range of activities in heritage 

and the environment. There are 

walks, tours, film, fringe, drama, 

contemporary and classical music. 

Ridgeview 

self guided tours 

Arundel Festival 

of Arts 

Coastguard Cottage 

at Cuckmere Haven 


South Downs Food Festival, 

Stansted Park, near Chichester 

14 and 15 September 

Exploring the past and championing 

the future, this is a celebration of food 

and drink from the South Downs and 

the coast. The event includes talks, 

demos, tours and tastings, outdoor oven 

building, picnics, apple pressing, live 

music, book signings and more. 

Brighton Art Fair, Brighton 

Dome Corn Exchange 


The city’s flagship contemporary art 

fair returns to the beautifully restored 

Brighton Dome Corn Exchange to show 

painting, photography, printmaking, 

3D and mixed media works by over 100 

artists from across the UK. Organised by 

Brighton duo Tutton & Young, Brighton 

Art Fair embraces the city’s reputation 

for incredible visual culture, presenting 

both emerging and established artists 

with a versatile showcase of works for sale 

ranging from £100 to £5,000. 

Autumn Show and Horse Trials, 

Ardingly 


Running from 9 am to 5 pm each day 

at the South of England Showground, 

this event includes the prestigious 

South of England Horse Trials, falconry 

displays, game cookery demonstrations, 

wood carving, sheep shearing, bushcraft 

workshops, a dedicated zone showcasing 

steam engines, and a Scammell rally. 

There will also be opportunities to try fly 

casting, archery, axe throwing, laser clay 

shooting, and more. 

There’s plenty to see for dog enthusiasts, 

from terrier racing to long dog displays, 

rare breed and working gundogs to a 

special Lowland Search & Rescue Dog 

display. Dog owners can also join in the 

fun with agility courses and scurries with 

their furry companions, making it an 

interactive experience for all. For children, 

there is a funfair, activity trail, animal barn 

with farm animals and mini steam train. 

Oktoberfest at DLWP, Bexhill 


Expect a high-quality, high energy event 

of the very best Bexhill and Hastings 

has to offer with the wonderful DDFK 

Oompah Band returning to the stage 

for two sets (traditional/party). Hastings 

Oktoberfest will be serving a range 

of authentic bratwurst and snacks 

imported from Germany including 

XL Bratwurst, Currywurst, Cheese 

Frankfurters and Pretzels. 

Brighton Art Fair 

© Lizzie Hillier 

Horse Trials at the 

South of England 

Showground 

The Unknown Warrior, Worthing 

Pavilion Theatre 

6 October 

John Nichol, the former RAF Tornado 

Navigator and Sunday Times bestselling 

author, embarks on his first ever 

theatre tour with The Unknown Warrior. 

This is a poignant journey to uncover 

the emotional tale of the Unknown 

Warrior interred in Westminster Abbey, 

highlighting our enduring need to honour 

and grieve for the fallen. 

Hedgerows & Harvest, Weald 

& Downland Museum, near 

Chichester 

12 and 13 October 

Discover the unsung hero of the natural 

environment. Hedgerows are a crucial 

factor in the existence of many plants 

and animals, and over this weekend you 

can learn about the diversity of the plants 

and insects that rely on them to survive. 

You can also enter in to the bizarre, 

funny and sometimes emotional world 

of some of the hedgerow plants, with 

guests the ‘Seed Sistas’. As they introduce 

their colourful hedgerow characters 

Bramble and Rose, with the voices from 

the Hedgerow in a creative educational 

production to get you to connect with the 

plant world around you. 

The Battle of Hastings 

Reenactment, Battle 

12 to 13 October 

Taking place on the very spot where King 

Harold and Duke William fought in 1066, 

with over 300 reenactors recreating the drama 

and intensity of this legendary conflict. 

Adventure into the encampments of 

the armies on either side of the historic 

battlefield and come up close and personal 

with Saxon and Norman soldiers. 

Experience first-hand the intricacies of their 

weapons and the weight of their armour. 

Discover the clothes they wore, what food 

they ate, and watch them practice their 

11th century skills and craftsmanship. Meet 

falconers and their majestic birds of prey 

or take a wander down the market and 

rummage through historical delights for a 

very special souvenir. 

Autumn Show at the 

South of England 

Showground 

10 | sussexexclusive.com 

11

of local producers and creatives whether 

you’re looking for artisan bread, award 

winning sparkling wine or charming 

Sussex cheese. 

Friday afternoon arrival 

Horsham Causeway 

Next make 

your way to 

the tree-lined 

Causeway, 

looking 

out for the 

twittens 

(which is a 

Sussex name 

for a narrow 

passage) 

and the 

impressive 

former town 

hall. In the 

Causeway... 

48 Hours in 

Horsham District 

Explore vineyards, castles, stunning gardens and fabulous 

foodie experiences against the backdrop of a diverse landscape 

On the edge of both the 

Weald and the South 

Downs, whilst still in 

sight of the North Downs, 

Horsham District is home 

to the winding rivers of Arun and Adur, 

vineyards, Medieval ruins, grand country 

houses and historic market towns. 

The towns of Horsham, Steyning and 

Pulborough all have long histories dating 

back to Anglo Saxon and Medieval times 

and you’ll find 11th and 12th century 

bridges and churches, as well as the 

impressive façade of Amberley Castle. 

Dig a little deeper and you’ll find a 

connection with literary greats such as 

Hilaire Belloc and Shelley, alongside 

windmills, Elizabethan country houses 

and long forgotten river ports. 

The people of this part of Sussex are 

immensely creative and passionate about 

their landscape and you’ll also find a host 

If you can arrive early, start your 

weekend with a visit to Leonardslee 

Gardens, where you’ll find the Walk of 

Life sculpture exhibition, an incredible 

miniature dolls house and village and the 

Surrey Sculpture Society sculpture trail. 

Last entry is at 5 pm during the summer. 

They also have their own vineyard so 

perhaps book yourself onto a vineyard 

tour, tasting or experience, like their 

“Sabrage Experience”. 

There are Michelin star restaurants at 

Leonardslee and South Lodge (opposite) 

but why not head back to East Street in 

Horsham for dinner where you’ll find a 

great choice of different restaurants and 

then later, check out the new wine bar, 

D’Arcy’s in Piries Place. 

Saturday morning 

Saturday morning is for exploring 

Horsham. Start in the Carfax (the central 

square) and Piries Place. There is a weekly 

Saturday market, where you’ll find lots 

of local producers and stalls. There is also 

often live music being performed in the 

Victorian bandstand. 

Next make your way to the tree-lined 

Causeway, looking out for the twittens 

(which is a Sussex name for a narrow 

passage) and the impressive former town 

hall. In the Causeway, you’ll find the free 

Horsham Museum and Art Gallery. It’s 

a great way to find more about the town 

and includes all sorts of exhibitions from 

sport and crime, to dragons and peculiar 

curiosities! You can also find details of 

various heritage trails. 

If you’ve still got time, head slightly out 

of town to the Knepp Estate where they 

offer wildlife safaris and wellness retreats, 

as well as lots of walking and the ancient 

ruins of a Norman castle. They also have 

a large courtyard which includes a farm 

shop and a café for lunch. 

Leonardslee Gardens 

Leonardslee sculpture 

by Anton Smit 

Twitten in Horsham, 

leading to the Carfax 


Devil. But be warned, it’s a steep climb! 

Once there, if you’re feeling energetic, you 

could walk from Chanctonbury Ring to 

the Wiston Estate! 

Sunday afternoon 

Saturday afternoon 

Leaving Horsham behind you, head 

to Parham House and Gardens near 

Storrington. This gorgeous Elizabethan 

house is still a family home with links 

to the Cowdray Estate in Midhurst. 

The house dates to 1577 and houses a 

stunning collection of furniture, paintings 

and books. The Great Hall and Long 

Gallery are real showstoppers although 

do leave time to explore the grounds and 

the tiny private church with views of the 

South Downs. 

If you fancy something less formal than 

Parham, Sussex Prairie Gardens are just 

outside Henfield and apart from the 

beautiful naturalistic planting, you’ll 

find sculpture by local artists and an 

artist in residence. 

Saturday evening 

For your Saturday evening, check out 

what’s on at Tottington Manor, just near 

Henfield because they have a number of 

summer events. Or head to Kinsbrook 

Vineyard, where their Pink Bar on the 

Patio serves up Kinsbrook wines, cocktails 

and Kinsbrook lager on tap! They also 

host Sunday music sessions if you don’t 

want to leave. 

Sunday morning 

Bramber has the ruins of a Norman 

castle and the incredible St Mary’s 

House and Gardens. St Mary’s was a 

pilgrim inn and dates to about 1450, 

and is home to a unique Elizabethan 

trompe l’oeil room. It also has links to 

the Knights Templar, tales of a king, 

and intriguing literary connections with 

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being 

Earnest, and the Sherlock Holmes story 

The Musgrave Ritual. 

Then head into nearby historic Steyning, 

town of Saint Cuthman (c750AD), 

for a mooch around and a bite to eat. 

Amazingly, in the 11th century, Steyning 

had a busy port, and a great way to 

understand the history of the town is to 

follow the Steyning Heritage Trail (you 

can get details from Horsham Museum 

or online). 

You can’t really visit this part of the world 

without a walk on the South Downs, and 

from Steyning you can walk up to the 

famous Chanctonbury Ring which has 

views across the county and tales of the 

Parham House 

Kinsbrook 

St Mary's, Bramber 

page 15: 

Chanctonbury Ring 

Cobblestone Tea 

House, Steyning 

Steyning 

Not far from Steyning, Wiston is a 

local estate and vineyard with their own 

restaurant, Chalk. They also run off-road 

bike rides, and wine tours and tasting. 

But after all your exploring, you might 

just want to try their sundowner safari 

tour, tasting and dinner before you head 

home! 

Places to stay: 

Tottington Manor – a historic manor 

right at the foot of the South Downs with 

its own Terra restaurant. 

The Pump Barn – a delightfully restored 

building with a touch of luxury just 

outside Horsham. 

Getting there 

Horsham is just over an hour from 

London by train and about 20 minutes 

from Gatwick. There are buses from 

Horsham to Steyning, Bramber, 

Henfield and Storrington but car hire is 

recommended. 

Fun facts 

Horsham is known for its dragons. You’ll 

find them in the park, in the museum and 

if you’re very lucky, in St Leonard’s Forest. 

If you look down when you walk along 

East Street in the town centre, you will 

see a series of stones inscribed with 

interesting facts about the town. 

Steyning has its own saint, St Cuthman, 

and you’ll find a statue of him opposite 

the church. Ask him about his mother 

and her wheelbarrow! 


Seven Sisters 

The Wealden 

District is 

also home to 

Winnie the 

Pooh, some 

fabulous 

vineyards, a 

15th century 

castle, a 1066 

trail and a 

touch of 

Surrealism 

48 Hours in 

Wealden District 

The Wealden District of 

East Sussex is known for 

its incredible landscape 

where you’ll find the High 

Weald Area of Outstanding 

Natural Beauty, a section of the South 

Downs, Ashdown Forest and the Seven 

Sisters Country Park. You’ll also find the 

lazy river Ouse and the start of the river 

Rother, along with waterfalls, dramatic 

cliffs and vast woodlands. 

The Wealden District is also home 

to Winnie the Pooh, some fabulous 

vineyards, a 15th century castle, a 1066 

trail and a touch of Surrealism. Mayfield 

and Alfriston are both picture postcard 

pretty villages with tales of smugglers, 

while in Pevensey you’ll find the landing 

place of the Norman invasion amid 

Roman ruins and an old gaol house. 

Friday afternoon arrival 

You have two options for Friday evening. 

You could start your stay with a visit to 

Pooh Corner in Hartfield where they 

serve afternoon tea and have a Winnie 

the Pooh Museum (they close at 5 pm). 

Alternatively, if Pooh isn’t your thing, 

head over to Ashdown Park Hotel and 

Country Club and book yourself for a 

Half Day Soother spa treatment (1 pm – 

6 pm). They have a restaurant at the hotel 

if you want to round off your evening 

here. Middle House in Mayfield also has a 

restaurant as well as an incredible history 

that dates back to 1575. 

Saturday morning 

Ashdown Forest is a central part of this 

part of the world, so grab your boots for 

a quick explore. It is an ancient area of 

heathland and forest and things to look 

out for include Pooh Bridge, waterfalls, 

wild cattle and windmills. There is an 

information centre and a series of maps 

you can download. 

But if you fancy something less active, 

make your way to the west of the region 

to the Bluebell Railway (a heritage 

steam railway) and enjoy a classic 

journey through the Sussex countryside. 

Whatever you decide to do, a good place 

to end up for lunch is The Coach and 

Horses pub in Danehill. 

Saturday afternoon 

Jump in the car and head south now, to 

Muddles Green near Hailsham, where 

you’ll find Farleys House and Gallery. 

This was home to surrealist Lee Miller 

and Roland Penrose and saw visitors 

such as Picasso. They host regular 

exhibitions and workshops, and you 

can do a tour of the house and visit the 

sculpture gardens. 

On site, there is also a little shop selling 

lots of local produce and a café. 

Saturday evening 

The Star in Alfriston is famed for being 

owned by Alex Polizzi and has a very 

good restaurant for your evening meal. If 

you arrive early enough you can explore 

the village and the famous bookshop, 

Much Ado. 

Farleys House 

Ashdown Forest 

Alfriston 

Mayfield 


Sunday morning 

Herstmonceux Castle is a stunning, red 

brick, 15th century, moated castle with 

300 acres of carefully managed woodland 

and beautiful gardens. It’s now the UK 

campus of Queen’s University (Canada) 

but you can explore the grounds and 

walk through the courtyard. Next door 

is the Observatory Science Centre 

which is an interactive science centre 

set in the former home of The Royal 

Greenwich Observatory with the domes 

and telescopes of the world-famous 

astronomical observatory. Finish your 

morning with lunch at The Sundial in 

Herstmonceux or a visit to Henners 

vineyard. They do tours and tasting, and 

you can pre-book a charcuterie board to 

go with a tour. 

Sunday afternoon 

For Sunday afternoon you have choices. 

You could head to Pevensey where you 

can visit the castle where the Normans 

stayed after their invasion, built on a 

Roman fortification and explore the Mint 

House and old gaol in the village. 

Or you could head down to the iconic 

cliffs at Seven Sisters for one last cobweb 

blasting walk. If you make it all the way 

from Cuckmere Haven to Birling Gap 

there is a National Trust coffee shop where 

you can refuel before you head home. 

Places to stay: 

Ashdown Park Hotel in the heart of 

the forest. 

The Star at Alfriston 

Middle House in Mayfield 

Getting there 

Trains run from London to Uckfield, 

Polegate and Pevensey and take 

about 1 ½ hours. Car hire however is 

recommended. 

Fun facts 

Mayfield is famous for a visit by the 

Devil to a local blacksmith who the Devil 

tried to lead astray. The blacksmith, who 

became St Dunstan, spotted the Devil’s 

cloven hooves and grabbed his nose with 

red hot pincers. 

Meanwhile, in Alfriston, look out 

for the head of a Dutch lion with a 

fascinating connection to the 1690 

Battle of Beachy Head. 

Herstmonceux Castle 

Birling Gap 

Ashdown Park Hotel 

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Tottington Manor & 

Terra Restaurant 

From an indulgent afternoon tea after a hearty walk 

on the South Downs, to a romantic Sussex break, Tottington Manor 

is all about enjoying the very best Sussex has on offer. 

You’ll find Tottington Manor 

at the very foot of the South 

Downs. The Medieval 

manor house may have a 

long history, but it also 

has a warm, stylish and contemporary 

feel from the moment you arrive. Stay 

for the weekend and enjoy long walks, 

luxurious bedding and a late-night drink 

in the snug Olive Lounge reading one 

of the many library books. And why not 

treat yourself to a stay in the Duplex 

Suite with its king-size master bedroom 

with open 17th century roof beams, 

lounge area and jacuzzi bathroom with a 

rainforest shower and a sound system to 

wile away the evening. 

Alternatively, enjoy date night in the 

Terra Restaurant where the chef prepares 

outstanding dishes from an array of 

locally sourced and seasonal ingredients 

including South Downs lamb, fish 

landed at Newhaven, vegetables from 

Chefs Farm, homemade pickles and 

chilly oils and Tottington gin. 

Sundays are all about Sunday lunch and 

sharing boards at Tottington Manor 

which make it the perfect setting for 

getting together with family and friends, 

and you can squeeze every last drop out 

of summer with dinner on the decking 

watching the sun go down and live music 

on Friday nights. 

With plenty of space both inside and out, 

when you arrive at Tottington Manor 

you are immediately wrapped up in the 

welcoming spirit of the South Downs. 

The team is on hand to look after you 

and although you may arrive as strangers, 

you’ll definitely leave Tottington Manor 

as friends. We can’t wait to welcome you 

to this beautiful corner of Sussex. 

HOTEL & RESTAURANT 

Edburton Road, Henfield 

West Sussex BN5 9LJ 

Telephone: 01903 815757 

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 

FOR LUNCH & DINNER 

Nestled in the picturesque heart of the South Downs, within Tottington Manor, lies the stunningly refurbished TERRA restaurant. 

We invite guests to join us to indulge in a culinary journey like no other. Renowned for its commitment to sustainability and quality, 

TERRA proudly champions locally sourced produce, ensuring a menu that reflects the rich bounty of the region. 

Chris Hilton 

head chef 

01903 815757 

info@tottingtonmanor.co.uk 

www.tottingtonmanor.co.uk/terra 

www.tottingtonmanor.co.uk/terra 

 

 


Happiness 

is a Place 

Head to Camber Sands for a weekend of wellness at The Gallivant 

Tucked away in the east of 

East Sussex is a little pocket 

of luxury and wellness. It’s 

called The Gallivant, and 

it’s just feet away from the 

sand dunes and almost endless beaches of 

Camber Sands, and less than 10 minutes’ 

drive from historic Rye. 

Explore 

There are worse ways to spend a Saturday 

morning than exploring Rye. Oozing with 

Medieval character, you can take your 

pick from Norman invaders, mermaids, 

17th and 18th century smugglers and 

ghosts, Cinque Ports and literary types. 

Alternatively, just enjoy snapping great 

photographs of some of the prettiest streets 

in England, like Mermaid Street, and then 

climb the church tower for panoramic 

views of the town. But by mid-afternoon, 

it’s time to head out of Rye, via the famous 

Rye Golf Course on the Camber Road to 

Camber Sands. You might fancy a quick 

stroll along the beach or a paddle in the sea 

to whet your appetite but then check in to 

The Gallivant. 

Relax 

The Gallivant feels effortlessly stylish and 

very elegant. It’s seaside chic at its best 

and from the moment you arrive, you’re 

seduced by a combination of soft sofas 

and lighting and a bar that is laden with 

local wine. Framed vintage swimming 

costumes speak of heritage whilst luscious 

planting and seaside gardens feel like they 

breathe relaxation into your very being. 

They have a mission at The Gallivant to 

make people happy and create memorable 

moments, and they have gained some 

very notable accolades. In 2024 alone, 

they have been named by Condé Nast 

Traveller in their “Best Weekend Breaks 

in the UK and Ireland”, as well as by the 

Times in their top 20 “Best Places to Stay 

in the UK”, by Elle as one of their “Best 

UK Staycations For 2024” and by House 

and Garden in their “Where To Go For a 

Weekend Break If You Love Interiors”. 

This is no surprise. The team at The 

Gallivant has thought of all those little 

details that make a stay so special: spare 

wellie boots (and not just any wellie 

boots – Hunters, no less), raincoats, and 

sunglasses, a “recovery station” at breakfast 

complete with Bloody Marys, sleepy 

tea for bed time and pillow spray, local 

chocolate for any late night munchies 

and exotic planting that transports you 

straight to the Mediterranean. 

Make sure you’ve booked yourself in for 

a treatment in the Bamford Cabin once 

you’ve arrived. You’ll find it in the coastal 

garden, covered in roses and filled with 

natural and organic Bamford products. 

There is a whole host of treatments on 

offer from facials to massages, and by 

the end of the afternoon, the cares of the 

world should be a thing of the past. 

Rejuvenate 

Head to the bar for your sundowner 

before dinner and then it’s time to eat. 

This is a restaurant that takes local 

produce seriously. Their wine menu 

is a joyous celebration of local wines 

and drinks, and 90% of their fruit and 

vegetables are grown with 20 miles. They 

list their local suppliers and then tease 

you with a menu that is both interesting 

and sophisticated but not overly fancy or 

fussy. Think Rye Bay brill, aged ribeye, 

mushroom schnitzel and remoulade, 

burnt Basque cheesecake and Gallivant ice 

cream. Washed down with Sussex wines, 

of course. 

Then before you turn in for the night 

or sink into your roll top bath, you 

should just have time to head to the 

beach with your sunset Drinks in the 

Dunes hamper. Choose from cocktails, 

mocktails or hot toddies – all of which 

come with a beach blanket, glasses, and 

cool bag. It’s a short stroll to the sand 

dunes where you can watch night fall 

over Rye Harbour in the distance. 

Before you leave 

You may be ready to explore the rest of 

the area like Dungeness or Winchelsea or 

keen to try some water sports but before 

you leave, stretch away the last of any 

stresses with morning yoga in the calming 

yoga studio. Or if you’re in need of that 

Recovery Station, you’ll find it in the 

breakfast room along with a breakfast tray 

of granola, fresh fruit and yogurt, toast or 

perhaps a bacon brioche roll before you 

hit the road. 

The Gallivant is definitely one of those 

places in Sussex that you’ll want to put on 

your “Must Visit” list and then visit again, 

and again. 

You can find 

out more, or 

book your 

stay at 

The Gallivant 


Reinventing 

Borde Hill 

Sussex Exclusive talks to Jay Goddard about exciting news 

and plans for the future of this iconic Sussex garden 

Marketing to managing Borde 

Hill is a big change of career, how 

did that come about? 

Borde Hill has always been part of my 

life, and I grew up here. I’m now a mum 

of two boys aged seven and five and it was 

the right life stage for a change. Being a 

parent grounds you and your priorities 

change. I’ve also become increasingly 

passionate about the environment and the 

natural world and this opportunity is so 

exciting in terms of taking on our heritage 

and a nationally important collection of 

plants and trees, and thinking about how 

we can celebrate and safeguard it. 

How do you go about reaching 

new audiences and engaging them 

with the importance of what 

Borde Hill represents? 

This is what I am most excited about. The 

heritage of Borde Hill pre-dates my family 

and dates back to 1598 when it was built 

by the Borde family. Andrew Borde was 

physician to Henry VIII and wrote the 

first book on medicinal plants in 1542. 

We still have that book in the house 

and there is incredible plaster work and 

panelling in the house too, all of which 

represent the fruits, herbs and spices that 

the king was treated with at the time. 

So there is this very strong connection 

between Borde Hill and nature going 

back over 500 years. There are so many 

of these stories to share and we’ve spent 

the last five years developing a strategy 

in respect of how we can both safeguard 

and share our heritage, be more inclusive, 

involve the community, and unlock the 

estate for a more diverse audience. 

So, what is the strategy? 

Well, we have a number of key pillars of 

focus. The first one is around safeguarding 

our botanical collection. We have 20 

species of plants that don’t exist anywhere 

else in the world apart from Borde Hill. 

We also have one of the largest privately 

owned collections of champion trees 

in the country with trees from all four 

corners of the world, some of which are 

over 100 years old. So we’re really focused 

on the cataloguing of the plant collection 

and how we propagate. We are also 

focused on how to use our very important 

archive, which is one of the largest 

archives in the country with 75,000 

records. My great, great grandfather, 

the Colonel, who bought Borde Hill in 

1893 was very diligent and he catalogued 

every single letter to or from the plant 

hunters. So there is some amazing history 

contained within the archive from the late 

1800s to the present day. 

We’ve also been using the archives to 

better understand the original collection of 

plantings, and what may have been lost, for 

example in the Great Storm in the 1980s 

when a number of rare trees were lost. 

We’re looking at what can we do to restore 

the collection but also thinking about 

future challenges like climate change and 

new varieties and species that will thrive. 

When it comes 

to fruition, we 

will be one 

of the only 

gardens in 

Sussex who will 

be able to offer 

Green Travel 

as visitors will 

be able to walk 

from Haywards 

Heath station 

all the way to 

Borde Hill. 

After a 20 year career in marketing 

working for major brands like Nike and 

Apple, Jay Goddard took up the reigns 

as Managing Director of Borde Hill 

two years ago as the fifth generation of 

the Stephenson Clarke family. Sussex 

Exclusive caught up with her recently 

to find out more about her plans for the 

future of Borde Hill and some exciting 

news about a new project. 

Another key pillar of our strategy is how 

to encourage more people to come to 

Borde Hill. I’m passionate about food 

and food provenance, so we set up the 

Growers Project, a 40 acre biodynamic 

farm, where we grow all of our own fruit 

and veg. That means the restaurant that 

we’re launching next year will be serving 

our Borde Hill produce and we will focus 

on the importance of seasonality. 


we’re working together so schools will be 

able to deliver lessons in South Park. 

The third pillar of our strategy is 

focused on community and wellbeing. 

The exciting news is that we have just 

successfully secured £2 million of funding 

from the National Lottery Heritage Fund 

which is a generation defining moment 

for us. It’s already been a three-year 

journey to get to this point, but it will 

enable us to realise our Reinventing Borde 

Hill project in our South Park – which 

is 110 acres of heritage listed parkland. 

We want to unlock that space for more 

diverse audiences. 

When it comes to fruition, we will be one 

of the only gardens in Sussex who will 

be able to offer Green Travel as visitors 

will be able to walk from Haywards 

Heath station all the way to Borde Hill. 

We’re also going to build an eco-lodge 

which will be a community hub. It will 

be sustainable and net zero and it will 

sit on the water of the lake so it has no 

impact on the landscape. It will include 

a yoga studio, you’ll be able to go wild 

swimming in the lake, it will have a 

classroom space and a café. 

There will also be outdoor learning 

facilities in South Park because as the 

mother of boys, I really understand 

the importance of being outside. We 

have Dinosaur Wood here where some 

of the earliest dinosaur bones in the 

country were found, so that will be a 

focal point for a new play park which 

will be all about outdoor learning and 

play. We’ve already connected with over 

1,000 different schools, groups and 

communities locally for their input and 

Jay Robin's Rose 

Garden. 

© Julie Skellton 

The final part of this Reinventing 

Borde Hill project will be to establish a 

community growing garden at Sugworth 

Farm. There will be different height beds 

for different needs, like high beds for the 

elderly, and lower ones for children. And 

Sugworth will also be the site of our new 

propagation project, and this will be the 

first time we have had space to do this 

meaningfully for the future. 

What’s the time frame for 

this project? 

It’s a huge project and it’s a two-year 

journey so we plan to open in the 

autumn of 2026. But it celebrates 

so much of what we are about, like 

sustainability, and it is genuinely 

community led. We have a community 

advisory group. So we are really 

focused on developing this plan 

collectively and collaboratively with 

our community partners. 

Our archivist is also working on 

safeguarding our archive and making 

it more accessible, whether that’s 

through the website or through physical 

exhibitions and we’ve already started 

holding some exhibitions. 

And finally, if there is one single 

thing that represents the Sussex 

USP, what is it? 

It’s very difficult to name one thing but 

obviously our beautiful Sussex heritage 

gardens is part of it. But the South 

Downs, the diversity of our Sussex coast, 

and of course the Sussex vineyards are all 

part of what makes Sussex so wonderful. 

Nothing beats Sussex wine and we’re 

certainly looking forward to supporting 

and connecting with new Sussex 

vineyards in the future. 

In Conversation 

Lucy Pitts talks to sculptor, Jon Edgar about process, 

places, and an exciting new installation 

Jon Edgar and Evolution 


Left to right: 

Jon Edgar 

Tristantonis 

If art and sculpture are supposed 

to start a conversation, then Jon 

Edgar’s work more than meets the 

brief. You can find his large works at 

locations across Sussex including in 

Horsham, Slindon, Lewes, Pulborough 

and at Lord’s Piece near Petworth, and 

they are complex, tactile, highly emotive 

and weave a thought-provoking tapestry 

of stories and ideas. 

I caught up with Jon at his studio and 

home near Petworth to find out more 

about his process and intent, as well as an 

exciting new project he is working on. 

Jon’s work broadly falls into two 

categories: observational clay portraits / 

heads of eminent people. And improvised 

large pieces made of stone or wood. 

And it’s this latter style of work that had 

grabbed me by the emotional intestines 

when I first came across Jon’s Trisantonis 

at Pulborough Brooks. 

Improvisation at work 

Explaining the process of improvisation, 

Jon tells me that the first large piece 

at Lewes, The Lewes Group, installed 

in 2010 was quite introspective and a 

deep dive “into my own creativity” as 

he had worked alone at the time and 

in the months leading up to the arrival 

of his son. But he is refreshingly unprescriptive 

about what we take from the 

work and whilst he may see the anxieties 

of impeding fatherhood, I see a much 

wider conversation about conflicted 

society as a whole. 

Learning from the Lewes project, Jon 

explained, “When I started work on 

Trisantonis (at Pulborough Brooks) I 

wanted to create a process that involved 

the public. I worked in situ turning 

the stone and feeling my way to what 

was emerging. People would come and 

say what they saw. That would spark a 

narrative that would often coalesce with 

my own process and discoveries, and 

gradually, figures and stories emerged. As 

this happens, when I work, some of those 

figures are rejected, and then something 

more powerful and assertive often 

emerges and so that process of rejection of 

initial ideas becomes important.”. 

The resultant work is emotional, and in 

equal measure, feminine and fierce. It 

speaks of myths and folklore, the past, the 

present, and the future, the environment, 

contradictions and the many threads that 

tie all these elements inextricably together. 

Trisantonis was the Roman name for the 

river Arun that regularly floods the land 

surrounding the Pulborough Brooks site. 

And this piece seems to make such a 

strong statement about our urgent need 

to address climate issues. 

Jon explains there also often seems to be 

something strangely predictive about his 

work. When he created Trisantonis, and 

the eagle-esque figure within it, it was 

impossible to have known that within a 

decade, eagles would be nesting within a 

few miles. Similarly, Fluvius, installed in 

Highwood Village near Horsham the year 

before the Covid outbreak, has a globe 

shape, which he thinks was developed as a 

result of the blackberries he picked while 

carving and which now echoes of the 

images of the Covid outbreak that would 

dominate all our lives within 12 months. 

Lord’s Piece 

We jump in Jon’s van and head up to the 

heath at Lord’s Piece. Unlike the other 

large works, this one, Evolution, is made 

from oak from the nearby Barlavington 

Estate. The oak is old, hundreds of years 

old, and we discuss a combination of the 

complications of manoeuvring large and 

“When I 

started work 

on Trisantonis 

(at Pulborough 

Brooks) I 

wanted to 

create a 

process that 

involved the 

public. I worked 

in situ turning 

the stone and 

feeling my way 

to what was 

emerging." 


heavy raw materials onto remote sites, 

and historical triangulation points. The 

site is open and compellingly evocative. 

Jon’s delight at seeing this old friend 

again is obvious and he caresses its nooks, 

curves and crannies tenderly. Visitors 

have wedged coins into the crevices 

and this piece feels like a wonderful 

interaction between nature and man. The 

perfect storm of spirituality, recovery, 

environment and intervention. 

Every Step of the Way 

In 2025, there’s a new exhibition taking 

place across the South Downs, Every Step 

of the Way. It’s going to be an articulation 

of “the linear process of walking the 

South Downs Way … through diverse 

artists’ eyes”. 

As part of this, Jon hopes to create a large 

limestone piece of sculpture responding 

to the people and place of the Downs. 

There are challenges of course. First and 

foremost, he has to identify the place, 

and then there are the practicalities 

of getting a large block of stone into 

position in what is likely to be a lofty 

spot on private land. Of course, there are 

also the often complex and protracted 

planning permissions to navigate. And 

that in turn, brings the very concept into 

focus: why we need sculpture on the 

South Downs Way. 

Jon thinks that a marker stone is part 

of leaving a little of what makes us 

truly human, in a way that is subtle and 

quickly blends into the environment. 

For me, it’s an absolute no brainer. 

Jon’s work speaks so strongly of the 

environment, and he works so closely 

with it, as well as the people that pass his 

way. It’s topical, beautiful and relevant 

and having walked the South Downs 

Way, I can imagine my own delight and 

intrigue had I come across such a piece. A 

stop in your tracks moment. A moment 

for considered reflection. 

But let’s do what art intended. Let’s start 

another conversation. Let’s discuss how 

important it is to include art into our 

landscape and then, perhaps Jon’s work 

has already met the brief, before he’s even 

started. 

Jon Edgar AFS MSc (Lond) BSc 

(Exeter) is a British artist using 

improvisation in his practice, which 

tends to the figurative. He trained 

at the Frink School of Sculpture 

after attending Exeter and London 

Universities. He is an Arts Council for 

England award winner. 

Evolution 

Fluvius 


Parallel Passé Borde Hill 

31

Sussex is a hugely creative county and dotted around the towns and 

countryside, you’ll find a stunningly diverse selection of sculpture. Here are just 

some of the SE favourites. 

The Landing, Hastings 

Beach 

African sculpture, 

Herstmonceux Castle 

Seated, Bexhill 

The Dying Soldier, 

Parham House 

The Landing, by Leigh Dyer 

Hastings Beach 

Rising like the prow of a Norman 

longboat but also shaped like a 

cormorant, this piece contains a time 

capsule that will be opened in 2066. 

Parallel Passé, 

by Simon Gudgeon 

At Borde Hill, near Haywards Heath 

Part of a series of ballerina works and 

based on the principal ballerina at the 

Staats Ballet, Berlin. On display until the 

end of the year. 

Faith, by Anton Smit 

At Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens, 

near Horsham 

Part of the Walk of Life exhibition, one 

of the largest sculpture parks in Europe 

and part of a series of other Faith pieces. 

Willoth, by Edwin Russell 

At Horsham Museum and Art Gallery 

Russell was born in Heathfield and is 

known for his large scale public work. He 

died in 2013. Dragons are an important 

part of Horsham folklore. 

Faith, Leonardslee 

Lakes & Gardens 

Willoth, Horsham 

Museum 

African sculpture, 

by Hilary Manuhwa 

At Herstmonceux Castle, 

near Hailsham 

One of a number of sculptures within the 

castle gardens. 

The Dying Soldier, 

by L. Amigoni 

Parham House, near Storrington 

A Carrara marble statue signed by 

‘L. Amigoni, Bergamo 1857’. It was 

brought to Parham in 2000 by Lady 

Emma Barnard, after being exhibited at 

the Great Dublin Exhibition in the late 

19th century. 

Seated, by Tschabalala Self 

The lawn of the De La Warr Pavilion, 

Bexhill 

Representing “all individuals, but women 

in particular, who understand the power 

and importance of simple gestures that 

assert their right to take up space”. 


St Richard, Chichester 

Cathedral 

Trisantonis, 

Pulborough Brooks 

Conversation, 

Kemptown 

Madigral Singers, 

Lewes 

Monk, Michelham 

Priory 

Life in 

the Vines 

Lucy Pitts visits Roebuck Estates to find out more 

about preparing for the grape harvest 

St Richard, by Philip Jackson 

Chichester Cathedral 

Commissioned by the Friends of 

Chichester Cathedral to celebrate the 

Millennium and unveiled in 2000 by the 

Bishop of Chichester. St Richard is the 

patron saint of Sussex. 

Trisantonis, by Jon Edgar 

Pulborough Brooks 

A response to the landscape, which often 

floods, Trisantonis is derived from the 

Roman name for the River Arun – which 

translates as ‘the trespasser’. 

Conversation, by Julian Wild 

The Secret Garden, Kemptown 

Part of a series of three and loosely based 

on Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe in 

which three figures picnic on the grass. 

Madigral Singers, 

by Austin Bennett 

Lewes 

Commissioned in 2000, this bronze 

sculpture celebrates Nicholas Yonge’s 

contribution to music. Lewes is awash 

with sculpture and there are plenty of 

others to discover. 

Monk, unknown artist 

Michelham Priory, near Hailsham 

One of a number of sculptures in the 

grounds of the priory. 

The vine 

flowering 

season 

has come 

to an end, 

and I’m 

told that 

as a rough 

rule of 

thumb, it’s 

about 90 

days from 

flowering 

to harvest. 

It’s one of the few hot sunny days of 

July, and I have just turned off the 

main Petworth to Midhurst road, 

up a single track, gravel lane which 

leads up the hill to the Roebuck 

Estates vineyard. 

Halfway up I stop and get out of the 

car to take a photo, and I am struck by 

an enormous sense of place. Across the 

valley, the South Downs are weaving 

their magic, casting an ethereal spell on 

the county beneath them. To one side of 

the track, baby rabbits play at the feet of 

neat rows of vines, and to my left there is 

a smattering of colourful wildflowers. But 

it’s the muted silence and the hint of the 

sea on the warm summer air that causes 

me to stop. I’ve come to talk to the 

team at Roebuck to find out more about 

vineyard life as we approach the busiest 

time of the year but if I close my eyes, 

I’m on the sunny slopes of Provence. 

In the vines 

The vine flowering season has come to an 

end, and I’m told that as a rough rule of 

thumb, it’s about 90 days from flowering 

to harvest. That doesn’t seem very long 

for such precious and complicated cargo. 

I’ve joined Dani and Pip from the 

Roebuck team in the vines as they 

explain that August is all about canopy 

management as they try to achieve a 

perfect balance for the vines and fruit 

in terms of quality and yield. Too much 

foliage, vigour and nutrition doesn’t 

produce the best yield and as I watch, I 

realise pruning is a precision art as much 

as a science. 

Roebuck has 120 acres under vine, 

spread across a number of different sites 

in Sussex, with one new site in Kent. 

Their vines are divided into 70 different 

blocks and even though they only grow 


35

three grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot 

Noir and Pinot Meunier), I’m told each 

block has its own unique characteristics 

and idiosyncrasies due to difference 

in variety, age, rootstock and a host of 

other factors. 

At this point of the season, there is a 

quiet intensity and an almost palpable 

sense of concentration. Jake Wicks, Head 

of Viticulture, has been at Roebuck since 

2018, and knows each block of vines 

well. His summer is spent checking the 

vines, the fruit, the damp and humidity 

levels, the weather and gathering as 

much data as possible – they use an 

App installed in amongst the vines to 

help them learn more about what is a 

relatively new industry to Sussex (if you 

don’t count the Romans and Normans, 

that is). 

This is all part of the count down to 

what’s called “veraison”, the point when 

the grapes change colour, the sugar goes 

up and the acidity goes down. It’s at the 

perfect sweet spot when the grapes are 

ready to harvest. And when the grapes 

are ready, everything else has to be ready 

…pickers, transport and the winery. 

In amongst the vines, it’s all about 

pruning and removing leaves, by hand 

if necessary, with a steady eye on the 

grapes. It’s been a wet summer so far in 

2024, and it’s all to play for now as we 

shift gear into August. The vines need 

enough sun on their leaves for the fruit 

to ripen, but they also need good air 

flow around the fruit to avoid too much 

damp and humidity. Too much other 

vegetation at their feet could steal some 

of the necessary nutrition. It’s all got to 

be balanced to perfection to produce 

grapes of a high enough quality for the 

Roebuck wines. 

Dani and Pip tell me that they’re already 

trying to predict the unpredictable, 

estimating yields and planning this year’s 

wine portfolio as they decide whether 

to cut back some of the grapes, harvest 

early or late and plan the harvest groups. 

I have images of them sitting in the 

vineyards poring over spreadsheets well 

into the night. 

In the rough 

There’s a light dusting on the vine leaves 

and Pip and Dani explain this is copper 

sulphate, a natural spray used to prevent 

mould and mildew. This explains the 

scent of the sea in the air, and that 

turns the conversation to sustainability. 

Roebuck is a founding member of the 

Sustainable Wines of GB and their motto 

is to leave the lightest possible footprint 

on their environment. 

They have their own ecologist on the 

team working on their biodiversity which 

explains the natural hedgerows and there 

is an area in the corner cultivated to 

attract snakes and other reptiles. I sense 

no one else is quite as keen as I am to see 

a snake, so I leave the idea there. 

In the glass 

We head back to the outdoor tasting 

area at the top of the slopes overlooking 

the vines and the South Downs, and 

I’m unsurprised that this space is called 

simply, The View. 

The simplicity of their range of wine 

is also notable. They don’t make multi 

vintage or still wines. What they do, 

they do well and that includes an annual 

Classic Cuvée and a Rosé de Noirs. We 

pop a bottle of their 2018 vintage of 

each of these which have only just been 

released and which have been on lees for 

four years. 

I already know my favourite as I love the 

soft butteryness of the Cuvée, but I’m 

pretty smitten with the Rosé too. We talk 

about pairings and recommendations for 

the autumn and collectively agree that 

the clean, crispness of the Rosé makes it a 

surprisingly suitable companion for richer 

autumn foods like mushroom risotto or 

even with Christmas dinner. Now there’s 

an idea. 

In exceptional years they also produce 

a Blanc de Noir and their 2018 of this 

seems a good note to finish on. I cannot 

say I wasn’t tempted by a bottle of their 

Roebuck Rare Expressions No.19 not 

least because I love its connection to their 

site at Bignor right next to the Roman 

villa where they would have drunk 

English made wine so many hundreds 

of years ago. This seems to complete the 

historical Sussex wine scene that encircles 

the centuries with wonderful symmetry 

but at £95 a bottle I decide I better take 

my leave. 

Dani Whitehead is Marketing Manager 

at Roebuck Estates and Pip Mortimer 

is a drinks trade specialist and Event 

Coordinator at Roebuck Estates. 


Falling for 

Autumn 

I 

always think that in about the third 

week of August, the air changes. You 

wake up one morning, and the heat 

of summer has gone, replaced with a 

soft but distinct freshness. Soon after, 

you notice the first early morning dew, the 

first leaf turning gold and drifting down, 

and the first spikey chestnut lands on the 

woodland floor. Change is in the air and 

autumn is waiting. 

Despite being a sign that the year is 

heading to its close, as the start of a 

new academic year, I find autumn full 

of potential. Memories of the pleasure 

of new school kit linger and there is an 

air of expectation. Or so I like to think. 

And then, predictably on about the 10th 

September, all hell breaks loose as the 

world moves ahead full throttle. Next 

stop is Christmas after all. 

But what of autumn in Sussex? 

Sussex is and always has been a heady 

place for the autumn enthusiast. 

Lucy Pitts falls in love with the new and evocative season 

that’s waiting in the wings 

A changing harvest 

In years gone by, some parts of East 

Sussex would have seen hop harvests with 

tall canes and long wires supporting the 

hops while men harvested on stilts and 

stayed in the corrugated iron workers’ 

huts. That said, wheat and other crops 

were more common and you might have 

seen gleaners in the fields, which were 

groups of children and women gathering 

up any corns of wheat left behind after 

the crops had been cut and stacked into 

stooks. Then followed a harvest supper 

and perhaps the last sheaf of corn being 

made into a corn dolly. And some harvest 

suppers were celebrated by decorating the 

streets with flags or greenery and maybe 

even a harvest procession. 

These days, the harvest is less perceptible 

and is changing shape. Wine growers 

watch the vines anxiously, ready for that 

intense period of picking at the end of 

September or early October, and tankers 

transport the fruit across the county to 

the various wineries. New traditions 

of helping with the grape harvest are 

springing up, and in some vineyards, you 

may hear the colourful singing of bands 

of professional pickers busy at work and 

the gentle plop of the ripe round fruit 

dropping into crates. 

Pumpkin picking is a thing now too in 

Sussex, with the first PYO pumpkin fields 

opening in early October, whilst foragers 

may be at large looking for mushrooms, 

blackberries, sloes, and even wild truffles 

that grow well in Sussex – if you know 

where to look. Like much of the country, 

since the pandemic, Sussex folk seem to 

place more value on all that is local, and 

locally grown botanicals and fruit infuse 

much of our regional produce. 

Main picture: 

View from 

Chanctonbury 


Sheffield Park 

Buchan Park 

Chanctonbury Ring 

And a colourful landscape 

Sussex is also blessed with the full 

spectrum of autumn colours. Many 

autumn bounty hunters head to the 

famous Halnaker tunnel of trees 

that leads up to the windmill, near 

Chichester, or to Sheffield Park near 

Haywards Heath for its magnificent 

autumn display reflected (on a sunny 

day) in its lakes…to the sound of a steam 

train from the nearby Bluebell Railway. 

And a drive down the lanes towards 

Ashdown Forest will reveal hue after hue 

of golds, reds and yellows. Indeed, you 

never have to go far in Sussex to find the 

colour of the season. 

A time for ghosts and ghouls 

October is, of course, the time for ghostly 

tales, and Sussex has plenty to share. 

Kingley Vale, with its ancient forest of 

yews, tells the tale of a thousand Viking 

warriors who died in a great battle here 

and haunt it still. While Racton Ruin is 

said to be haunted by a lady in white. 

Geranium Jane haunted the Kings 

Head in Cuckfield and a Drummer Boy 

haunts the castle at Herstmonceux. The 

Cowdray ruins are said to be haunted by 

a grey lady (although sometimes dressed 

in pink) while the famously haunted 

Mermaid Inn in Rye is home to a 

number of spirits including a lady in grey 

and a man called James! 

The most autumny of all Sussex 

autumn things 

If there’s one place that perhaps 

epitomises autumn in Sussex, it has to 

be Chanctonbury Ring, where you can 

capture the entire essence of Sussex. 

Walk up through the woods of golden 

beech or via the South Downs Way that 

is lined with large clusters of bright red 

Hawthorn berries at this time of year. 

Dance with the Devil at the clump of 

trees at the top who is credited with 

creating the mound at Chanctonbury 

by throwing down his spade in a huff. 

At Halloween you might also spot local 

witches and wizards at Chanctonbury, 

visiting to catch some of its unworldly 

spirit but you will definitely be able to 

see the autumn colours of the county 

spread out before you like a blanket. 

And when you’ve finished soaking up 

the atmosphere at this lofty spot on the 

South Downs, wind your way back down 

the path to the Wiston wine estate where 

you can soak up some of the locally 

produced wine in their Chalk restaurant. 

Or help with the wine picking harvest. 

And it doesn’t get much more autumny, 

or much more Sussex than that. 


Autumn Walks 

& Wanders 

Enjoy cool walks, autumn colours, bushes bursting with blackberries, 

old railway lines and hidden caves 

Centurion Way, West Sussex 

Centurion Way is a fabulous walk or 

cycle. It’s 9 km, along the old dismantled 

Chichester to Midhurst railway line. It’s 

a well-made path and is reasonably flat, 

with a number of interesting spots along 

the way. 

It also connects with the South Coast 

Cycle Route so if you want, you can make 

a weekend of it and cycle to Fishbourne 

Roman Palace and on to Bosham. 

You can start at Chichester (Bishop Luffa 

school), West Dean or in the middle at 

Lavant. The number 60 bus will get you 

back to where you began. The route is 

well signed and pretty straight. 

Along the way is an abundance of 

blackberry and sloe bushes. If you’re 

lucky, you may see birds of prey and as 

you approach Chichester, you’ll see the 

occasional seagull against the backdrop of 

the Cathedral spire in the distance. 

Lake Wood, East Sussex 

Lake Wood walk is a short but magical 

walk particularly in the autumn. Parking 

is difficult and most people park on 

Rocks Road (just off the A22), just 

outside Uckfield. 

Lake Wood was once part of the Rocks 

Estate and is a mix of natural and manmade 

features. It was designed in the 19th 

century to create romantic grounds and 

walks, with room for a carriage to pass. 

It’s been owned by the Woodland Trust 

since 1993 and has a 3-acre lake. 

Things to lookout for: 

Rocky sandstone outcrops with high 

cliffs that overhang the lake. 

Cave-like boathouses carved out of rock. 

Refreshments 

When you’ve finished exploring, rather 

than head into Uckfield, why not try The 

Piltdown Man in Piltdown? 

Things to lookout for: 

A bridge with metal animals hanging 

down. These were made from drawings by 

local Lavant Primary School children. 

The Roman Amphitheatre created by 

Justin Marshall on the site of a former 

quarry. This is where you cross a Roman 

road and it’s marked by an army of 

spade-wielding Roman workers called the 

Chichester Road Gang made from empty 

oxygen gas cylinders. 

Brandy Hole Copse. This is a Local 

Nature Reserve and an area of woodland 

and ponds. It’s also got earthworks believed 

to date from the Late Iron Age which are a 

Scheduled Ancient Monument. 

Refreshments 

Try The Selsey Arms at West Dean or 

the West Dean Stores and Tea Room. 

Alternatively, head into Chichester. 


FOOD 

FOOD 

The 

Sussex 

Foodie 

Grab your napkin and tuck 

into our round up of great 

Sussex foodie experiences 

Sky Park Farm, West Harting, 

West Sussex 

Sky Park Farm near Petersfield breed and 

farm deer. They have a visitor centre, 

butcher, farm shop, café, and bar and 

grill restaurant. Their farm shop is a 

treasure trove of local produce with 

fabulous cheese and meat counters, local 

fruit and veg, wine and spirits and local 

milk. They sell beef, lamb, pork, chicken 

and venison reared on the farm, with a 

variety of cuts. They have a smoker and a 

dry ager and are happy to offer advice on 

cuts and cooking. 

Alternatively, head into the restaurant 

for breakfast, a light lunch of sharing 

plates or a fabulous venison burger. Their 

vision is “to deliver 40% of our food from 

within 30 miles, with a further 40% from 

within Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex”. 

We like that. 

Banging Beef, Crawley, 


This Crawley based and family run 

business produce and sell artisan dried 

meat, specialising in beef jerky, biltong 

and chilli bites. They also make pork 

scratchings and it’s all freshly made each 

Steyning ... 

farmers 

markets, a 

pub safari 

trail, a street 

food festival, 

breadmaking 

courses, wine 

tasting and 

pairing, picnics, 

apple juicing, 

supper clubs, 

cakes, curry, 

and lots more. 

Sky Park Farm 

Banging Beef 

week using top quality Scottish Angus 

beef. You’ll find them at a number of local 

markets including Steyning, Shoreham, 

Arundel and Findon Valley, as well as a 

number of one-off markets and events 

including at Ardingly Showground, 

Cowpie Country Show and Heathfield 

Country Show. Or contact them online. 

Steyning 

Mamoosh Kitchen 

© Louise Robinson 

from Cygnet Kitchen 

Steyning Food and Drink Festival, 


This perennial favourite is a celebration of 

local produce, with the area’s best artisan 

food and drink producers and venues. It 

takes place from 6th September to 15th 

September 2024. It includes farmers 

markets, a pub safari trail, a street food 

festival, breadmaking courses, wine 

tasting and pairing, picnics, apple juicing, 

supper clubs, cakes, curry, and lots more. 

Rye Harvest Wine and Food Fair, 

East Sussex 

A new event, to be held on the 14th and 

15th September, showcasing a range 

of local produce from the land and sea 

around Rye. Edibles include venison from 

the Sustainable Meat Eater, produce from 

Morebread Farm and Tibbs Farm, as well 

as local wines, beers and spirits. 

Tablehurst Farm, Forest Row, 


This award-winning organic farm 

shop goes from strength to strength. 

They have a butcher’s counter, and 

everything (except the venison) is 

reared on the farm. They also cure and 

smoke their own nitrate-free bacon 

and make many varieties of sausages, 

including gluten-free. They grow their 

own fruit and veg and have a small 

herd of grass-fed, biodynamic Jersey 

cows for their milk. They have about 

50 different savoury products featuring 

Tablehurst meat and vegetables 

including pies, pasties and sausage rolls, 

quiches, ready meals with everything 

made from scratch. 

They also have a Biodynamic Café, 

with a range of teas and coffees and 

freshly made dishes and cakes, and 

from April to end-September, their 

café garden features a wood fired oven 

where they make sourdough pizzas on 

Fridays. There is also a seasonal BBQ 

on Saturdays with sausages and burgers 

freshly made in their butchery. 

 

Mamoosh Bakery, Newhaven, 


We’ve heard rumours that Mamoosh 

make the best pitta in the county. 

You can buy online or visit their 

premises at the Marine Workshops 

in Newhaven where they are open 

Tuesday to Friday, 7 am – 3 pm and 

Saturdays 8 am – 3 pm and where 

they serve takeaway pastries, savouries, 

cakes, dips and pittas plus they have a 

menu for eating in! 


45

FOOD 

FOOD 

Beef Wellington 

Vanessa Jamieson shares her recipe for cooking an impressive 

and soul warming masterpiece 

We are firmly in the middle 

of summer and thoughts of 

alfresco dining are never far 

away …however, it has been 

unseasonably chilly and wet 

so far this year, so what better way to improve the 

mood than to serve up some hearty comfort food! 

And a Beef Wellington certainly hits the spot. Even 

better, it can be prepped ahead of time and stay in 

the fridge until required. 

Now this dish is the one most requested by my 

guests. Not that they are spoilt or anything! It’s 

taken a lot of practice to get the cooking just 

right and I would really recommend a good meat 

thermometer. Ones that can stay in the meat in 

the oven and provide you with a prompt, or alert 

to your phone, are real game changers if you don’t 

want to spoil an expensive cut of meat. Nothing is 

more soul destroying than that quite frankly! 

This will serve 6-8 depending how big you like your 

slices. Obviously, it served six in our household! 

Ingredients 

900 g-1 kg centre cut of fillet beef 

350 g chestnut mushrooms 

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme 

Olive oil for frying 

Knob of butter 

1 tsp English mustard 

14-16 Parma ham slices 

2 x 320 g of ready rolled puff pastry 

2 beaten egg yolks for glazing 

Method 

Season the beef fillet and fry in some oil in a 

hot pan until all the sides are nicely browned. 

Set aside. Once cool, brush mustard over the 

entire surface. 

Finely chop the mushrooms – a food processor 

helps here if you have one. Add butter to the pan 

and add the chopped mushrooms, together with 

chopped thyme. Cook the mushrooms until all 

of the liquid has been released and the mixture is 

dry and holds together. Add seasoning to taste. 

Spread some cling film out into 2 large, 

overlapping layers. Lay out your Parma ham in 2 

overlapping rows on top of the clingfilm. Spread 

the mushroom mix across the ham and then 

place your beef fillet in the middle. Use the cling 

film to help, roll the ham over the beef and then 

twist the ends of the cling film to make a tight 

‘sausage’. This will ensure a nice even Wellington. 

You can now put it in the fridge until required. 

Roll out the pastry and place the wrapped fillet in 

the centre. Fold over the pastry, sealing with some 

egg wash, making sure the seal is underneath. 

Brush the entire pastry with egg wash, and if you 

are feeling artistic, add some decorations or, like I 

have done, use a lattice cutter. Put the fillet back 

in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Pre heat the oven to 200°c/180c fan (I have 

found that heating the baking tray you are 

going to use really helps prevent a soggy bottom 

to the pastry). 

Add some baking paper to the tray and pop your 

masterpiece on top. Adding more egg wash at 

this point will add to the shine, although it is not 

essential. Cook until the internal temperature 

reaches 57°c for medium rare/ 60°c for medium. 

I prefer mine rare so this one was cooked to 54°c 

and you can see the result. 

Once cooked, leave to rest on a wire rack 

somewhere warm, for at least 15 mins. 

I served this with some hasselback potatoes 

and steamed broccoli, together with a port and 

cranberry jus. 


FOOD 

FOOD 

In the Kitchen 

Becci Coombes of Hygge Style shares three of her favourite autumn apple recipes 

Granny’s 

Apple 

Chutney 

My grandfather was known informally as the 

Chutney King, thanks to his enviable knack of 

being able to make a tasty relish out of pretty 

much anything that grew in the garden, and 

this is my grandparents’ famous apple chutney 

recipe, carefully written out by my granny on the back of a 

recycled envelope. 

I have very fond memories of them standing by the stove, 

stirring away and chatting about batch consistency, and even 

now, every year we still have Chutney Making Evening in their 

honour. This is usually the night after a particularly blustery 

storm, where all the windfalls in the orchard have come down 

but have yet to be attacked by chickens. The chutney tastes best 

after being stored for 2 to 3 months in a dark cupboard, so if 

made with autumn windfalls it will be ready just in time for 

your Christmas cheese and biscuits. 

If you have been carefully saving your jam-jars all year ready 

for this moment, you might find that they still carry the odour 

of their original occupant. This is easily solved using good old 

bicarbonate of soda; make a paste of 3 parts soda to 1 part 

water, and smear over the jar and the lid. Leave overnight and 

rinse, and the smell of continental pickled gherkins will have 

vanished. Bicarbonate of soda can also be used to remove any 

persistent labels too. Mix with a little vegetable oil and smear 

over the label, before leaving for 24 hours. Give the tenacious 

sticker a vigorous scrub with a washing up cloth and it should 

come right off. 

I like to fill a few tiny jars as well, to pop in Christmas stockings 

or crackers. 

Ingredients 

(makes about 8 250 ml jars) 

2 kilos apples, peeled, cored and chopped 

500 g onions, chopped 

500 g sultanas 

500 g soft brown sugar 

500 ml malt vinegar 

1 crushed clove of garlic 

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

1 teaspoon Maldon salt 

½ tsp ground black peppercorns 

Method 

Place all the ingredients in a large 

stainless-steel jam pan or cooking pot. 

Bring to the boil and simmer gently, 

uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours, stirring 

occasionally with a wooden spoon to 

prevent the chutney catching on the base 

of the pan. 

Cook until reduced in volume and rich, 

thick and a deep caramel brown. You can 

tell if it is ready by drawing your wooden 

spoon across the bottom of the pan; there 

should be very little liquid to fill the gap, 

and it should seep back in slowly. 

Pot while hot! Start preparing your jars 

when you have about 20 minutes of 

cooking time left. Wash the jars and 

lids in hot soapy water, rinse, and then 

place them upside down on a baking tray 

and pop into an oven which has been 

preheated to 160-180 degrees. Bake for 

15 minutes before potting up. 

I find it easiest to use a small jug to pour 

in the chutney as it is quite sticky and 

once it has been spilt down the outside of 

the jar it can be a nightmare to remove. 

Take care as the sugar content will ensure 

it stays hot for a while, so use a tea towel 

to hold the jar while you fill it, leaving 

about a centimetre of space at the top. 

Cover with a waxed paper disc, screw on 

the lid and label when cool. It will last 

for up to a year in a dark cupboard; once 

opened, store in the fridge and consume 

within 4 weeks. 

Becci Coombes is Winner of 

F:entrepreneur100, Winner of BT’s Best Home Business of the Year 

and Remote Worker Awards and The Mumpreneur 100. 

She is also an author and founder of Hygge Style. 


FOOD 

FOOD 

Apple Cake 

Æblekage, or apple cake, is a very comforting Danish 

pudding which is the best way I know for using up 

all those late autumnal cooking apples. Layers of 

stewed fruit are alternated with the happy crunch 

of spiced, buttery cinnamon crumbs and topped 

off with a cloud of whipped cream. Serve in either 

a large trifle dish or in individual serving glasses (I 

always have to make a special one for my mum as she 

loves it with a blob of redcurrant jelly on top). And 

yes, I know it doesn’t look like a cake; it’s more of a 

layered trifle but the longer you leave it the cakier it 

gets and is definitely one of those puddings that is 

more than a sum of its parts. 

The amounts given in the recipe below are more of 

a suggestion than a definitive recommendation; my 

Danish grandmother cooked everything by eye, with 

a little shake of this and a dash of that, and I appear 

to have inherited the tradition, so keep tasting and 

add more sugar and spice as you fancy it. 

In Denmark you can actually buy Æblekage rasp 

(breadcrumbs) ready to use, but I prefer the homemade 

version as you can adjust the amount of 

cinnamon. They will keep very well in an airtight jar 

for up to a week. The stewed apple shouldn’t be too 

sweet, so it provides a pleasing contrast to the brown 

sugary breadcrumbs. (I should have put a layer of the 

crumbs at the bottom of the glass, but as I was trying 

to prevent my son eating all the whipped cream I 

wasn’t concentrating fully; the more layers you can 

get in the better!) 

Ingredients Serves 6-8 

For the apple sauce 

1 kg cooking apples 

3 tbsp demerara sugar 

1 tsp mixed spice 

For the crumbs 

10 slices of decent bread, made into breadcrumbs 

1 tsp cinnamon 


3 tbsp demerara sugar 

25 g butter 

For the topping 

300 ml whipping cream 

Method 

Peel and core the apples, and place in a large 

saucepan with enough water to cover the bottom of 

the pan. Sprinkle over the sugar and mixed spice. 

Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the apples have 

broken down, stirring constantly and adding a little 

more water if necessary. Set aside to cool. 

Whip the cream and put on a high shelf so your son 

can’t find it. 

Next, take your largest frying pan and set over a 

moderate heat. Add the butter, and when it has 

melted scatter over the sugar and cinnamon; give it 

a quick stir, then tip in the breadcrumbs. The idea 

here is to crisp them up so they turn a lovely golden 

brown colour, but you will need to keep moving 

them constantly so they don’t burn. 

Keep stirring for 5-10 minutes until they have 

changed colour, then remove from the heat; at this 

point it is a good idea to eat a large spoonful of them 

while nobody is looking, and add more sugar and 

cinnamon if you fancy making it sweeter. 

To assemble the cake, you simply spoon a few 

mixture of the crumbs into the bottom of your 

serving dish, then alternate with layers of stewed 

apple, finishing with a layer of cream and a final 

decorative sprinkle of crumbs. 

Spiced Apple and 

Marzipan Strudel 

Crisp buttery pastry and fragrant spiced 

apples make this the perfect comfort 

food for chilly autumn evenings, and 

the addition of marzipan takes it to 

the next level! My recipe uses readymade 

puff rather than buttered sheets of filo, saving 

valuable time which would be much better spent 

lying on the sofa watching a chilly Scandi noir drama 

along with a bowl full of pudding. 

Ingredients 

1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry, room temperature 

4 dessert apples (Granny Smith work very well in this 

recipe as they are pleasingly tart) 

100 g marzipan, chilled 

75 g hazelnuts or walnuts, roughly chopped 

25 g soft dark brown sugar 

1 egg, beaten 

1 tbsp plain flour 

½ teaspoon cinnamon 

A squeeze of lemon juice 

20 g flaked almonds 

Pearl sugar or granulated sugar to decorate 

Method 

Pop the marzipan in the fridge for an hour or so (or 

even better overnight); this helps to make grating it 

so much easier! 

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and slide in a baking 

sheet to warm up (check the puff pastry will fit on 

the sheet first). 

Peel and core the apples. Slice thinly and place in a 

medium bowl, then add the sugar, cinnamon, nuts 

and lemon juice, giving everything a good stir. 

Unroll the puff pastry on the greaseproof sheet 

supplied with it and lay a second sheet of baking 

paper close to hand on your work surface. 

Sprinkle the flour over the apples and stir well. 

Spread the mixture down the length of the pastry so 

it covers the central third; leave the last 2 cms of the 

short ends free. 

Brush a little beaten egg on both short ends of the 

pastry and along the lower side. 

Fold the top third of the pastry over the mixture 

before bringing up the eggy bottom edge. Press 

gently along the long edge to seal. 

Using the packaging paper, carefully flip the strudel 

over onto the new clean sheet. Press along the short 

edges with a fork to seal them well, then brush your 

creation with beaten egg. 

Slash the top of the strudel with a sharp knife 

at 2cm intervals to allow steam to escape, then 

sprinkle the top with flaked almonds and a little 

pearl/granulated sugar. 

(Carefully!) take the hot baking sheet from the oven 

and slide the strudel on to it using the baking paper 

(preheating the sheet reduces the chance of the 

dreaded soggy bottom!). 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the centre of the oven 

until golden brown. 

51

DRINK 

DRINK 

Sussex Cocktails 

It’s always cocktail hour in Sussex, and Greta Pitts shares 

three easy to make and easy to drink Sussex specials 

Espresso Martini 

With autumn nearly upon us, a fruity 

cocktail may not be what you’re 

craving, so instead how about a coffee 

style Martini. Despite its lack of 

gin or vermouth, this is still classed 

as a Martini and is one of the most 

famous and renowned cocktails. Due 

to its three coffee beans in the middle 

famously representing health, wealth and 

happiness, it’s the perfect cocktail for a 

celebration or a toast. 

You’ll need: 

Cocktail shaker and sieve 

50 ml Chilgrove Sussex vodka (use vanilla 

vodka for a sweeter tooth) 

25 ml Cabin Pressure Coffee Liqueur 

25 ml Espresso shot 

1 tsp Brown sugar 

Sussex coffee beans to decorate 

Firstly, fill your shaker with ice and 

prepare your espresso shot in good time 

to allow it time to cool down before 

adding to your cocktail. Into the shaker, 

add your 50 ml of vodka and 25 ml of 

coffee liqueur. Now into your espresso 

shot add your teaspoon of brown sugar 

and stir for a couple of seconds before 

adding into the shaker. 

Sussex Bramble 

The Bramble, a well-known cocktail, first 

created in 1984 by Dick Bradsell who 

was known as a bit of a ‘founding father’ 

of cocktails back then. This cocktail 

is simple and original with minimal 

ingredients which makes it perfect for a 

small evening drink without feeling too 

many after effects. 


50 ml Sussex gin – try one of the Slake 

Spirits gins 

25 ml Crème de Murre (or blackberry 

juice for less alcohol) 

25 ml lime juice 

A lime cut into wedges 

Frozen blackberries or mixed berries 

Begin with 2 lime wedges and either 

crush or squeeze them into the bottom 

of the glass and add ice. Next add 50 ml 

(a double shot) of your chosen Sussex 

gin and then add your frozen berries, 

the amount is subject to how much 

you would like. Finally, add your lime 

juice and gently stir it before adding the 

Crème de Murre. 

Peach Tea Punch Cocktail 

This can also be made as a mocktail 

Now finally, we have not forgotten about those who may 

be disinclined to an alcoholic cocktail or those who may be 

wanting something a little softer on the palette. This cocktail is 

simple and can be made alcohol free and will taste just as good 

either way (tried and true). 

This cocktail can be made with a shaker for those who may have 

one at home, however it isn’t essential. To make with a shaker 

follow all the same steps but pour into the shaker first and then 

pour into the glass after shaking thoroughly. 


Can use cocktail shaker but not necessary 

50 ml peach iced tea 

50 ml lemonade 

25 ml lemon juice 

2 tsp apple cider vinegar / 25 ml-50 ml Sussex rum (alcoholic 

option). Harley House Distillery make a cracking Sussex rum! 

Handful of mint leaves 

Fill your glass with ice and begin by adding your lemon juice 

straight into the glass followed by 50 ml of your peach iced tea. 

Next, collect a handful of mint leaves and place in one hand 

and firmly slap with the other. Granted, this may seem strange, 

but it warms up the mint leaves and begins to extract the oils 

before adding the mint to your cocktail. Finally, depending on 

your preference add either 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar (for those 

going alcohol free this along with the lemon juice gives the 

cocktail the small kick that most mocktails lack) or 25 ml-50 ml 

of your Sussex rum. Then stir together gently making sure the 

mint leaves are fully submerged. 


With so many vineyards and such great wine, it’s wine time in Sussex and we 

explore the best ways of getting to grips with the grapes 

Sussex wine is on the map. And 

Sussex wine tourism is now 

a thing. With a county that 

has its own PDO (Protected 

Designation of Origin) and is 

producing some world class wines, the 

Sussex Winelands are developing both as 

a concept and as a brand. 

There are approximately 138 vineyards 

in Sussex, and a good handful of wineries 

(i.e. the place where they actually 

make the wine). As a county, Sussex is 

producing sparking white and sparkling 

red as well as still white, rosé and red 

wines, and a handful of by products like 

grape spirit and gin. So what’s the best 

way to get to grips with this new and 

exciting Sussex phenomena? 

Getting to Know 

Sussex Wine 

Choose your desired method 

of wine acquaintance 

Tastings in store 

You don’t have to get out in the vines 

to learn more. There are now a good 

number of Sussex wine merchants who 

stock plenty of Sussex wine. Many of 

these offer advice and tastings, like 

Alteus Wine in Crowborough, Sarah’s 

Cellar in Battle, South Downs Cellars 

(Hurstpierpoint and Lindfield) and 

Digby Fine English in Arundel. There 

are also a few Sussex sparkling wine fairs, 

where you can meet the maker and learn 

more as you try and taste. 

Recommendation: The Bubbles and 

Botanicals Fair 

Tours and tastings 

The majority of Sussex vineyards 

now offer some sort of tour or tasting 

experience and the different experiences 

vary hugely across the county. Some 

Rathfinny 

Tinwood harvest 


will take you into the winery, some offer 

wine and food pairings, or you could 

try bike rides and wine tasting, tasting 

with a trip into the vines, cellar door 

tasting, alfresco tasting, tasting with a 

picnic, tasting with an overnight stay, 

and sabrage experiences. Some will be 

small personal vineyards, and some will 

be slick, corporate affairs. There really is 

something for all tastes. 

Recommendation: Downsview 

Vineyard near Crowborough, Highweald 

Wine Estate near Haywards Heath or 

Leonardslee Wine Estate near Horsham. 

Wiston 

Guided tour recommendation: 

Great British Wine Tour 

Harvest and picking 

experiences 

A number of vineyards now offer a 

variety of harvest experiences, whether 

you want to pick grapes for a morning 

and then have a long and lingering lunch 

or go on a deep dive and be part of the 

professional harvesting team for the 

duration of the harvest. 

Recommendation: If you’re interested in 

a full harvest experience: Working 

the harvest 

Self-guided or organised tour 

Sussex doesn’t quite have the full 

infrastructure to allow you to bus hop 

from one vineyard to another, but 

there are public transport links to some 

vineyards. There is a slight scarcity of 

cycle routes or footpaths connecting the 

vineyards too, but there are plenty of 

vineyard trail maps available from local 

information centres, like Visit Horsham. 

There are also plenty of vineyards in 

clusters, so that you don’t have to drive 

long distances. 

There are buses that stop near Bolney 

Wine Estate (from Haywards Heath), 

Roebuck Estates (Midhurst and 

Petworth) and Hidden Spring Vineyard 

near Heathfield. 

Kinsbrook 

Recommendation: If you’re driving 

(please consider having a designated 

driver and drink responsibly) and want to 

squeeze three vineyards into one day: 

• In the Ditchling area you have 

Ridgeview, Court Garden and 

Everflyht vineyards 

• Near Petworth you have Roebuck, 

Stopham and Upperton vineyards 

• At Battle, there is Mountfield, Carr 

Taylor and Sedlescombe vineyards 

If you want to make more of a week 

of it, and stay overnight, lots of the 

vineyards now have accommodation, like 

Oastbrook Estate Vineyard near Bodiam, 

Rathfinny near Alfriston, Tinwood near 

Chichester and Kingscote near East 

Grinstead, although of course, you don’t 

have to stay in a vineyard. 

Nutbourne 

Other self-guided vineyard tour 

itinerary recommendations: 

• Your East Sussex Wine Tours 

• Central Sussex Wine Tour 

• West Sussex Wine Tour 

• The Best Way to Discover the Sussex 

Winelands 

Organised tours 

There are only a couple of organised 

vineyard tour operators at the moment in 

Sussex, namely Great British Wine Tours 

and Sussex Wine Tours. Again you have 

options with a variety of different tour 

experiences but the great thing about 

an organised tour is, of course, that you 

just hop on a bus and let them whizz 

you from one vineyard to another. And 

with Great British Wine Tours, you can 

even choose to hop on a vintage London 

Routemaster bus! 

The Great British Wine Tours’ Horsham 

District Tour includes visits to Wiston 

Estate, Kinsbrook Vineyard and 

Nutbourne with pick up and drop off at 

Horsham station and all transfers included. 

These are three very different vineyards. 

Wiston Estate: you enjoy a winery tour 

and tasting right at the foot of the South 

Downs. This is a smart and sophisticated 

vineyard where they produce a range of 

sparkling wines including their Blanc de 

Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Brut, and Rosé. 

They also have their own winery. 

Kinsbrook Vineyard: you’ll find yourself 

in the very heart of the vines here and 

Kinsbrook has a distinctly youthful and 

French vibe. Enjoy lunch and tasting 

some of their range of Kin wines that 

include Chardonnay, Bacchus, Pinot 

Noir Rosé and even a new red as well 

as their limited edition stills and their 

sparkling wine. 

Nutbourne Vineyards: quintessentially 

English, at Nutbourne, you’ll find a 

windmill and art, alongside a range of 

really interesting still and sparkling wines 

that include their Sussex Reserve, Nutty 

and Bacchus as well as their Pinot Noir 

and their Nutty Blush Pinot noir. 

Other tours with Great British Wine 

Tours include a Sussex Wine Train tour, 

brewery tours, cheese and wine tours and 

smokery tours. 


oaoa 

The Bubbles & Botanicals Fair 

A celebration of Sussex sparkling wine and spirits 

With 138 vineyards and a large 

number of spirit makers, Sussex 

is fast becoming synonymous 

with an outstanding drinks 

scene. Wine makers range from 

the very small, to the very large and make everything 

from sparkling wine to still reds, whites and rosés. 

For a relatively small region, the diversity in these 

wines is both significant and interesting, and each 

vineyard has its own ethos, story and method. 

Similarly, our spirit makers are endlessly creative 

and often have a profound connection to Sussex, 

whether that’s in the local ingredients and botanicals 

that they use or the folklore that inspires them. 

The Bubbles and Botanicals Fair is a celebration 

of all these things, bringing together a number of 

Sussex producers in one place for an afternoon of 

tasting, trying and talking. Meet the producers. 

Learn more about their story and try their wines and 

spirits. 

Held in the beautiful main building at Handcross 

Park on the 2nd November from 1 pm to 5 pm, 

with easy access from the A23 from Crawley, 

Horsham, Brighton and Haywards Heath, you’re 

invited to come and enjoy some of the best Sussex 

wine and spirits on offer. 

Escape the cold, stock up for Christmas, learn and 

have fun. 

Grab your tickets here: 

Bubbles and Botanicals 

Handcross Park School 

Bubbles & Botanicals is a Sussex 

sparkling wine and craft gin event, 

being held at stunning Handcross Park 

on the 2nd November 2024. Sussex is 

now on the world stage with its awardwinning 

wines and gins, and this is a 

rare chance to meet a number of local 

producers. 

• Try and taste superb local sparkling 

wine and gins. 

• Learn more about the vineyards 

and distilleries. 

• Speak to the growers, winemakers 

and distillers who each have their 

own unique story to tell. 

• Buy wines straight from the 

producers for the festive period 

and beyond. 

With more than 15 stalls representing 

some of the best sparkling wine 

producers and gin makers from 

Sussex and the surrounding areas, 

there will be samples and event-only 

deals for ticket holders. Bubbles & 

Botanicals is the perfect opportunity 

to get together with friends, stock 

up on Christmas supplies, enjoy 

some great local wines and learn 

more about the Sussex wine and 

gin industries. Early bird tickets are 

just £15. 

Bubbles & Botanicals is the perfect 

opportunity to get together with 

friends, stock up on Christmas 

supplies, enjoy some great local wines 

and learn more about the Sussex wine 

and gin industries. 

A celebration of Sussex Sparkling Wine & Gin 

Saturday Afternoon - 2nd November 2024 

1 pm to 5.00 pm 

London Road, Handcross, Haywards Heath RH17 6HF 

Book your ticket today 

www.bubblesandbotanicals.net 


59

Advertorial 

A Unique Vineyard 

Experience 

Your vineyard needs you! 

The time is fast approaching 

when the vineyards of Sussex 

and Kent need help with the 

harvest. At almost all of our 

local vineyards, picking is done by hand 

over the course of a week or four in late 

September or early October depending on 

the weather and grapes. 

So how do you fancy becoming part of a 

team, getting out in the autumn sunshine, 

mastering new skills and learning more 

about wine production in the UK? All 

as part of a grape harvest team and 

competitively paid. 

Pack your bags and make your way to a vineyard 

for a chance to be part of the great 

English wine making scene 

What’s it like as an experience? 

There’s a very unique atmosphere at 

harvest time in our vineyards. It’s a crucial 

time and the vineyards will be bustling 

with activity to make sure all the grapes 

are picked in time. 

For the pickers, it’s a sensual, educational 

and fun experience during which phones 

are forgotten, and friendships are forged. 

The snip, snip, snip of secateurs and the 

gentle plop of ripe fruit falling into a 

bucket are often described as therapeutic, 

especially with the sun on your back and 

the knowledge that you’re contributing to 

something rather special. 

If the vineyard has their own winery, they 

will be crushing the grapes and preparing 

them for fermentation or, they may be 

transporting the grapes to the nearest wine 

making facilities. But in the vines, you get 

to enjoy the best of the autumn as the vine 

leaves are just starting to turn golden, and 

the vineyards are full of friendly chatter. 

Every vineyard is slightly different but 

many of them include a range of benefits 

including exclusive vineyard tours, 

celebratory lunches, discounted wine, 

branded caps, and tasting experiences. 

It’s a fabulous opportunity to be part of a 

working vineyard and learn more about 

the challenges, skills and love that goes 

into making English wine. 

Starting the day 

Tinwood-pickers 

Cam & Sharon at 

Gusbourne 


D’Arcy’s Wine Bar 

Who is this suitable for? 

Anyone with a sense of adventure (and 

maybe an interest in wine too) can apply. 

In addition, you need to be reasonably fit, 

100% reliable and able to get to and from 

the location. 

Although there is a skill in the way to 

harvest grapes, you’ll be taught all you 

need to know before you start. 

How does it work? 

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll 

work as part of a team in the vines, 

systematically working your way through 

each vine picking the grapes. 

You can apply for the position grape 


Chapel Down 

Some of the team 

at Appledore 

picker or bucket runner (emptying 

buckets full of grapes into the larger 

container and supplying fresh buckets to 

the pickers). 

Where will I be based? 

There are a number of vineyards spread 

across West and East Sussex, and Kent 

now looking for grape pickers. 

Experience the buzz of vineyard life 

Please get in touch now to find your nearest vineyard or to apply. 

Call us +44 (0) 1580 234800 

Email us info@recruitmentsoutheast.co.uk 

Recruitment South East 

A new chance to relax, learn and enjoy with a 

selection of great wines in an elegant new bar 

D’Arcy’s is a new wine bar and experience 

in Horsham in West Sussex. For over 

25s only, it’s a chance to taste and learn 

about a selection of carefully chosen 

wines in a relaxed and stylish setting. 

With a distinctly chic and Art Deco feel, 

D’Arcy’s offers a range of wine tastings 

which includes their wine sets made up of 

3 x ml glasses of either red, white, rosé or 

sparkling with at least one premium wine. 

With a changing wine menu, it’s a great 

way to decide what you like, and the staff 

are on hand to tell you more about each 

wine and where it’s from. 

Love sparkling wine? Then try Horsham’s 

own Coolhurst Miller’s Tale Blanc de 

Noirs, with Domaine Mazelles Crémant 

and Henri Champliau? Love your reds? 

Not a problem, they’ve got something for 

you from Pinot Noir to a cheeky Shiraz. 

When you’ve decided what you like, you 

can buy by the glass, carafe (perfect for 

when you and your partner can’t decide 

which wine you want) or bottle, and if 

you’re not sure about a wine, ask for a 

75 ml tasting glass. 

Of course, wine is not for everyone, so 

they also offer a range of premium spirits 

many of which aren’t available elsewhere 

in the area and an interesting range of 

beers which include brews from local 

brewery, Firebird, as well as a range of 

Old School Belgium beers for the beer 

aficionados. 

With a choice of sharing boards of cheese 

and charcuterie, D’Arcy’s is a great new 

venue for date night, relaxing with 

friends or just learning more about the 

fascinating world of wines. 

To book or find out more: 

D’Arcy’s Wine Bar 

Piries Place 

Horsham, West Sussex 

63

The 

Sussex Exclusive Quiz 


Lavender 

A look back and forwards at 

lavender growing in Sussex 

We may think our 

Sussex landscape is 

changing but often 

the change we see is 

not new, but part of 

a revolving cycle. Afterall wine isn’t new 

to Sussex, it was made here in Roman 

and Medieval times. 

Similarly, if you were lucky enough to 

visit the Lordington Lavender fields 

in West Sussex in July, it’s tempting to 

think this is a new Sussex phenomenon. 

But it isn’t. 

Some think that the Romans introduced 

lavender to England perhaps because 

Roman soldiers were known to carry it 

for a number of medicinal purposes. But 

there is no evidence that they actually 

grew it here. But Medieval monasteries 

used a number of herbs including 

lavender as a remedy and by the 16th 

century, the use and cultivation of 

lavender in England was common. 


The Victorians loved lavender and used it 

as a scent but there was a massive decline 

in the English lavender industry after 

WWI. That said, in the 1920s, lavender 

was being grown at Durrington in West 

Sussex and was known for its exceptional 

size and richly coloured flowers. The 

growers were distilling their own oil 

and selling lavender at Covent Garden. 

The soil in the area was thought to be 

eminently suitable for lavender growth. 

Despite there being a lavender variety 

named after Sussex, these days, 

lavender fields are few and far between. 

Lordington Lavender near Chichester is 

perhaps best known because in July you 

can walk the fields and take photos in 

amongst the strikingly beautiful flowers. 

They are also making their oils, creams, 

candles and even dog shampoos. 

There are some garden nurseries growing 

lavender in Sussex and there are lavender 

farms in Hampshire, Surrey and Kent. 

So perhaps, like wine, we may just be 

at the beginning of a Sussex lavender 

revival and soon the slopes of Sussex will 

be a hedonistic mix of vineyards and 

lavender fields. 

Sussex Exclusive’s 

Aifric Peachey is ready to test your 

Sussex knowledge 

How well do you know Sussex and how carefully 

have you read this magazine issue? 

All the quiz answers are contained within. 

1. Where in Sussex is the 

Queen's University (Canada) 

UK campus to be found? 

2. In which Sussex town can 

you find The Crow Road 

Bookshop? 

3. Which sculptor made The 

Landing on Hastings Beach? 

4. Who are the Chichester 

Road Gang? 

5. Where will you find all the 

following - ruins of a Norman 

castle, wildlife safaris and 

wellness retreats? 

6. What do Geranium Jane 

and a Drummer Boy have in 

common? 

7. What is The Bramble? 

8. What are Fluvius, Trisantonis 

and Evolution? 

9. According to Sussex dialect, 

what is a pharisee? 

10. How much is an adult oneway 

fare on the tiny Itchenor 

Ferry? 

65

The Chequers at 

Rowhook, West Sussex 

Our menu changes seasonally but you can 

expect the delights of dishes like risotto 

of wild mushroom with parmesan and 

wild truffle oil, crispy confit of duck with 

mashed potatoes, Savoy cabbage, French 

beans, sherry vinegar and lentil du puy 

jus, and sticky toffee pudding with toffee 

sauce & vanilla bean ice cream. And we 

also have a changing selection of specials. 

Outstanding chefs 

We’ve featured in the AA, Michelin and 

Master Chefs of Great Britain guides 

and we have an outstanding reputation 

for fine food, excellent wines and great 

service. All of which makes The Chequers 

one of the top Sussex foodie destinations 

for 2024. 

Fine dining at a unique 

Sussex gastropub 

As the summer slowly fades 

into autumn, The Chequers at 

Rowhook provides the perfect 

base from which to enjoy the best of the 

season. Nearby Roman Woods and the 

Sussex Border Path offer stunning walks 

and a dazzling array of autumn colours. 

Meanwhile our dog friendly pub has 

lots of outdoor space for those warm 

afternoons on the vine clad terrace or in 

the garden, and plenty of additional room 

around the fire in our flagstoned bar 

when the days get chilly. 

Seasonal ingredients 

Our menu offers a contemporary take 

on classic British and French-inspired 

cuisine, with every dish freshly-prepared 

in our country kitchen. 

Make a day of it 

Our historic 15th century building sits 

on the edge of ancient woodland and 

Stane Street (the original Roman road 

to London) and just outside historic 

Horsham. The Chequers Inn is dog 

friendly with dog treats on the bar and 

water on request, so it’s a great place to 

recuperate if you’ve been out walking and 

exploring the area. 

Booking is recommended. Plenty of free 

parking available. 

Call now to book or to find 

out more: 

The Chequers Inn 

Rowhook Road, Horsham 

RH12 3PY 

thechequersrowhook.com 

01403 790480 


There are a number of ways CH can help with school fees 

Bursaries and Scholarships 

Bursaries: A bursary is means-assessed 

financial assistance given to help support 

a family who would not otherwise be able 

to afford some or all of the school fees. 

Bursaries at Christ’s Hospital are available 

to applicants for boarding places only. 

Scholarships: A scholarship rewards 

outstanding achievements and talent 

in, for example, academic work, music, 

sport, art or drama. Scholarships may be 

honorary or may provide a discount of up 

to 20% of the assessed fee level. 

Scholarships are awarded to students who 

are entering the school at Year 7, Year 

9 and Year 12 and to existing students 

who are moving into Year 9 and Year 

12. Bursaries make places at Christ’s 

Hospital affordable; scholarships are an 

additional bonus for a limited number of 

outstanding students. 

Christ’s 

Hospital 

Offers Help With 

School Fees 

Students may be awarded both a 

bursary and a scholarship at the same 

time. 

Christ’s Hospital welcomes fee 

paying day students who are within 

a commutable distance of the school. 

Should a day applicant be successful 

in receiving a scholarship, Christ’s 

Hospital can occasionally, depending on 

individual circumstances, offer a small 

amount of additional fee assistance to 

support the scholar in taking up their 

place at the school. 

A unique boarding school 

Christ’s Hospital is a co-educational 

boarding and day school of 900 students 

aged 11-18. The school is situated in 

1200 acres of stunning countryside, 

just three miles south of the thriving 

market town of Horsham and is very 

fortunate in having its own mainline 

railway station. The school prides itself 

on its academic excellence, rich history, 

charitable ethos, outstanding facilities 

and diverse community. 

The school delivers a vibrant curriculum 

that has both challenge and opportunity 

at its heart. The CH curriculum is 

made up of three interwoven parts: a 

stimulating academic curriculum which 

covers everything inside the classroom, 

an extensive broader curriculum 

which encapsulates everything outside 

the classroom and a robust pastoral 

curriculum which ensures that all 

students feel safe, well cared for and 

fully supported throughout their 

educational journey. 

Students’ experiences outside the 

classroom are challenging, varied, and 

rewarding. They are about discovering 

and developing new and lifelong interests 

and talents. An enormous range of music, 

art, drama, sport, and broader curriculum 

activity is offered. 98% of leavers move 

on to university, taking with them the 

confidence and resilience they will need to 

achieve success at university and beyond. 

For over 470 years, Christ’s Hospital 

has produced scholars, leaders and 

global citizens. 

Impressive facilities and 

opportunities 

Christ’s Hospital is extremely well 

resourced. While every fibre of the school 

is steeped in history, teaching takes 

place in 90 well-equipped classrooms 

organised by department. Each classroom 

is equipped with specialist resources 

with dedicated facilities to enhance the 

students’ learning experience. The stateof-the-art 

library offers access to over 

20,000 books, newspapers and journals. It 

features a fully integrated online catalogue 

system which provides additional 

resources for students. The school enjoys 

excellent IT facilities and has recently 

created a new senior leadership role: 

Assistant Head Digital and Innovation. 

Students enjoy the purpose-built theatre, 

world-class sports facilities, a music school 

and art school. The school has an ongoing 

programme of renovation, rebuilding and 

technological development, which ensures 

that the facilities remain contemporary. 

This continued commitment to 

maintaining the infrastructure reflects 

the school’s dedication to providing an 

inspiring learning environment. 

How to apply for a place? 

The first step is to complete an 

application form, via the Christ’s Hospital 

website. 

Head’s Award 

The Head Teacher has a discretionary 

award for all-round academic and 

broader curricular achievement and/ 

or significant potential. This is awarded 

at the end of the assessment process, 

can be honorary or financial and can be 

awarded to a boarding student as well as 

to a day student. 

Key Dates 2025 Entry 

Year 7 and Year 9 

Friday 13 September 2024 deadline 

for 2025 bursary and scholarship 

applications. 

Sixth Form 

Monday 28 October 2024 deadline 

for 2025 bursary and scholarship 

applications. 

For more information or to 

download a prospectus: 

www.christs-hospital.org.uk 


FASHION 

FASHION 

Autumn 

Colours & 

Leopard 

Prints 

Whether you’re 

looking forward to 

an Indian summer 

or the golden shades 

of the next few 

months, now is the perfect time to add a 

few key items to your wardrobe. And this 

season is all about the soft muted colours 

of autumn. 

We’ve got some wonderful pieces like this 

stunning kimono which is perfect for 

the changing temperatures of the season. 

Pare it back for those last days of summer 

and add layers on those chilly days. 

We think this gorgeous green botanical 

dress is perfect for those vineyard visits 

and wine tasting. It’s easy to wear, very 

flattering and super stylish. 

Whether you’re pottering in the potting 

shed, or heading out to a late summer 

festival, this unique top looks casual with 

jeans but can be glammed up with a skirt 

for special occasions. 

We simply love this bag, which is perfect 

for the beach, but also for that last 

minute mini break or shopping trip. 

Leopard print is still very much in and 

is such a versatile style. Dress it up or 

down with heels or flats, add a shawl, and 

make it a wardrobe staple. 

La Vida Boutique specialises in affordable 

luxury in ladies’ fashion and accessories. 

The range is constantly evolving as La 

Vida only stocks collections in limited 

quantities so you can enjoy unique pieces 

separating you from the usual high street 

crowd! This is part of La Vida's charm so 

you can select very individual products 

which reflect your personality. 

The Boutique has a relaxed and informal 

atmosphere where you can browse at your 

leisure or if you wish, receive personal 

attention from founder, buyer, and stylist, 

Donna, or personal stylist Josh, who 

can help you uncover your own unique 

style. The personal shopping service is a 

particularly popular service, and new faces 

are always welcome in the Boutique to 

get your latest fashion fix! Whether you’re 

looking for a fabulous dress for a special 

occasion, something unique and quirky 

to spice up your wardrobe or you fancy 

treating yourself to a new bag or a pair 

of shoes, you’re sure to find something to 

suit you at La Vida. 

Use your Exclusive Sussex code 

of Exclusive10 for 10% off your 

first purchase over £50 or more 

at checkout in store or online. 

Visit the Boutique in The Courtyard, 

Stans Way, Horsham, West Sussex or shop 

online at www.lavidaboutique.co.uk. 

You can follow La Vida on 

Facebook as @lavidaboutique and on 

Instagram as @lavidaboutiqueuk. 


71

BOOKWORM 

BOOKWORM 

Lewes 

Calling all Bookworms 

Dust off your spectacles and lose yourself in a million pages and words 

Hastings Old Town 

Hare and Hawthorn Bookshop is an 

independent bookshop that’s been in 

the Old Town since 2015. They’re not 

massive but they have a great selection 

and are also just a hop and a skip from 

Boulevard Books which is also home to a 

very good Thai restaurant … of course! 

Eastbourne 

Camilla’s Bookshop is a large secondhand 

and antiquarian bookshop not far 

from the train station in Grove Road. It’s 

gloriously quirky and literally rammed 

from floor to ceiling with books. 

in these best of Sussex bookshops 

Alfriston 

A short drive from Eastbourne is the 

incredible Much Ado Books in Alfriston, 

a veritable Aladdin’s cave of bookly 

treasures with a little courtyard and 

shepherd’s hut at the rear. 

Much Ado Books, 

Alfriston 

Lewes has perhaps one of the most 

photographed of Sussex bookshops, 

namely the Fifteenth Century Bookshop at 

the top of the High Street. They specialise 

in children’s books including rare and 

collectible books as well as more recent 

publications, and yes, they are named 

after the age of the building. Lewes is also 

home to Boon Books (halfway down the 

hill in the High Street), a family-owned 

bargain bookshop and Bags of Books, an 

independent children’s bookshop on the 

corner of South Street and Chapel Hill. 

East Grinstead 

In a beautiful old Tudor building in 

the High Street, The Bookshop in East 

Grinstead is another glorious find and 

they even have a chess club which in the 

summer, meets outside. If you’re a fan of 

X (formerly known as Twitter), owner 

John Pye will keep you both entertained 

and informed! 

Brighton and Hove 

You’re a little bit spoilt for choice if you’re 

looking for independent bookshops 

in Brighton and Hove and you have 

everything from The Feminist Bookshop 

(Upper North Street), Goldsboro Books 

in Ship Street which specialises in first 

editions, and Invisible Books in Snoopers 

Paradise in Kensington Gardens. But if 

you have time to visit nowhere else, put 

City Books on Western Road on your 

list. They have twice been shortlisted for 

the national ‘Independent Bookshop of 

the Year Award’ and hold regular literary 

evenings with an impressive catalogue of 

celebrity guest speakers. 

Steyning 

Steyning Bookshop is in a rather beautiful 

18th century High Street building and 

stocks all genres. Children’s writer Julia 

Donaldson lives in the town so you might 

occasionally catch her here too. 

Arundel and Chichester 

Head down the High Street in Arundel 

and look out for a little doorway that 

leads into Kim’s Bookshop. They have 

books on all subjects and pride themselves 

on being book detectives if you’re looking 

for that ever-elusive edition. They also 

have a store in Chichester. Another one 

to look out for in Arundel is The Crow 

Road Bookshop in the High Street which 

promises old world charm and lots and 

lots of books. 

Petworth 

Petworth Bookshop is small but packed 

with local knowledge and lots of books. 

Super helpful, they’re always on hand to 

give advice. 

Happy browsing 

Boon Books, Lewes 

Steyning bookshop 

Petworth bookshop 

The Fifteenth Century 

bookshop, Lewes 


BOOKWORM 

In The 

Library 

during their lifetime. These decisions 

won’t necessarily affect how their assets 

are deployed in that lifetime but will put 

into place arrangements that come into 

effect on their death, which allows them 

to say to their successors, “This is what I 

have left, and this is what I’d like you to do 

with it.” 

BOOKWORM 

Showcasing Sussex authors 

Who Will Get My Money When I Die? 

A clear and comprehensive book to guide you through your tax 

and inheritance planning. Packed with practical guidance and reallife 

case studies, it shows you how to avoid unwanted surprises or 

crippling tax bills for your heirs and ensure your wishes are carried 

out. By Stuart Ritchie FCA CTA. 

Available on Amazon 

Interview with the author 

Stuart Ritchie is a fellow of the Institute 

of Chartered Accountants in England and 

Wales and a member of the Chartered 

Institute of Taxation. In addition, he is 

also the Chairman of the Private Client 

Committee of the Tax Faculty of the 

Institute of Chartered Accountants in 

England and Wales. He specialises in 

private client taxation and founded 

Ritchie Phillips in 2003 having worked 

for two of the leading private client 

accountancy firms in London. 

We caught up with Stuart to find out 

more about the book, the inspiration 

behind it and why he feels this is such an 

important area. 

Who is the book recommended 

for? 

It’s aimed at anyone who has assets and 

who wants to make sure that their wishes 

for those assets are carried out properly. 

Assets can be a family home, a second 

home, it could be a pension or savings, 

but it could also be other things like 

collections. For some that might be a 

collection of motor cars but for others 

that could be postcards. 

Why do you feel a book on this 

subject is so important? 

Unfortunately death remains quite a 

taboo subject and a lack of knowledge 

or foresight can jeopardise effective 

planning for your inevitable demise. This 

book bridges the gap between the very 

simplified information that is available 

and often discussed socially and the very 

highbrow textbooks that exist to discuss 

how Wills and trusts should operate in 

practice. What I have tried to do is bridge 

that gap to give people clarity about what 

they need to do, both for during their 

lifetime and for on their death. 

In respect of this, there are a number of 

key points, in a sense that it’s a journey 

and not a destination, and the book 

helps individuals to make key decisions 

If you could give one main piece 

of take away advice, what would 

it be? 

It would have to be that if circumstances 

allow it, be transparent with your 

successors as to your wishes for your 

wealth. The reason I say that is that once 

you have passed away there will then be 

no surprises. There are legal documents, 

as you’d expect, such as a Will and trusts 

but you can also use a Letter of Wishes. 

This is a way to speak from the grave 

and sometimes I find that people with 

complex affairs will actually write a guide 

that goes along the lines of, “I’m no longer 

with you, so what next?” Then it goes 

through all the things they own and have 

entitlement to and explains what they 

would like to happen to them. 

That said, for some families, transparency 

is not an option because there may 

already be sufficient tension within 

the family group. In those situations, 

transparency can exacerbate an existing set 

of problems. Often then it is a good idea 

to have a trusted family advisor and that 

is the person with who the conversations 

should take place, so that they can speak 

for you, after you have passed away. 

Looking to the future, what 

changes in approach to 

inheritance and estate planning 

do you anticipate? 

Well obviously, we’ve had a change in 

government with the general election on 

the 4th July. It was notable that all the 

main political parties said very little in 

their manifestos about taxation. Most of 

the commentary came in interviews with 

leading members of each political party. 

We now have a Labour government and 

in the interviews that I’ve alluded to, 

they have hinted at potential changes to 

Capital Gains Tax, with which there’ll 

be an alignment or greater alignment 

between the rates of tax for income tax 

and Capital Gains Tax. 

They’ve also talked about changing the 

rules relating to Inheritance Tax and 

possibly to what we call Business Property 

Relief and Agricultural Property Relief, 

which are presently available at the rate 

of at 100%. Whether these survive the 

first fiscal event of the current Chancellor, 

Rachel Reeves, or not, remains to be seen. 

The expectation is the fiscal event will 

either be in late September or October. 

And, of course, from the point of view of 

my book, there’s the option of a second 

edition. That said, I don’t think the 

changes will make much difference to 

the approach I recommend. The book 

is about the factors that people should 

take into account as they come to the 

end of their lives, and this leads to an 

overarching plan. Tax is just one of the 

factors that they need to consider as they 

go through this exercise and undertake 

their inheritance and estate planning. 

You can find 

out more 

about Stuart 

at Ritchie 

Phillips 


Scratch the Sussex surface and you’ll find all sorts of 

weird and wonderful things that are worth a little exploration 

Weird & Wonderful 


Clockwise: 

Saxonbury Tower 

Chalk Balls 

Eridge Rocks 

Itchenor Ferry 

page 77: 

Walk to 

Itchenor Ferry 

As we go about our Sussex 

adventures at Sussex 

Exclusive, we often 

stumble across little 

pockets of wonder! Here’s 

our round up of four such curiosities. 

Saxonbury Tower, East Sussex 

Tucked away on Saxonbury Hill, near 

Robertsbridge, this folly was built on 

an Iron Age hill fort in 1828. Designed 

in Gothic style, it was an observation 

tower built by the Abergavenny family. 

It’s quite a pretty tower but although you 

can walk to it, you can’t enter because it’s 

now used by a phone company. 

Chalk Balls, West Sussex 

There are 15 large, chalk balls in West 

Sussex in between Cocking and West 

Dean which make up a trail. They were 

designed by Andy Goldsworthy back in 

2002 and at the time, it was thought they 

would quickly disintegrate. 

These days, they make an interesting 

walk, and although some of them are 

very crumbled and forlorn, it’s still fun 

finding them! 

Itchenor Ferry, West Sussex 

The tiny Itchenor Ferry carries people 

across the Chichester Channel from 

near Bosham Hoe to Itchenor. From the 

Bosham side, you access the ferry down 

Smugglers Lane (a leafy footpath) and by 

walking across the wide channel flats of 

mud, sand and water. 

A ferry has been operating here since 

the 17th century and takes just a few 

minutes to cross. It costs just £3 and 

saves you quite a long detour. 

Eridge Rocks Nature Reserve, 


Just outside Tunbridge Wells, but 

within Sussex, is the extraordinary rock 

formation in the Eridge Rocks Nature 

Reserve. This is a designated Site of 

Special Scientific Interest and some of the 

sandstone rocks, which are 135 million 

years old, are 10 metres high. The whole 

area is also rich in interesting trees, flora 

and fauna. 

The rocks form a ridge which you 

can walk along, in front of or above 

(although mind your footing) and they 

are truly magnificent. 


Advertorial 

At Holmewood Interiors we 

know that it is often the 

smallest items, the attention 

to detail, that will really 

customise and style a room 

for you. Kitchen cupboard and drawer 

handles, or no handles at all, come very 

firmly under this heading! 

Kitchen handles draw your eye and are one 

of the first things you notice. Selecting the 

right one for you, not only creates a more 

comfortable, smooth, user experience, but 

brings your design flair and personality 

into your kitchen design. 

So where to start? 

Certain shapes, styles and finishes team 

better with a traditional, or a more 

modern kitchen idea. Are you looking to 

blend your handles with the overall colour 

scheme, or make a bold statement? Are 

you looking for something contemporary 

and simple or structured and strong? 

Something with an interesting texture, 

with elegance or perhaps a quirky 

character? The scope and choice is exciting. 

Different metals for different styles 

Metal is the most favoured hardware 

and stainless steel is the ultimate versatile 

metal. It complements appliances, is 

neutral in colour and gives a clean look. 

But, a chrome handle with a highly 

polished surface will add more impact 

to both contemporary or traditional 

cabinets and work well in both modern 

and classic styling. 

However, for a warmer hue, nickel is 

elegantly aesthetic with a subtle tint 

that will complement a more traditional 

setting and a sheen that will pick out any 

design detailing. Copper’s muted, warm 

colouring works well to create a statement 

for a modern setting, whereas in contrast, 

a bright brass handle can add a lift to 

darker fronts. 

For timber, country and some painted 

kitchens, pewter’s natural patina lends 

itself to showcasing a handle’s styling 

features. But for a good contrast with 

lighter door colours try matt black, which 

will also colour match to darker finishes to 

blend in too. 

And then of course there is the simple 

clean minimalist white handles. Positioned 

on a matching white front the result is 

a clean, contemporary feel. By contrast, 

when fitted to a black kitchen, it is 

an ideal way to achieve a refined and 

monochrome setting. 

Can you Handle the 

Attention to Detail? 

Shaun Pentecost of Holmewood Interiors 

talks all things handles 


Autumn Inspiration 

GARDENING 

Gardener and garden writer, Geoff Stonebanks, shares advice 

and ideas for the green fingered 

Size does matter! 

Are you creating a neat minimal feel, 

or a bold statement kitchen? This will 

determine the size of the handles and 

knobs you choose. Discreet small knobs 

and slimline handles convey a minimal 

feel and large, oversized handles will 

immediately give the ‘wow’ factor. 

A handy tip … if you are unsure of 

the size of handle you want, cut some 

masking tape into different lengths and 

position it on your cabinets. This enables 

you to gauge the effect the different sizes 

and proportions of handles will have 

when in position. 

A touch of luxury 

Styling is all about the detail and 

Holmewood Interiors work closely 

with a number of well known, award 

winning and innovative knob and 

handle designers such as; UK based 

Armac Martin who are well known for 

their high quality, solid brass cabinet 

hardware, Giara Art Design’s family run 

company, craft out of various metals 

to create handmade artisan knobs and 

handles, and Amerock who have built an 

exceptional reputation for award winning 

decorative and cabinet hardware. 

Or perhaps… no handles at all! 

Not all handles need to be seen and 

handle-less rails are the modern 

alternative for creating an ultra-modern 

look. 

Clean linear styling lends itself to this 

smart system that sits neatly between the 

door and cabinet, creating a void for you 

to reach in to open the door. 

The handle-less trim, whilst maintaining 

an overall seamless, continuous 

look with uninterrupted lines, can 

also make a distinctive statement if 

contrasting colours are used. Bold colour 

combinations such as metallic, coloured 

or wooden finishes turn it into a styling 

feature. Or, the handle-less rail can be 

‘hidden’ by letting it blend in for a more 

minimalist feel. 

If you would like any further 

information, or more tips on 

how you can personalise and 

create your room to be proud 

of, please visit our website 

holmewoodinteriors.co.uk, call 

us on 01403 254090 or email 

info@holmewoodinteriors.co.uk 

and we will always do what we 

can to help. 

Now is certainly the time 

to bask in the glorious 

colour of your garden 

displays, but it’s also the 

perfect opportunity to 

think ahead to autumn. Autumn is a 

great time to make changes to your plot 

so that you will enjoy it even more next 

year. It’s also the time to plant spring 

bulbs and many other plants, mulch 

your borders and prepare new ground for 

growing. 

If, like me, you have some fruit growing 

in the garden, it will soon be time to 

harvest. When we arrived in Seaford, 20 

years ago now, there were already two 

fruit trees, very well-established, a pear 

tree and a large apple tree. I have since 

introduced a grapevine, not so much 

for the grapes themselves but more 

realistically to allow the vine to soften the 

impact of the garden shed on the overall 

look of the garden. Most years we harvest 

quite a good crop from the two trees, and 

I tend to peel and poach the fruit, freeze 

it in small containers to use for pies and 

crumbles through the winter months. To 

be honest, I leave the grapes on the vine 

for the birds as the fruit contains pips 

which makes it difficult to use. One year, 

I did venture to make grape jelly, but the 

frustrations of removing the pips put pay 

to any future endeavours. 

Planning ahead with summer 

favourites 

Why not plan ahead for next year, 

perhaps planting some pollinator-friendly 

Rudbeckia 

flowers that bees and butterflies will love 

at this time of year. Many are now sold 

in containers throughout the year at 

garden centres and can be planted at any 

time, so long as the soil isn’t frozen or 

waterlogged. Some of my favourites are: 

Rudbeckia 

Bright yellow petals surround a black 

centre of the Rudbeckia deamii, in these 

colourful blooms that flower freely in 

full sun and you can leave the seed heads 

on through the winter to provide food 

for birds and shelter for insects too. It 

is a clump-forming, erect herbaceous 

perennial (to 60 cm), with densely hairy 

stems, and oval, dark green, roughly 

hairy serrated leaves. The flowers grow 

to seven cm in width and are produced 

from late summer to mid-autumn. 


GARDENING 

Heleniums 

GARDENING 

Heleniums, whose common name is 

Sneezeweed, bring warm colour to borders 

from mid-summer into autumn. These 

sun-loving perennials are tough, hardy and 

easy to grow. They combine particularly 

well with grasses and other late-flowering 

perennials in prairie-style plantings. They 

come in a choice of rich, fiery hues such as 

yellows, deep oranges and reddish-coppers 

and open from mid-summer. The centres 

become more prominent as the flowers 

age and the petals curve backwards. The 

upright, leafy, branching stems emerge 

from sturdy clumps. I have two in my 

garden Strawberry sundae (pictured) and 

Okra sundae. 

Asters 

The daisy-like flowers of Asters are easy to 

grow, flourishing in sunny borders, though 

some varieties can cope with a partially 

shaded spot. Part of the Island Series, 

my Aster ‘Barbados’ is a neat, compact 

Michaelmas daisy. Its mauve-purple flowers 

are a tonic for fading borders from late 

summer to autumn. This cheery perennial 

is free-flowering, attracting attention from 

pollinating insects which are drawn to the 

nectar-rich flowers. The upright stems 

and colourful blooms make this a lovely 

cut flower too. A useful perennial for 

providing late summer colour at the front 

of perennial borders. 

Hibiscus 

A beautiful plant looking good at the 

moment is my Hibiscus. It is one of two 

that I use as an indoor plant through 

the winter and place outside for some 

of the summer. It was purchased for 

me by my father, who passed away in 

2007, and always brings back associated 

memories when it flowers. Sadly, the 

flowers only last one to two days but 

many are produced. 

Heleniums 

Aster 

Fuchsias 

Fuchsias are wonderful plants in the 

garden in late summer too and providing 

the weather does not get too cold, they 

will flower well into the autumn as 

well. Pictured is one of the favourites 

at Driftwood, Empress of Prussia. It is 

a strong-stemmed, upright, deciduous 

shrub, about one metre tall, with rather 

broad dark leaves. Large flowers are 

single, with spreading scarlet sepals and 

tube, petals magenta flushed red at base, 

borne from summer to autumn. It is best 

grown in moist but well-drained, fertile 

soil in sun or part shade. It is hardy 

outside in most UK regions but provide 

a deep winter mulch and shelter from 

cold drying winds. The one pictured is 

the mother plant of many subsequent 

cuttings in my garden and was purchased 

by my father, as a Ruby Wedding gift for 

my mother, many moons ago. I love it! 

Alstroemeria Indian Summer 

Another great favourite of mine is the 

Alstroemeria Indian summer. You’ll love 

their beautifully coloured flowers, set 

against unique rich, bronze foliage. These 

hardy Peruvian lilies are compact with 

an upright habit, ensuring that stems 

are still a good length for cutting. They 

are perfect perennials for borders and 

patio containers where they will flower 

continuously, from June to November 

and are naturally hardy to about -7C. 

The trick to extending flowering time 

is not to deadhead, but remove tired 

blooms by pulling the stem, the resulting 

wound then initiates further flowers. I 

have several clumps in the back garden 

with the one pictured flowering through 

a rusty metal sphere. 

Hibiscus 

Fuchsias 

Alstroemeria 

Aeoniums 

Aeoniums 

Aeoniums are fleshy, succulent plants 

native to Madeira, the Canary Islands 

and North Africa. Members of the 

Crassulaceae family, they have rosettes of 

glossy, waxy leaves and range in height 

from a few centimetres to up to a metre. 

In late winter or spring they may produce 

clusters of tiny flowers, but they are mostly 

grown for their distinctive, unusual shapes 

and foliage that comes in shades of green 

or purple-black or variegated in shades of 

white, yellow and red. 

Aeoniums make excellent, low 

maintenance house plants that need 

very little care. They thrive on neglect, 

allowing the soil to dry out in between 

watering will make the colours more 

vibrant and the plant stronger. They look 

great grown with other succulents or cacti 

that thrive in similar growing conditions. 

They can also be grown outdoors in 

summer, in a pot with summer bedding 

plants or in a sunny, well-drained border. 

The main growing season for Aeoniums 

is spring and autumn, when the 

temperature and light levels are perfect 

for their growth. They often go dormant 

in hot periods of the summer, you may 

notice the rosettes becoming tighter, and 

the outer leaves drying and dropping off. 

This is perfectly normal. They need less 

water at this time as they can live off the 

water and nutrients stored in the leaves 

and stems. 


GARDENING 

Pyracantha 

Goldenrod 

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Beautifully crafted 

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They are monocarpic, which means 

they die after flowering. However, on 

branching varieties, only the rosette that 

produced the flower will die, leaving the 

rest of the plant to live on. It is a good 

idea to take cuttings from your plants so 

that you always have new ones. 

Autumn planting 

Pyracantha 

A beautiful autumnal plant is the 

stunning Pyracantha, especially when it 

produces its pretty berries, much loved 

by the birds. Pyracantha, or Firethorn, is 

a handsome evergreen shrub with spring 

flowers and brilliantly colourful autumn 

berries. Dazzling white flower heads are 

borne in early summer, contrasting with 

the small bright green leaves. In autumn, 

flower heads mature to clusters of showy 

scarlet, orange, or yellow berries. They’re 

easy to grow on most soils and aspects, 

making them a great choice for problem 

spots that are otherwise hard to plant 

up. Pyracantha can be grown in different 

ways, either as a shrub, trained on a 

support, or as a wide pyracantha hedge. 

Most varieties grow to several metres high 

but there are some bushy and compact 

growing varieties too. 

Pyracantha is superb for wildlife with 

flowers that attract pollinating insects, 

the dense thorny growth makes excellent 

nesting sites for birds, which also feast 

on the berries. Red and orange berries 

are most favoured by birds, yellow is less 

popular, so it can be worth growing at 

least a couple of different pyracanthas. 

Goldenrod 

Another great plant in my garden in the 

autumn is Goldenrod or Solidago, an 

herbaceous perennial that is mostly native 

to North America, where they’re found 

growing in sunny, open areas such as 

meadows and prairies. They are members 

of the daisy family and have vivid yellow, 

often conical flower heads that are made 

up of many, small, daisy-like flowers. 

Goldenrods were introduced to UK 

gardens from North America in the 

19th century and were popular plants 

in herbaceous borders until they fell 

out of favour, probably due to the 

plants’ thuggish tendencies. The plant 

is apparently now coming back into 

fashion. They combine brilliantly with 

blue asters and aconitums, ornamental 

grasses and Verbena bonariensis for a 

stunning late summer show. The flowers 

are extremely attractive to butterflies, 

bees and other pollinators, too. 

Prepare your greenhouse 

As we approach the autumn our 

greenhouses will need to be prepared 

ready to store tender plants for the winter 

or be used for planting up seeds. I’m very 

lucky that mine has mains power, so is 

nice and warm and a safe home for many 

of the succulents displayed around the 

garden for the summer months. 

Whatever you are growing in your 

garden, enjoy the remains of summer and 

appreciate the coming autumnal days. 

You can find out more about Geoff and 

his unique garden at 

www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk 

THE REASSURANCE OF DEALING WITH A local SPECIALIST 

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Your bed is one of the most important pieces of furniture in your home, as it 

directly affects your health, wellbeing, and relationships. Here are some essential 

Feng Shui tips to optimize the energy around your bed. 

Bring Some Feng Shui 

into Your Home 

Feng Shui consultant, Janine Lowe, shares tips on two key 

areas of your home: your cooker and your bed. 

The cooker/stove is 

considered the ‘heart” of 

the kitchen in Feng Shui. 

It symbolizes wealth and 

nourishment, making 

its position critically important. A 

properly placed cooker promotes good 

health, abundance, and harmonious 

relationships among family members. 

Feng Shui suggests you should 

not place your cooker/stove directly 

in line with the kitchen door. It is 

believed to cause nutritional and 

financial energy to rapidly escape 

whenever the door is opened. 

The cooker/stove should 

have a solid wall behind it. This 

represents support and stability in 

life. A window or a frequently used 

door behind the cooker can cause 

instability and restlessness in the 

household. 

The cook should be able to see the 

doorway when standing at the stove. 

If this isn’t possible, using mirrors to 

reflect the entryway from the cooker’s 

position can help the cook see who 

enters the kitchen bringing a sense of 

security and control. 

The cooker/stove should be placed 

away from the sink, dishwasher, and 

refrigerator which represent water elements. 

Water and fire clash, disrupting the balance 

in the kitchen. If close placement is 

unavoidable, introduce a wood element, 

like a wooden cutting board, between 

them to balance the energies. 

The direction the cooker/stove faces 

can also impact the positive energy of the 

kitchen. Here are a few guidelines: 

East: suitable for health and family growth. 

South east: ideal for wealth accumulation. 

South: enhances fame and recognition. 

Position your bed properly 

Command Position: place your bed in the 

“command position” of the room. This 

means your bed should be positioned 

diagonally across from the door, so you 

can see the door without being directly 

in line with it. This provides a sense of 

security and control. 

Solid Wall: ensure the head of your bed 

is against a solid wall for support and 

stability. Avoid placing your bed under a 

window, as this can lead to restless energy 

and poor sleep quality. 

Avoid clutter under the bed 

Keep the area under your bed clean and 

free from clutter. Stored items can create 

stagnant energy, affecting your rest and 

overall wellbeing. If you must store items 

under the bed, make sure they are soft, 

like extra bedding or pillows, to maintain 

a gentle energy flow. 

Balanced sides 

Ensure there is equal space on both 

sides of the bed to allow for balanced 

energy flow and easy access. This also 

symbolizes equality and balance in 

relationships. Place matching bedside 

tables and lamps on either side to enhance 

harmony and balance. 

Headboard matters 

Use a solid, stable headboard for your 

bed. A good headboard provides support 

and protection, symbolizing strength and 

stability in your life and relationships. 

Avoid headboards with open slats or bars, 

as they can create a sense of separation 

and instability. 

Avoid mirrors facing the bed 

Avoid placing mirrors directly facing 

your bed. Mirrors can bounce energy 

around the room, leading to restlessness 

and disrupted sleep. If you have a 

mirror facing the bed, consider covering 

it at night to promote a more restful 

sleep environment. 

Bed size and bedding 

Choose a bed that is appropriately sized 

for your room. An oversized bed can 

overwhelm a small room, while a toosmall 

bed can feel lost in a larger space. 

Use high-quality, natural fabrics for your 

bedding to enhance comfort and promote 

healthy energy. 

Soothing colours 

Opt for soothing and neutral colours 

for your bedroom and bedding to create 

a calming environment. Soft tones like 

beige, cream, and pastel shades are ideal 

for promoting relaxation and restful sleep. 

By following these Feng Shui tips, you 

can create a harmonious and supportive 

sleeping environment that enhances your 

health, wellbeing, and relationships. 

Sweet dreams. 

Janine Lowe 

is a classically 

trained Feng Shui 

consultant in the 

arts of Bazi, Flying 

Stars, Auspicious 

Dates, Qi Men 

Dun Chia and I 

Ching. You can 

find out more at: 

Janine Lowe or 

on Facebook @ 

janinelowefengshui. 


Advertorial 

HEALTH 

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The Common Cold: 

All You Need To Know 

As summer slips into autumn, and the children go back to school, everyone 

seems to be sporting a cold. Dr Tracy Gates of Pure Bio shares tips and advice 

on how to minimise your risk of catching a cold and what to do if you do! 

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EXPERIENCE THE COUNTRY CLUB LIFESTYLE 

What Slinfold Golf & Country Club Members Think 

As you can imagine, being the mum of a teenager and running my own business means life is very busy and definitely gets a little 

crazy at times. And a little while ago, I realised I needed a break and I needed to make time for me a priority. 

I’d heard about Slinfold Golf & Country Club a couple of years ago, but never got round to visiting, so recently I decide to go and have 

a look. I walked in and I was instantly made welcome by the lovely staff at reception. 

Kylie, one of the Membership Advisors, showed me around, and again, I was instantly made to feel at home and more relaxed. The 

club has a lovely atmosphere and feels clean and stylish. After a quick coffee in the bar, I signed up for a trial visit. 

I have since joined and I love the pool. It’s the perfect temperature and even on my first visit, I achieved more than I thought I would. 

It’s great to have all the facilities under one roof. And the jacuzzi and steam room are a really lovely way to relax and unwind. 

When I need to juggle work and a bit of self-care, I grab some lunch in the Lounge Bar and catch up with those emails or reports. Or 

sometimes, if I have time, I just admire the fabulous view from the balcony across the golf course. 

I’m absolutely delighted that I’ve found Slinfold Golf & Country Club and it’s definitely what I’ve been looking for. It’s a place I can 

retreat to and take care of myself and I am already feeling less frazzled and more relaxed. 

Rachael 

Prevention 

There is no 100% reliable way of preventing colds, 

but risks can be reduced by washing your hands 

regularly, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, 

getting regular exercise, sleep, avoiding prolonged 

periods in overly warm and poorly ventilated rooms; 

and limiting your stress levels. 

When symptoms first appear: 

Ways to support the immune system and speed 

recovery include the following: 

• Drink plenty of fluids in order to maintain water 

balance and to thin mucous secretions 

• Eat raw garlic, which has antibacterial and 

antiviral properties. Crush a clove or two and add 

to foods like soups and grains just before serving 

• A humidifier may provide some comfort 

Once a cold is apparent: 

Daily saltwater nasal rinse may be beneficial to 

speed up the recovery and reduce the need for OTC 

medications. Method: Mix a pinch of salt and a 

pinch of bicarbonate of soda in about half a pint 

of warm water. Use a bulb syringe (a neti pot) to 

squirt water into the nose. Hold one nostril closed by 

applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt 

mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat 

two to three times, then treat the other nostril. 

Commercial preparations can also be purchased to 

achieve the same result. 

Blow your nose often – but the right way. Regularly 

blowing your nose avoids mucous from being sniffed 

back into the head. But avoid blowing hard, as the 

pressure can push the infected mucous back into the 

sinuses, increasing congestion and prolonging the 

cold; or into the ear canals, causing earache. 

Staying warm and resting when you first come down 

with a cold or the flu helps the body to focus its 

energy on upregulating the immune system. 

Gargling can moisten a sore throat and bring 

temporary relief. Try a teaspoon of salt dissolved in 

warm water, four times daily. An astringent gargle, 

such as tea (which contains tannins) will tighten 

the membranes and reduce an irritating tickle in 

the throat. Or use a thick, viscous gargle made with 

honey, sage and cayenne pepper all of which are 

slightly antibacterial or antiseptic. Steep fresh sage 

leaves with the cayenne in 100 ml of just boiled 

water for 10 minutes. Add about 50 ml of honey; 

you can also add a pinch of salt and some cider 

vinegar to help loosen mucous. Let the mixture cool 

to room temperature before gargling. 


HEALTH 

HEALTH 

Hot liquids relieve nasal congestion, prevent 

dehydration and soothe the uncomfortably inflamed 

membranes of the nose and throat. 

Steamy showers moisturise the nasal passages and 

generally relax the body. 

A small dab of mentholated cream under the nose 

can open breathing passages and help restore the 

irritated skin at the base of the nose. Menthol, 

eucalyptus and camphor all have mild numbing 

ingredients that may help relieve the pain of a nose 

rubbed raw. 

Sleeping with an extra pillow under the head will 

help relieve congested nasal passages. 

Don’t fly unless it is absolutely necessary. The change 

in air pressure will increase the stress on the upper 

respiratory system and may temporarily damage 

your eardrums. 

Dietary Modification 

Excessive sugar, dietary fat, and alcohol all 

compromise immune function, so are best avoided. 

Some good foods to eat when battling a cold or flu: 

• Bananas: Soothe upset stomachs 

• Peppers: Loaded with vitamin C 

• Blueberries: Curbs diarrhoea, high in natural 

aspirin. (May lower fevers and help with the aches 

and pains) 

• Carrots: Loaded with beta-carotene 

• Chilli peppers: Can open sinuses, and help break 

up mucous in the lungs 

• Mustard and horseradish: Helps break up mucous 

in air passages 

• Onion: Has phytochemicals claimed to help the 

body clear bronchitis and other infections 

• Rice: Curbs diarrhoea 

• Tea: Black and green tea (not herbals) contain 

catechin, a phytochemical claimed to have natural 

antibiotic and anti-diarrhoea effects. 

Honey is a popular home remedy for cough and 

colds. Honey works by coating and soothing an 

irritated throat and it also has antioxidant and 

antibacterial effects. Manuka honey has the most 

research accrediting it with potent antibacterial activity. 

Nutritional Supplement 

Treatment Options 

Vitamin C can reduce the duration of the cold and the 

severity of symptoms. The optimum amount of vitamin 

C to take for cold treatment remains in debate but may 

be as high as 1 to 3 grams per day – considerably more 

than the 75 to 90 mg per day that has been suggested as 

optimal intake for healthy adults. 

General recommendation is to take a dosage up 

to bowel tolerance – once your bowels start to 

become loose, drop the dosage down by about 

250mg. Vitamin C should always be reduced down 

gradually and never stopped suddenly. 

Zinc Lozenges. Zinc may interfere with viral 

replication and with the ability of viruses to enter 

cells of the body. It is believed to help your immune 

cells to fight a cold and may relieve cold symptoms. 

The best effect is obtained when lozenges are used at 

the first sign of a cold. 

Monolaurin. This is used for treating the 

common cold as well as a host of other viral and 

bacterial infections. 

Mushroom formulas. Increasing amounts of 

research on medicinal mushrooms indicate that they 

can improve the function of the immune system; 

as well as being anti-inflammatory and protective 

against diabetes, heart disease and cancer. 

Probiotics. Double blind trials have shown that 

daily supplementation with Lactobacillus GG (a 

probiotic organism) for 3 months can decrease the 

incidence of upper respiratory tract infections and 

common infectious diseases in young children. 

Propolis. This is the resinous substance collected by 

bees from the leaf buds and bark of trees. Propolis 

extracts may be helpful in preventing and shortening 

the duration of the common cold. 

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). NAC is a potent 

antioxidant that has been used for several years to 

treat various lung conditions such as bronchitis due 

to its expectorant or mucolytic properties. 

Vitamin D. Research suggests that low levels of 

vitamin D are associated with an increased risk of 

upper respiratory infections. In fact, declining levels 

of vitamin D during the winter months is one of 

the recent hypotheses for the increasing incidence of 

colds and the flu during winter months. 

Botanical Treatment Options 

Four different categories of herbs are used to help 

combat the common cold: 

First, herbs that stimulate the immune system to 

fight the infection are used during the onset of the 

common cold e.g. Asian ginseng, astragalus, echinacea, 

eleuthero, garlic, goldenseal, hyssop, schisandra. 

Second, herbs known as diaphoretics promote a 

mild fever and sweating, both of which are useful for 

fighting infection. A fever is a sign that the immune 

system is working; thus, diaphoretics may also be 

immune stimulators e.g. elderflower, hyssop, yarrow. 

The third category includes herbs that, based on test 

tube studies, may directly kill the viruses that cause 

colds e.g. Barberry, elderberry, goldenseal, myrrh, 

Oregon grape. 

Finally, a fourth category of herbs are used to 

alleviate cold symptoms, such as sore throats. 

These herbs tend to be high in mucilage and are 

soothing and anti-inflammatory, or have tannins 

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that are astringent. Examples to ease a sore throat 

include: blackberry, blueberry, red raspberry; whilst 

Eucalyptus and Peppermint reduce nasal stuffiness. 

Andrographis contains active constituents that have 

demonstrated immune-enhancing properties. 

Article contributed by Dr Tracy S Gates, DO, 

DIBAK, L.C.P.H., Consultant, Pure Bio 

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HEALTH 

HEALTH 

processed and many convenience foods, 

white breads and pasta all contain refined 

carbohydrates. They often tend to be 

combined with high levels of sugar too. 

When we eat food that brings us pleasure 

our brain releases Dopamine, another one 

of our “feel good” neurotransmitters. 

production of Serotonin and the increase 

in Insulin as a result of their consumption 

supports tryptophan absorption in the 

blood. Tryptophan rich foods and the 

amino acids from protein are all important 

to our overall wellbeing and optimisation 

of our mood and overall health. 

Make Like a Tree 

and Let Go 

Holly Stone shares advice on how to cope with the 

impact of the changing season 

Autumn can be such a 

beautiful season full of 

metaphors that support 

our wellbeing. The most 

prominent being the 

beauty of letting go of the things that no 

longer serve us to allow space for growth 

and rejuvenation. 

As the days shorten, our bodies 

instinctively look to hibernate and rest, 

but are we able to do that in today’s 

busy culture? No, normally we just have 

to carry on with life which means as 

the days get shorter, we can start to feel 

lethargic. And that often means we reach 

for carbohydrate rich foods in a bid to 

keep our energy levels up. 

The good and the bad of carbs 

As our brains respond to the changes of 

the seasons, they adapt to enable us to 

continue to “do” and meet our needs. 

So when daylight hours decrease the 

brain looks to food to maintain our 

positive neurotransmitters. Exposure 

to LUX (light exposure) from the sun 

is thought to boost the release of our 

happy hormone Serotonin. Serotonin 

is associated with feelings of wellbeing 

and boosted mood and motivation. It 

can help us to feel calm, focused and to 

sleep well and maintain our metabolism. 

But food is also an important part of the 

production of this wonderful hormone. 

Carbohydrates in particular! 

Why are carbohydrates such a 

feel-good food? 

Well, firstly, carbohydrate rich food often 

tastes really good. These are the foods that 

generally get bad press; the unhealthy 

(whatever that means) treats like cake, 

Dopamine in turn is a reward for the relief 

of pain and discomfort (doing of the things 

that we need for survival) and teaches the 

brain to reach for the foods that gave us 

that positive feeling last time that we felt 

low or tired. So, food that is “yummy” and 

brings pleasure is encouraged by the brain 

and we find ourselves reaching for the high 

fat, carbohydrate dense often sugar rich 

processed foods. Not to mention that basic 

survival ensures that we reach for the high 

energy foods when we are feeling depleted. 

Is there really a problem with that? 

Well, maybe not but the more Dopamine 

we create in response to the yummy food 

we eat, the more the Dopamine receptors 

down regulate (i.e. we need to eat more of 

the same food to get the same pleasure that 

we previously got when we ate less). So, we 

are stuck in a self-fuelling spiral of craving. 

Note: social media and the “doom scroll” 

fuel more Dopamine and increases the 

down regulation further. 

Finding other not such guilty 

pleasures 

To help to mitigate this we need to find 

Dopamine from other pleasures in life. 

We need to get outside in the day light, 

to notice the small things that make us 

smile, adding in exercise and other positive 

interactions that make us feel good. 

But carbs aren’t all bad news 

The good news is carbohydrates are 

thought to be an essential precursor for the 

So, next time you think about carb 

cutting, think again. Without carbs your 

motivation and metabolism will drop and 

that will hinder your ability to stick to 

any plan that you set for yourself. Food 

should be nourishing and enjoyable for us 

to feel truly satisfied so it’s important that 

you enjoy what you are eating. 

A time to nourish 

Autumn is a time to nourish and find the 

joy in the small things that we do. Food 

plays an important part in this experience. 

So, this autumn what can you do more 

of to nourish yourself and maintain an 

elevated mood? 

Let’s take a leaf from the tree: 

1 Let go of the things that no longer 

serve us well. 

1 Nourish ourselves with nutritious 

“yummy” foods. 

1 Nourish our bodies with rest and 

recouperation. 

1 Get outside and soak up the LUX 

from the sun. 

1 Meet up with friends and spend time 

with those who make us feel good. 

1 And move (sway in the breeze) a little 

more; movement doesn’t need to be 

high energy exercise all of the time, it 

can be slow, relaxing and rejuvenating. 

1 Allow your roots to grow strong 

and stable so that you can sway 

when the winds get strong but not 

get blown over. 

Wishing you a restful and 

restorative autumn. 

Holly Stone is 

an experienced 

Solution 

Focused Clinical 

Hypnotherapist, 

Supervisor and 

Senior Lecturer 

for CPHT Surrey. 

Holly Stone 

Hypnotherapy 


TRAVEL 

TRAVEL 

The Route du Vin 

d’Alsace 

The Route du Vin d’ Alsace, 

on the far eastern fringe 

of France by the German 

border, winds for seventy-five 

miles across the lower slopes 

of the Vosges Mountains and through 

plains extending to the Rhine. It stretches 

from Marlenheim near Strasbourg 

through Colmar down to Thann, near the 

border with the ancient Franche-Comte. 

Along it travel wine lovers and gourmets. 

After paying your respects to Strasbourg 

and its “Gerbervuarhel” tannery district, 

sandstone Gothic cathedral and other 

eglises, ornate Medieval “Maison 

Kammerzell”, Place Kleber, Prussian 

military architecture and Pounts Couvents 

bridge, the wine route lies ahead and is a 

journey to take your time over. 

Alsace produces a fifth of all French 

white wine and 50% of its beer and, after 

discovering these facts, (and checking 

them over and over again) you can work 

off your indulgences by touring some 

of the area’s 150 chateaux, ambling 800 

miles of marked paths or travelling down 

the canal system which links the Marne to 

the Rhine. 

Seven wines 

Emilie Lejour Wolfberger 

Kevin Pilley ventures off piste for a gallivant 

around this eastern corner of France 

There are seven types of wine available – 

either brand vintages or from the many 

small private growers who offer tastings 

all along the route. These are Sylvaner, 

Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Muscat 

d’Alsace, Tokay Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc 

or Klevner, and the Pinot Noir Rosé. 

Some have been made for over a thousand 

years in the area Louis IV called France’s 

“wonderful garden”. 

Following the wine road by coach or more 

leisurely by hire car takes you through 

small and close-to-but-not-quite kitsch 

villages with cobbled streets, tinkling 

stone fountains, half-timbered 16th and 

17th century houses with oriel windows 

and window box after window box of 

trailing geraniums. In most places, storks 

look down their noses at you from their 

rooftop nests. 

As you wend your viti-culturist’s 

way through places like Soultzmatt, 

Eguisheim, Ribeauville and Kirchheim, 

the villages get prettier as they get more 

difficult to pronounce. Niedermorschwihr 

is a tongue-twister after a couple of glasses 

of Gewurztraminer. 

But if there is one truth in the wine 

world, it’s that you can always trust a 

tenth-generation Alsatian wine-maker. As 

much as a twelfth generation one. 


TRAVEL 

TRAVEL 

restaurants where you can try Foie Gras 

(an Alsatian invention), Baekeoffe (a 

meat and white wine stew), Matelote 

(fish simmered in a wine and onion 

sauce), onion tart, tarte flambee, (a 

kind of double cream and onion pizza), 

Munster cheese and Kougelhops (a pastry 

dessert which looks but fortunately does 

not taste like a top hat). 

Eight appellations 

Julien Dopff pioneered sparkling winemaking 

in Alsace, after seeing and 

tasting Champagne at the 1900 Paris 

Exposition and learning about secondary 

fermentation in Épernay. In 1913, he 

sent his wines in stemmed bottles to 

Australia. Dopff is based in Riquewihr, 

the “winsendorf” (wine village) of all 

winsendorfs. 

There are now eight appellations for 

Crémant sparkling wine using the same 

méthode champenoise with secondary 

fermentation in the bottle. The Crémant 

d’Alsace appellation was only recognized 

in 1976 but has become the top AOC 

sparkling wine in France behind 

Champagne. 

Sparkling Crémant must be handharvested 

with a minimum of one-year 

aging, including nine months on lees with 

the bottles being turned daily on their 

ends, allowing the deposit to remain in 

the neck until they are disgorged. 

Generally lighter, more floral and less 

expensive than Champagne, Pinot Blanc 

is the major varietal used for white 

Crémants d’Alsace. Pinot Noir is the only 

grape variety used to produce Crémants 

d’Alsace rosés. Vintage Crémants are 

often aged for a longer time to give their 

buttery, brioche-y character. Alsace winegrowers 

harvest early. 

A feast for the foodies 

Along the wine trail, there are 

characterful “winstubs” (taverns) and 

Bertrand and Florence Gelly’s Caveau 

Heuhaus in Eguisheim is a good cellar 

restaurant offering regional specialties 

like tartes flambees or Flammekueche 

(Alsatian pizza). In Guebwiller there’s 

the family-run Taverna des Vignerons 

and Jardin des Sens which offers lighter, 

easier-on-the-colon options to hearty pork 

shin, pork knuckle, stuffed pigs trotters 

and beef slabs with an alp of sauerkraut 

and a pair of lengthy, bendy sausages. 

In Soultz, a few miles from Guebwiller, 

there’s Gregory Rominger’s Metzgerstuwa 

(butcher’s table) restaurant which adjoins 

and was once in a butcher’s shop. One of 

its specialities is lamb kidneys flambeed 

in brandy. Licorice-scented gluhwein is 

served nightly at Guebwiller’s Christmas 

market along with roasted chestnuts. 

A blue and white Christmas 

If you fear climate change will prevent 

you from enjoying a white Christmas 

ever again, you need only follow northwest 

France’s Roman Route, its Route 

des Cretes (summits) or its Route des 

Orgues – route of church organs and 

sacred music. 

They all end up in the Florival or 

Launch Valley of the Est region of the 

Haut Rhine of south Alsace where, if 

you time your arrival in December, 

you’re guaranteed a uniquely blue 

Christmas. 

Once a year, everything and everyone 

turns blue in Guebwiller, twelve miles 

north-west of Mulhouse. Faces are 

turned turquoise and hands and fingers 

a sickly shade of manganese violet. Not 

because of the cold, but in tribute to a 

local Art Deco potter. 

Theodore Deck (1823-1891) became 

renowned for his ceramic vessels made by 

traditional Islamic processes like the Iznik 

style, used to decorate many of Istanbul’s 

mosques. Deck included white alkaline 

to create his signature Bleu de Deck, 

a distinctive glaze mix of potash, soda 

carbonate, and chalk, which produces a 

lavish, deep turquoise blue after firing. 

Until Twelfth Night, Guebwiller’s neoclassical 

red sandstone 1761 Eglise 

Notre-Dame is lit blue in celebration of 

the ceramicist. A museum – in an old 

canonical building and home of a family 

of silk ribbon makers, has a collection of 

500 of Denk’s famous faience pieces. 

Where to stay 

If you are looking for arty places to stay 

and eat, Rene Lalique’s old home in 

Wingen-sur-Moder is now a luxury hotel 

and restaurant. 

More information 

ville-guebwiller.fr 

visit.alsace 

VillaReneLalique.com 

tourisme-alsace.com 

domainedebeaupre.com 

easyjet.com flies daily to Basle. 

Lalique Hotel 

Lalique villa 


The 

Sussex Exclusive Quiz 

So how did you do? 

Give yourself a pat on the back if you got these all right. 

Beach 

Recommendations 

From buckets and spades to nature and dog 

walks, here are six fabulous Sussex beaches 

1. Herstmonceux Castle. 

2. Arundel. 

3. Leigh Dyer. 

4. They are an army of Roman 

workers made from empty 

oxygen gas cylinders on 

the Centurion Way. 

5. Knepp Estate. 

6. They both haunt! Allegedly, 

Geranium Jane haunted the 

Kings Head in Cuckfield, 

and a Drummer Boy haunts 

the castle at Herstmonceux. 

7. The Bramble is a wellknown 

cocktail, first 

created in 1984 by Dick 

Bradsell. 

8. Installations made by 

sculptor Jon Edgar. 

9. A fairy. 

10. £3.00. 

Camber Sands 

Felpham 

Pagham Harbour 

West Wittering 

Looking for sand, sand dunes 

and great facilities? 

Head to West Wittering in West Sussex. 

You do have to pay for parking but there 

are great facilities on the beach. Or head 

east to Camber Sands in East Sussex. 

Again it’s pay as you park but the beach 

has good facilities. 

Prefer to enjoy nature 

and wildlife? 

Pagham Harbour in West Sussex has an 

abundance of wildlife and some great 

walking. In East Sussex, make your way 

to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve for your 

fix of wildlife and walking. 

Want to walk along the beach 

with your hound? 

Felpham Beach in West Sussex welcomes 

dogs all year although there is one section 

from Canning Road to Felpham Sailing 

Club that dogs are not allowed on during 

the summer months (1st May to 30th 

September). In East Sussex, make your 

way to Tide Mills just east of Newhaven. 


Lucy’s Look 

at Sussex Life 

A summer of rabbit holes and dot joining 

The 

Last Word 

One of the many things I 

love about Sussex is that 

it is like a giant web of 

thousands or even millions 

of interconnected stories. 

If, as a visitor, you only have time to visit 

the big-ticket items, such as the Royal 

Pavilion in Brighton, Rye, the South 

Downs or Chichester, that’s fine, there is 

plenty to keep you busy. But if you have 

longer, or live here and want to dig deeper, 

you only have to scratch the surface of 

whatever it is that interests you, and a 

curious story will reveal itself. And if you 

scratch the surface of that story, inevitably 

(in my experience) another story will step 

forward and you can dive into a perpetual 

rabbit hole of intrigue on the subject of 

your choosing. 

And that sums up my summer. It started 

back in the spring, when I was walking 

the Serpent Trail and on one particular 

stretch we passed a number of sculptures. 

These started a conversation, that led to the 

subject of the Chalk Stone Trail in between 

Cocking and West Dean. 

Arriving at West Dean, with its 

connections to Surrealist art, sent my mind 

whirring and ended in a trip to Farleys 

House in East Sussex (home to Surrealism 

or more specifically, Lee Miller and Roland 

Penrose). Delighted to see not only the 

Long Man at Wilmington in the distance 

but a Surrealist painting of it in the 

house, that set me wondering about other 

paintings of the Long Man, so off I went 

in search of Ravilious in Newhaven. And it 

was there that I was struck by the diversity 

of our Sussex coast and yes, that set me off 

on a cultural quest of our shores. 

By then, I had realised that I was well and 

truly down a rabbit hole (or two), and as this 

edition is all about food and drink, I had to 

come up for air. Or more importantly, for 

something to eat and drink. The Long Man 

is referenced in a number of Sussex edibles 

including crisps, coffee and beer, and, of 

course, the Long Man has a slightly oblique 

connection to the Knepp Estate which is 

very much about food these days (ask me 

about the connection please because it’s one 

of those wonderful dot joining exercises that 

somehow makes the whole map of Sussex 

start to make historical sense). 

When it comes to Sussex wine and gins, 

what has really become apparent to me this 

summer is how each vineyard and distillery 

has its own indelible connection to its place, 

its people and or its folklore. Slake Spirits 

speak of knuckers (watery Sussex dragons), 

Nutbourne wines speak of windmills and 

art, and Leonardslee wines speak of swallows 

and sculpture. In fact, there are so many 

rabbit holes woven into our food and drink, 

and so many stories linked to them, I have 

felt a little like Alice in Wonderland ... uh 

oh ... which in turn sent me with a hop and 

a skip from the Norman ruins at Knepp 

to those at Sedgwick Park near Horsham 

where the real Alice once visited and which 

both have connections to William the 

Conqueror’s pal, William de Braose. All of 

which feels like an awfully big dot joining 

rabbit hole that I may just have slipped into 

on my home. And I’m not entirely sure 

when or if I’ll emerge. 

The last word in this edition goes to Hilda Iva Weldon who, 

writing in 1928, was clearly worried about the fairies. 

According to Sussex dialect, a pharisee is a fairy and in Sussex they 

are apparently “bigger than a squirrel but smaller than a fox”! 

Moonlight Fantasy 

When the heat and the toil of the day is past, 

The Soul of Sussex is free at last! 

The bat and the owl, they watch her flight, 

A Maid of the Moon – a wraith in white. 

Her feet, they follow the magic rings 

Away to the realm of elfin kings, 

By grassy hillock and Downland pool, 

To-night she learns in a fairy school. 

Sing with us the Song of the Downs, 

Climb with us to their starry crowns, 

Steal the wings of a summer breeze – 

Away with the Sussex Pharisees! 

Where the moonlight lies like a silver sheet 

The marshes harbour a phantom fleet, 

And lordly vessels are proud and free 

To spread their sails on a buried sea. 

Though Man would conquer and strive for fame, 

The Soul of Sussex remains the same; 

And pilgrims turn to the open door 

Of mystic legend and fairy lore. 

We can whisper the hidden truth, 

We have the golden key of youth, 

Steal the wings of a summer breeze – 

Away with the Pharisees! 


101

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Sussex Exclusive Magazine Issue 9. Autumn Edition

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