Pub Stop - Beachy Head

Friday we set off for one night away at a pub stop. Our first and another night off grid. 

Claire had succumbed to the cold I had earlier in the week. But she still wanted to go.

The TomTom took us on some random route that saw us avoid the coast road through Hastings and Bexhill. We even crossed the A28 by one point. I am certain that going to Ashford and onto the A28 would have been quicker....

On the way we stopped at Jo's Cafe at Brookland on the A259 for a takeaway coffee in our own mugs. Whilst there we had a bacon sandwich.  A half and half. One half brown bread and the other white for me! This is a regular stop when we are out of the bikes.  As it was there was a race day at the model car circuit next door and the parking in that area was full of motorhomes.

We arrived about 1.30pm and there was plenty of space in the car-park. Only a Belgian registered motorhome in the back corner.  I parked on front but with plenty of room between us and for them to get out when they wanted to leave. Once we had the gas on for the fridge we put the locks on the van and walked across to the pub to check in and to get a drink.  Cider today.

Back in the van we had lunch. Or rather Claire had the Sheldon's muffins and cooked meat and I didn't have anything. I was still not hungry after the scalding coffee and bacon sandwich.

We then went for a walk across the road to Beachy Head itself.  You may have heard of the White Cliffs of Dover (sadly bluebirds aren't native to the UK) and these cliffs are part of the same geological chalk downs as Dover and along the south coast and even on the Isle of Wight.

As it was warm and sunny, there were people everywhere. The cliffs here are liable to break at any times and the the chalk falls happen all along.  They are also unpredictable, hence to edge and near the edge has been roped off. This doesn't stop people climbing over and going right to the edge.  Its a few hundred feet to the rocks below. A selfie too far? They do the same at Dover!

A Selfie Too Far (to the left!)

As they were enjoying the selfies on the cliff edge we were entertained by a lone Spitfire that did an impromptu air display over the seas and above our heads.

Back in the old days we used to marvel at my Dad's photos from air displays all across the UK.  Sometimes it was difficult to see if there was actually any aircraft to be seen at all!  

Can you see it?  It's a Spitfire!

Hardly anyone looked up from their phones to see the display.  My brother who is a bit of an aficionado of things Spitfire as he works for a restoration society for the aircraft, says this one is most likely out from Goodwood. 

I took other photos on the Nikon D50.

Not a head on collision!

We turned around as it was way past Reggie's dinner time. I thought of reversing the van into the space left by the Belgian van but in the end we stayed where we were.  Out of the side window we could see through the hedge to the lighthouse in the distance.

The road is very popular with bikers and at times it was quite noisy in the day. It was also popular with car owners with loud engines and exhaust pipes! At night this all dies away.

We had the table in the restaurant for 7pm. Whether they had staffing problems but a note on the door said they could only cater for those already booked. Although the bar was open to all-comers.

We ordered what is most definitely not Slimming World approved dinners and drinks and then the dessert of Eton Mess. Claire had the sea bass and was a little disappointed. I have the Signature Burger and it was really good with proper chips (not godawful reconstituted potato "fries") and onion rings!

Feeling pogged we went back to the van, There were now four other vans, three of them in line with us, and one across the way.  We watched some TV as the 4G signal wasn't too bad.  There's WIFI in the pub but we were too far from it to connect where we were parked.

Long after we went to bed there were some cars that came in and went quite quickly. Then some talking that seemed to be right behind us but it seemed the sound carried as someone with a smaller van with a roof-box tent had turned up. At 6.30am the van that had got in behind us started up and the snuck out.  

We didn't rush. We had more than paid for our night in the car park with the meals and drinks we had bought. After breakfast we packed up. It was going to be another nice sunny day.

This time TomTom decided to take us back along the A259.  We actually live about 200 yards from it some 60 miles to the east of where we were! I had the TomTom and the phone connected by Bluetooth and as we approached St Leonards (a known bottle neck!) before Hastings the TomTom diverted us off the the left, inland from the coast road.

What followed was to navigate through what seemed like the odd housing estate, then a narrow lane with quite heavy traffic coming towards us! Resulting in a folded in drivers' side mirror and bushes scratching the other side.  The last time we ignored the TomTom route "as we knew better" proved it was right and we took an hour to navigate thorough part of East London with the M25 junction closed!  So we followed it.

We eventually popped out onto the A259 again at Guestling! I had thought that might be something like the case but hadn't expected to be on roads that narrow!

We toyed with stopping at Jo's again as we were both desperate for a coffee and we did turn off the main road to find the car-park rammed full. A quick turn and we headed home.   It was around 2pm when we pulled up on the drive.

So a pub stop?  It actually cost more than we would have spent if we had gone to a campsite. The campsite I was looking at was almost £40 a night.  We would have eaten in the van as well.  We could have eaten more cheaply in the pub, but that's not the point of eating out.  It's not as though we are regulars in pubs or even restaurants.  In fact, I can't remember the last time we ate out in a restaurant.  

Would we do it again? Yes, but not at the same pub.