Sussex and Kent......

Our new driver, Michael, picked us up from Trumbles (our B&B) and took us touring for the day.

We started our day by looking at some interesting buildings.

This was the nightly lock up in the old days (as well as the hanging tree........

And this is a grade listed building.

He showed us the difference in the brick construction, old (uneven and varying sizes) versus new bricks which were uniform as well as the pegs that were used instead of nails.

We then visited a 13th century church, St. Peter and Paul.

He showed us the marks made by the masons so they would know how to stack the stones....

The metal stand to wipe your shoes of mud......

The place on the wall outside the door where the knights would sharpen their swords.....

And this ancient sundial.

Inside we observed the tomb of a knight that fought at Agincourt by the name of De Cobham.  His head rests on a representation of Saladin to illustrate his defeat of the Ottomans.

A nearby tomb of another crusader still has much of it's original paint and his feet rest on the figure of an infidel.

On we rode through the countryside...

Before coming across this old dovecote.....

And this group of "ramblers" enjoying the beauty of the area.

Entering Kent we went to see the house that was the Bennett family home in Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley as well as this tree where a key scene was filmed when she realizes she has loved and lost Darcy.

It is a stunning property.

We then stopped for tea at The Crown which was a pub frequented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame.

Not only would a customer sit in there by the fire to warm himself, he would also warm his beer (bitters) in those metal holders. The white square at the top is where they would have baked their bread in the old days.

Further down the road we came across this "pill box" from World War II.  It was built to house machine gunners if the country was invaded.

We rode down this beautiful country lane to see the ruins of the Bayham monastery.  The Elizabethan manor house we passed on the way was set in gorgeous grounds and had been built from the ruins of the monastery after Henry's dissolution of it.

Our next stop was Bodiam Castle, a beautiful castle set in beautiful grounds.

It had a "pill box" too.

We saw the Unitarian Church where Benjamin Franklin preached which is marked with this plaque.

We visited the charming town of Chilham where Miss Marple is filmed...

and then it was on to Canterbury!!!