Seven Sisters, Charleston Farm, and Groombridge Place

Thursday, 6 October, we started with a trip to the south coast to see the white cliffs at Birling Gap. We arrived at Charleston Farm nearby in time for a delicious lunch. Charleston Farm was where the Bloomsbury Group of artists and writers congregated to escape WWII London, and stayed forever. It is one of the most interesting places I have ever visited, with artistic decoration on every surface. We ended our touring at Groombridge Place. The house is not open to the public, but it is a beautiful place in a lovely setting. It played the role of Longbourne in the newer version of Pride and Prejudice. On the way back to Edenbridge we stopped in Tunbridge Wells for a spot of shopping. We had a lovely Japanese dinner at the Marlpit-Hill Boyntons followed by rhubarb pie and custard. I know: weird combination.

 The lighthouse at Beachy Head

 The Seven Sisters

 Low tide

 Chalk cliffs

 Litlington White Horse (not prehistoric -- 1920s)

 Delicious lunch at Charleston Farm: savory bread pudding, 

elderflower and gooseberry sponge

 Charleston Farm House

Home to Vanessa Bell, sister of Virginia Woolf and 

their Bloombury circle

 Welcome

 Hand-painted walls and furniture are fantastic 

(enlarge to see imperfect detail)


The house is rich with hand-painted detail


Every architectural element is painted

View of the garden

The studio is fabulous


Quirky and wonderful

 Lovely color

 Something artists would love

 Groombridge Place

 Surrounded by a moat

Phil Freestone's ancestral home

Charleston house was an aesthetic highlight. We'll see what tomorrow brings. That's all for now.

OXO

D.