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January 4th, 2009 Sheffield Park, East Sussex Very attractive grounds. Not as varied as nearby Wakehurst but can be combined with the Bluebell Railway to make more of a day out. National Trust. Update: Over Christmas the gardens are lit for special evening openings. These are a bit pricey but, if you are lucky enough to get a calm evening, the reflections in the lakes are magical.
Child-Friendliness: 4/5 January 3rd, 2009 Wilderness Wood, East Sussex This is an excellent, inexpensive nature trail in East Sussex. It has a small children’s play area, but the main attraction is the extensive woodland that holds numerous little nooks and crannies in which to mess around. The best way to explore the woods is to pick up one of the trail guides from the cafe at the entrance and then head off into the forest. There are numerous items of sculpture and similar objects distributed along the route, all of which can be used as fodder for young imaginations. If you’re lucky you might catch sight of the deer. It takes a couple of hours at a leisurely pace to do the entire loop. There are a couple of small inclines, but nothing that should tax anyone over the age of 4.
Child-Friendliness: 5/5 Website / Map (note that the website appears to be, rather annoyingly, IE-only) December 26th, 2008 West Wittering Beach, West Sussex Huge sandy beach. Great for all times of the year, although I imagine you would have to get their pretty early in the day during the summer as the car park could fill quickly.
Child-Friendliness: 5/5 December 21st, 2008 Hove Seafront, East Sussex Brighton without the crowds. You can stroll into Brighton from here (may be a bit far for the very young). Use the car park on the sea front, at the junction of Hove Street and Kingsway. Mustn’t forget to mention Marrocco’s, a restaurant on King’s Esplanade, that’s chiefly famous (in our house) for its ice cream. If you walk along this stretch of seafront with any sort of regularity you will have stopped at Marroccos. Even out of season it always seems to be popular, and rightly so.
Child-Friendliness: 5/5 December 7th, 2008 Brighton Seafront, East Sussex Sun, sea, sand and sangria - all the cliches. Heaving on a hot sunny day; it can resemble a frying pan when all the worshippers are stretched out under the sun. Out of season it is just as attractive, in that typically British way, and the crowds are more subdued. Don’t forget the pier, of course, which is a simple, if potentially expensive, way of keeping kids amused (assuming you don’t have a gale blowing off the Channel, of course).
There is also the well kept secret that is the twilight dance of the starlings: Parking Tips: Parking can be a bit of a nightmare so take the train if possible (Update 29th April 2007: this is even more true now. The local council seem to be doing their best to eradicate any trace of on-street parking) . If you must drive, get to the coast via Rottingdean or Hove and enter Brighton by driving along the front. In summer, park at the Marina or at the far end of Madeira Drive and get the small train that runs along the seafront. Alternatively park in Hove and walk along the front (a bit of a hike). In winter, you should be able to find something more at the Brighton-end of Madeira Drive,
Child-Friendliness: 5/5 November 29th, 2008 Hove Museum & Art Gallery, East Sussex This is the sister museum of the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and, while smaller, is another surprisingly well presented collection. Like it relative, this consists of a collection of design exhibits combined with local history and other items of interested. In this case, the main display (which I assume changes with time) is based on the theme of weaving, which is much more interested than it sounds. A small section where children can create their own weaves means that they can better relate to the exhibits. There are also a variety of interactive bits and pieces which are also useful for keeping younger visitors amused.
Of course, the big draw for children is the toy collection. This is a compact but broad collection of toys dating from Egyptian times to the current day. Alex was a bit freaked out by the sleeping wizard that the display is themed around, but was soon distracted by the various nooks and crannies.
Entrance is free. Child-Friendliness: 4/5 November 16th, 2008 Tilgate Park, West Sussex Although approached via one of the less attractive areas of Crawley, don’t be put off by the location as the park itself is excellent. It has a small “zoo” (farm animals, birds, wallabies etc.), gardens, maze and craft shops. Entrance is nominally free, however donations are encouraged.
Apparently it also has extensive cycle paths, although we have yet to venture this far into the park.
Child-Friendliness: 5/5 October 18th, 2008 Nymans Garden, West Sussex The main attraction of this National Trust property is that it makes a pleasant fall-back destination, i.e. if you just want to get out of the house for a walk in attractive surroundings, this fits the bill nicely. It also helps that this is sufficiently close to where we live to allow us to pop-in at short-notice.
The property consists primarily of gardens, in a variety of styles, with the remains of a house (only a handful of furnished rooms are accessible). There are also some longer walks in the surrounding countryside.
Child-Friendliness: 4/5 October 12th, 2008 Paradise Park, East Sussex We weren’t quite sure what to expect of Paradise Park. We had passed signs for it a few times while passing through the area, and seen the odd advert, but were never entirely sure what it had to offer. The adverts and website seemed to sell it as a sort of Shangri-La with something for everyone, however this image never seemed to quite suit its position (wedged in the corner of an industrial estate in Newhaven). The name also seemed to smack a bit of desperation. For these reasons we had never been particularly inspired to visit. Finally, however, a desire to do something other than the usual suspects at the weekend (plus a small dose of emotional blackmail from Alex) forced our hand. And I’m glad it did. Paradise Park is essentially a large garden centre, hence the somewhat industrial location, to which has been added a surprisingly wide ranging set of attractions, all imaginatively crammed into a fairly small area. These include a somewhat random museum (several large animatronic dinosaurs are the main selling point, although it also covers an eclectic range of other topics), a set of tropical green houses, a collection of miniature Sussex landmarks, a small train. It also, apparently, has more to offer, however our smallest companion was distracted by the train at this point and thus we got no further. Having said all that, the entrance price does seem a bit steep when you first present yourself at the door. There are also a number of attractions that require extra payment (such as the train), so I am in two minds as to whether this is good value for money. We did not, however, leave feeling like we had been ripped off.
Would we go again? Probably, at some point. Would we recommend this to others? Well, this should probably be on your list to visit at some point, if you are in the area, however there are other attractions (such as Drusillas or Newhaven Fort) that you will probably want to visit first. Having said that, if you are waiting to catch a ferry and have kids to entertain, you could do a lot worse than let them burn off some energy off here. Child-Friendliness: 5/5 October 11th, 2008 Jack and Jill Windmills, West Sussex The South Downs above Clayton are one of those places where it is nice to go when you’ve been stuck inside and you just want to blow the cobwebs away. Like Devil’s Dyke and nearby Ditchling Beacon, the hilltop offers excellent views from of the valley to the North, and access to all the wind that one could wish for (it is a good place for kite flying). In addition to this it also has the windmills: Jack and Jill.
Jack is privately owned, and so must be viewed from afar, while Jill is maintained by a charity and can be visited on most Sundays and Bank Holidays through the summer months (and occasionally other days). When the mill is open, you can enter (via the precipitous stairs) and visit the three floors. A favourite feature among the young is a small, manually-operated grindstone (called a quern, apparently) that allows flour to be produced (and spread liberally around the person operating it). There is also a teashop on the ground floor. Child-Friendliness: 4/5
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