For my boyfriend's birthday, I treated him to a weekend away. I had been wanting to stay in a Shepherd's Hut for a while however the opportunity had never presented itself up to this point. Therefore, I booked to stay in a Shepherd's Hut in East Sussex over the first weekend of March.
We live in London so I wanted an escape to the countryside and East Sussex was near enough to London that we could get out of the city, yet spend enough quality time together instead of on the road. Furthermore, the hut was located in '1066 Country' and High Weald AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) meaning that the drives would be beautiful and there were plenty of landmarks to visit - perfect for a weekend getaway.
Friday
My boyfriend came over at lunch on the Friday and I surprised him with his favourite dessert: a homemade tiramisu, and then we packed up the car and left in order to avoid the Friday evening traffic out of London. This was slightly stressful, as although I was planning on taking a long lunch and making the time up in the evening, colleagues were still messaging so I had to pull over at one point to reply to emails and Teams messages. The drive took around two hours in total along the A21 and not only did we see the Canary Wharf skyline en route, but also a bright rainbow (as it was raining and sunny intermittently). We arrived just after 3pm and checked in to a farm called Browns Farmhouse, where they had horses, a farm shop, a Shepherd's Hut, a lookout point and a glamping tent. It was only at this point that my boyfriend discovered that we would be staying in a Shepherd's Hut, and although he was shocked at my choice, both of us were very excited to experience our first weekend away together in a Shepherd's Hut.
As soon as we arrived, I received a work call so I started working and made up the time I'd missed on the drive whilst my boyfriend looked into the different attractions, walks and restaurants nearby. There was a firestove in the hut, so we lit a fire to warm up and enjoyed some tea and biscuits. Once I finished work, we walked to a pub in a nearby village, The George Inn in Robertsbridge, for dinner. The stars in the countryside were so bright, which as a Londoner I don't see often and appreciated greatly. We each enjoyed an olive foccacia with olive oil and vinegar to start, followed by fish and chips. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was great, with a strong village feel. My boyfriend tried 'Lucky Saint' beer for the first time, which was non-alcoholic but delicious, whilst I stuck with white wine. It was raining on our walk back but when we got inside we turned on the electric blanket and lit another fire, which was very cosy, especially the contrast of the crackling fire with the raindrops. Before bed, I made my boyfriend get rid of any bugs (of which there were a few), and we nodded off.
It ended up being extremely lucky that we'd left over lunch, as around 5pm there had been a shooting right by my flat in London, with all tube and train stations nearby being closed and my street being cornered off.
Saturday
I awoke the following morning to the sound of raindrops and very cold. Luckily, I'd brought a blanket with me for the trip (having woken up freezing in many places before) so I burritoed myself up and warmed up quickly. I was sceptical about the shower as the toilet was eco-friendly and didn't have a flush mechanism, however it was actually amazing and heated up very quickly! Whilst my boyfriend showered, I put up a 'Happy Birthday' banner, and then we headed to a café in Robertsbridge called Judge's Bakery for breakfast. They weren't serving hot food yet so instead we had coffees with sausage rolls, a jam doughnut, an almond croissant, and a heart-shaped chocolate shortbread.
This was a lovely experience, until I split coffee on myself, and then as we left it started to rain cats and dogs. Although the walk was only ten minutes, we ended up soaked through by the time we got in and had to put our jeans drying on the heated towel rack in the bathroom. We had a quick look in the farm shop then warmed up with some tea and played UNO whilst we waited out the rain, but somehow I managed to spill my tea all over myself, the bed, my blanket and the ceiling. At this point I was very over the rain, mud, bugs and spilling drinks, but after cleaning up, the rain cleared slightly and we decided to go on a little adventure. Every cloud has a silver lining, and the combination of rain and sun had led to another rainbow (fun fact: I love rainbows so always look for them in this sort of weather and always associate them with my boyfriend as right after he asked me out, we saw a double rainbow).
My boyfriend had conveniently found free 'family passes' for National Trust sites which expired the following week, so I'd planned to visit one each day of the weekend as there were plenty of sites nearby and it was a good way to incorporate some culture into the trip. It also worked well with the poor weather as it meant that we could be indoors during the downpours and then go on walks in the sunshine. Therefore, Saturday's National Trust site was Bateman's, the home of Rudyard Kipling.
I didn't know much about Rudyard Kipling going into it, other than that he wrote The Jungle Book, but was very impressed by Bateman's; the house was gorgeous, each room had a knowledgable guide, and we learnt a lot about the family and their lives. Both Rudyard and his wife had gorgeous libraries in their studies, and we were told various anecdotes about their personalities and fame. Sadly, they lost one daughter at 6 years old, and their son at 18 years old in the army. They did have a surviving daughter, who lived to 80 years old, however. I enjoyed this house much more than I'd anticipated and we even managed to find free parking!
We drove back in the early afternoon and the farm had a viewpoint nearby, which we climbed and enjoyed the view from, and then we went on a walk about Robertsbridge and the nearby Darvell. Although the sun finally made an appearance, it was very muddy; that said, I had to break in my hiking boots, which provided the perfect excuse for a walk. We saw many farms with goats, sheep, horses and dogs, and after spotting two women in long skirts I mentioned to my boyfriend that it was odd. After this point, we noticed more and more women in long skirts, including young girls, some with their hair covered too. They looked Amish, and when we returned to the hut we researched whether there were any religious communities nearby and found that Darvell has a 'Bruderhof Community', where believers share possessions and live together. They do not use modern technology, nobody is paid, the women have to ask permission to date, and public humiliation is allegedly used. They reject the notion that they are a cult and in all honesty, everyone we interacted with was lovely.
We went to a local shop to buy breakfast for the following day and then returned to the hut, where we made a fire, played cards, and enjoyed tea with a coffee and walnut cake that I'd bought along as a surprise. After relaxing for a while, boyfriend worked for a couple of hours while I read, and we saw the sunset, which was bright pink and gorgeous. It was super cosy, especially with the electric blanket, and then for dinner we drove to a pub called The Royal Oak nearby. I had bangers and mash, whilst my boyfriend had steak and kidney pudding with mash, and although the food was delicious and we met a kind family, the pub was fairly empty for a Saturday night, which was shocking to see.
Sunday
After a slight lie in, I read for a bit, before making porridge and coffee in a moka as a little treat. We then tidied up the hut before checking out (which included emptying the toilet waste, which my boyfriend kindly offered to do but wasn't the most glamorous check-out ever).
The sun was out, so we wanted to go on a walk along the nearby Bewl Water, before having a roast in a typical English village pub. My boyfriend researched nice walks by the reservoir and managed to find free parking alongside a circular walk around the water's perimeter. We went on a short walk, however a lot of the path was waterlogged so we soon backpedaled. It was extremely peaceful though (probably as the locals knew it'd be too muddy).
Instead, we drove to a small village named Lamberhurst, which we explored (for all of the 10 minutes it took), before enjoying a roast at The George and Dragon Inn. Again, for Sunday lunch at a typical English pub it was extremely quiet, with only one other table, and although the food took over 30 minutes to arrive, when it did it was divine. There were various size options for the roast and it came with cauliflower cheese and all the trimmings, and was honestly delicious. I cannot recommend this roast enough!
We then visited our second National Trust site of the trip: Scotney Castle. This comprised a castle, a 'house' (read: mansion), an ice house, and gardens. I found this site to be much less informative compared to Bateman's, as there weren't guides in each room and we went in with no prior knowledge about the castle, however the interior of the house was still cool to see (and every room was filled with books which I loved). I had also never seen the inside of an ice house before, which is essentially the antique version of a fridge, and there were stunning gardens and walks with bulls mere metres away - a great alternative to the waterlogged Bewl Water.
It was mid-afternoon at this point, so we headed back to London via a retail park off of Royal Tunbridge Wells so that I could look at some dining tables. After arriving in London, we went to the gym, then picked up a delicious Italian pizza and put on a film (How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days), which was the perfect end to an amazing weekend.
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