After our outing to the Tate Britain Lee Miller exhibition in February, interest was expressed in a visit to her home on Sussex, which is open over the summer for garden and gallery visits (£10) and pre-booked guided tours (£26 including garden and gallery entry).
This posting is to enable people to do that and follow it up with an afternoon walk along the Vanguard Way to Berwick.
Length: 10.5 km /6.6 miles (plus 1.5 km /0.9 miles walk to Farleys House for the visit); 1/10
Travel: To get to the house, take a train to Lewes, bus to Golden Cross and 20 minute walk to Farleys House. Get the 0946 from Victoria, arriving in Lewes at 1050. Then walk to Lewes High Street to pick up the 28 bus to Eastbourne via Hailsham, scheduled to leave at 1104. Get off at Golden Cross and walk up Burgh Hill Road for 1.5 km to Muddles Green. The house and gallery are on the right. IF YOU WANT MORE TIME AT THE HOUSE, GET THE TRAIN AND BUS AN HOUR EARLIER.
Train back from Berwick at 57 past the hour, changing in Lewes for London. Buy a return to Berwick.
If you don't want to do the walk but just do the visit, buses back from Golden Cross are at approx half past the hour, or on to Eastbourne at about 45 past. These times are approximate and you need to allow at least 20 minutes to walk back to the bus stop.
House visit and timing: I propose setting off on the walk to Berwick at 2 pm. That should give people enough time to look round and have lunch, If you are interested in a 50-minute guided tour of the house, book here: Farleys tour link for the 1 o'clock slot. If you don't want to do the walk you could book a later slot, or if you get the earlier train you could go for an 1130 or 12 o'clock slot.
IF YOU JUST WANT TO VISIT THE GALLERY AND GARDEN, YOU STILL NEED TO BUY A TICKET HERE: Gallery visit link
Walk route: From Muddles Green, we take a bridleway north for 800m to Chiddingly and pick up the Vanguard way from there – it leads to Berwick station in 10 km/6 miles. A GPX file of the route - including the way from the Golden Cross bus stop to Muddles Green - is here: #/test/sandy/golden-cross-to-farleys-and-afternoon-route-to-berwick-on-vanguard-way.gpx
Or confident map-readers can find the route on the OS 1:25 000 map sheet OL25.
Lunch: Refreshments, snacks, cake and light lunches are available in the Farleys Gallery Cafe. Visitors are also welcome to bring a picnic to enjoy in the garden.
Tea: The Berwick Inn is directly opposite the station at the end of the walk. If we are in a rush at Berwick, there might be time to get something at the Runaway Cafe on Lewes station.
4 comments:
I'm not sure I would recommend the convoluted journey to deepest Sussex to anyone not wishing to visit Farleys House, but if you did want to join the walk without the visit you'd have to get the train and bus two hours later than posted ie 1146 and 1304.
Excellent, highly recommended visit. Did it yesterday by chance with some friends. Great exhibition in the cafe of Lee's photographs, another photographic exhibition in green barn; beautiful flower garden with great sculptures and a pond, and the house with fantastic 20th C. art including some Picasso's and murals. Roland Penrose and Lee moved in artistic circles of the highest order!
Sorry it's a bit last minute but a GPX for the walk is now on the page above, including route from the bus stop
n=16 attended this bespoke outing, which combined culture, socialising and a walk. One participant was so enthusiastic that she arrived an hour early, while two others opted for the luxury transport option and drove directly to the house.
The trains to and from Lewes were absolutely rammed with people heading for the seaside. As far as I know, however, everyone managed to secure a seat, albeit not necessarily next to their preferred travelling companions. The bus connection worked smoothly, and we arrived without incident.
Our first stop was the garden, where striking sculptures are dotted throughout the landscape. Around twelve of us then joined the guided tour of the house. Although modest in size, it is beautifully decorated, with an impressive collection of paintings (including several by Picasso, and many by Roland Penrose) as well as photographs by Lee Miller.
One observation shared by several of us was that the house feels rather more Penrose than Miller. When we put this to the tour guide, she seemed slightly surprised. She did mention that Anthony Penrose, the couple's son, who lives on a nearby farm, often visits the house on Fridays. Perhaps another trip is already in the making so that we can put the question directly to the man himself!
Several of us enjoyed soup and bread for lunch, while others fortified themselves with tea and coffee in the café. Then came decision time. Fourteen walkers chose to continue with the afternoon walk to Berwick. Perhaps someone from that group could provide a report on the walk itself—rumour has it that nobody was lost, which is always a sign of success.
The remaining two stayed behind to spend more time exploring the gardens and galleries before taking the bus back to Lewes. But the day was still young, and there was just enough time to fit in a grand visit to Lewes Castle. After all, one cannot have too much culture in a single day.
At Lewes station, the two cultural strollers were reunited with another member who had completed the afternoon walk but exercised admirable restraint by skipping the pub. Together, we caught the 5:21 pm train back to London.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day out, offering an excellent mix of art, history, scenery, exercise and good company.
Our very special thanks go to Sandy, who designed the walk, mastered the train-and-bus logistics, and ensured that the entire outing ran smoothly. Without Sandy's careful planning, some of us might still be wandering around rural Sussex in search of the next bus.
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