ST201905

What we ate

We ca me laden w it h food to ma ke

the most of a kitchen that far

outclasses the one in my f lat and

• had the weather permitted – the
  treehouse’s firepit. A welcome pack
  took care of the basics, with an
  emphasis on local goods, from the
  juice to the coffee roasters and the
  delicious cookies that may have
  disappeared almost immediately
  despite our plentiful supplies.
  There’s also the option to order in
  hampers from a local farm shop.
  On Sunday, we made the mere
  15-minute walk to The Bell Inn in
  Ticehurst, the South-East’s pub of
  the year, for pub classics with an
  unexpected Latin American twist
  (think salmon ceviche and steak
  with chimichurri), before retiring
  to the bar area with the papers,
  enjoying eavesdropping on the
  locals dissecting the news over
  leisurely pints.

What we did
We devoted Saturday to exploring
Bedgebury Pinetum – home to the
biggest collection of conifers in the
world, no less – enjoy ing t he peace
as we wandered among the huge
redwoods and other exotic varieties.
Picking up the pace, we hired bikes
and tried out the forest’s trails. It
was my first time on a bike after
almost ten years, but the family trail
through the woodlands was spot on

The bestthing

Therewasa magicalmomenton

Saturdaywhenweopenedourdoor

toseea youngdeerdartthroughthe

meadow.It reallyfeltlikeyouwere

sur roundedbynat uret hemoment

yousteppedoutside(withthehome

comfortsthatyoudon’tgetfrom

camping,anda busstopa five-

m inutewa lkaway).Inter msof

mornings,it’shardtobeatsitting

outontheveranda,freshlymade

( loca llyroa sted)cof feeinha nd,

lookingoutoverthelandscape,

ort heplea sureofroundingof f

yourdaywitha beerbythefirepit,

secureintheknowledgethata

comfybedis onlymetresaway.

We also liked

Thattherewassomuchchoice

abouthowwecouldspendourtime.

Wecouldhavegoneonlongwa lk s

orevenbravedthebikesagain,at

nearbyBewlWaterReservoir.The

areais a historylover’sdreamwith

castles(tryBodiumCastle)and

statelyhomes(WinstonChurchill’s

Chartwell).Andinwarmer

weather,youcouldgetouttothe

seaatHastingsorRye.Tinkers

Treehouse’sneighbour,TheOakey

Koakey,sleepsfourandwouldmake

a greatbasefora familyholiday.

Tinkers Treehousesleepstwo

and starts at £150pernight;

canopyandstars.co.uk.

for my skill level; the more cycling

proficient could have tried the

mountain bike trail. Pink-cheeked, we

returned to the treehouse for more

wholesome fun – Scrabble, and

working our way through the stack

of board games provided.

A PLACE TO STAY