Exploring the treasures of south

Hiavid Wishart

travel

talk THE plan had t been very simple, to arrive by the QE2 free of jet- lag after a Icisurely five- day cruise, rent a car and explore some of the treasures of the south of England.

London, the plan went, would hot come into it, Paris did instead, briefly, and it was all to see a garden. An unex: pected bonus of the QE2 was its superb library with every guide book imaginable ta

help one cope with the idio- syncrasies of British opening

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hours, and we're not talking abou pubs,

Unlike Disneyland, the great montments of the land such as Chartwell and Sissinghurst Casde don’t run seven days a week, requiring the visitor to plan a route with care. Sissinuhurst in Kent, made famous by Vitt Sackville West and Harold Nicholson, is dehighttid, tasci HAtiON and MMensely popu Jar, Batt does not open naa Popa. and closes every Monday.

Huge lines form around noon, however by 4:30 pom, you can walk in easily and have two hours’ enjoyment. 1 chinbed the winding staircase of the medieval rower to Vita’s study and looked down on the orderly, immaculate gardens, lightened a lite by roses around apple trees.

Chartwell, Churchill's home, is pot far away but closed Monday and F "riday. The study is the heart of the house, the room where Churchill worked for almost 40 years and mostly on his feet, pacing backwards and forwards as he dictated toa secretary,

The family is there in pic- tures, along with his father’s desk, and the green treasury tags and punch for corre- spondence; seems Winny hated paper clips.

Nearby Westerham also has the home of General Wolfe who died at Quebec, and a short drive south takes one to the village of Burwash and Bateman’s, the home of Rudyard Kipling (closed Thursdays and Fridays).

ern England

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Another short drive and youre at Battle, scene of 1066 and all thar, and time to reflect that although gas nay be expensive, you don't need alot of it, Save your money for a stay at

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a truly splendid country house hotel (represented by Abercrombie & Kent) with elegant rooms and a superb dining room.

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The Inn, a guide to goad bed & breakfast at real ale pubs, But do book ahead as every one Turied was fully booked.

Then on to Beachy Head east of Bastbourne wath its spectacular chaik cliff Just as amazingly there are no barri- ers to stop people plunging over the edge; it must be a local method of population control.

Nearby (that word again) are several places where the

Bloomsburies lived and loved,

such as Charleston Farm (shut when we went by) and Berwick Church, where Duncan Grant and Vanessa

- Bell painted the murals.

Don't miss the Cricketers’

NETHERFIELD Place Is a quintes- sential English Country Inn. The beautiful country house hotel is located near Battle and ts represent- ed by Abercrombie & Kent.

Arms, a tiny pub with a lovely garden. We sat under a wil- low tree, had a pint of real ale, freshly- made sandwiches and enjoyed the best of England. Sissinghurst Castle Garden, we agreed, had been the highlight.

Kut was it without com- pare? Not at all, what about Claude Monet's garden at Giverny? Thanks to the won- der of Eurostar it is possible to zip from Ashtord in Kent (saving a journey into London) under the English Channel to Paris in less than three hours, after which ir is but a short outing to Giverny, Naturally the seasons have their say on what you will see.

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[ enjoyed the contrast with Sissinghurst, as well groomed as a maiden aunt, while Giverny is as gay as a young girl with flowers of every hue splashed around the g garden,

the only concession to order being in groupings of colour like a painter's palette.

Finally, be warned that Monet’s home and garden are closed Mondays. The gar- dens are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the | house shuts from’ noon to 2 p.m. and the whole shooting match goes into hibernation November 1 to March 31.

Double-check before you leave home (or in the QE2 library).

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