Brighton

(October 3 to 6) Our last stay before flying home was in Brighton, which we visited 13 years ago in 2004 with Lisa and James.  This time we stayed in an Airbnb apartment beside Brighton Marina, which has undergone major development over the last ten years and is now surrounded by apartments, shops and eateries.  Our apartment had a great view westwards along the beach towards the Brighton town centre and the famous Brighton Pier.

We revisited the Royal Pavilion, the little narrow streets of The Lanes area, and walked along the pier and down the waterfront.

On Brighton Pier, 2004.

Brighton Pier 2017.

Lisa's purple bunny, won in 2004.

In 2017 Pikachu has taken the place of purple bunnies.

Our Airbnb experience was not so good in Brighton, as our host Alex did not respond to messages, did not turn up to give us the key, and told us there was parking included which turned out not to be the case.  Despite that the apartment was quite well equipped and had a spectacular view over the sea, and there were lots of places for coffee and dinner nearby.  In the end it turned out ok.

Sunset over Brighton, from our windows.

Cafe Rouge had the best coffee!  Our apartment in the distance.

A large wind farm is being constructed offshore from Brighton.

Brighton Marina.

Our apartments on the left.  Plenty of walking space around the marina.

Brighton's newest attraction is the "British Airways i360" which is a huge tower with a moving viewing pod.  It rises 160 metres, compared to say 120 metres for the Wellington Cable Car, and takes about 10 minutes to ascend giving a ride of about 25 minutes in total.  It is the tallest moving viewing platform in Britain, and provides a view from the top a bit like that from a low-flying plane.  It can hold up to 200 people, but today there were only about 15 of us so it was not crowded.  It moves almost silently, suspended on eight cables which are pulled by motors below ground.  The i360 was designed by the same architects who designed the London Eye.

The i360 viewing pod approaching its lower park position.

It's beautifully shiny and reflective underneath!

Sue, relaxed, about 100 metres in the air.

The space-age viewing pod.  Staff wear airline-style uniforms.

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Seven Sisters

(October 6) About 20 km east of Brighton are the Seven Sisters Cliffs, a stretch of steep white chalk cliffs on the coast.  The name arises from the fact that there are seven rises and falls in the clifftop.  We are still 100 km from Dover, but these cliffs are quite like those famous white cliffs.

I was a nice sunny day, but with a stiff cool breeze so we needed our warm jackets.  We parked at the end of the road out of Seaford, and walked the 1 km or so down to the beach.  You get great views along the coast as you approach the old Coastguard Cottages.  This track is their only access to the outside world.

A selfie!

Walking down to the beach approaching the Coastguard Cottages.

Cuckmere Haven, the mouth of the Cuckmere River.

This World War II Spitfire zoomed past low overhead!

The view inland from Cuckmere Haven, toward Exceat.

The Seven Sisters

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Ancestral Haunts

(19 September)  Today we moved again, leaving Cornwall and heading east and north toward London again.  We will stop on the way for three nights in Lyme Regis.  We planned a few stops along the way to visit places associated with Sue's ancestors.

Sue's g-g-g-grandparents were Edward and Elizabeth Tregenza ("Edward the First" and "Elizabeth the First", say). According to census information, Edward the First was born in Lelant (in 1814) where we had lunch today at the railway station.

Lunch at Lelant Station.

The Lelant Station is a quiet secluded place, with a nice view over the estuary, so it was actually not a bad place to have lunch.

Edward and Elizabeth probably met in Barripper, which we also passed through. The 1841 census records Edward as being a copper miner, living in Barripper next door to Elizabeth Collins, a "mine girl". Elizabeth was living with the Thomas family along with her sister Maryann.

Sarah Jane Lukey (Sue's g-g grandmother) lived with her parents (Joseph and Sarah) in Liskeard around 1860 in one of the Trevecca cottages which still stand today.

Sarah Lukey emigrated to New Zealand in the "Tiptree" arriving in Lyttelton in 1864, and later married Edward Tregenza (Sue's g-g-grandfather, Edward II), son of the Edward I mentioned above, after he emigrated to New Zealand, via Adelaide (in the "Electric") in 1865.

Trevecca cottages circa 1918 (the Lukey house is no 11, third from left).

Trevecca cottages in 2017, and Sue.

We found more or less the same viewpoint as the old photo above and took this photo.  Where those cows stood is now a construction site, so from next year this view will be gone forever as the foreground will be blocked by new houses!

The cottages up close.

Sue in front of number 11.

We chatted to a woman gardening outside Trevecca Cottage Number 1, and when we came back from taking photos from across the road, she hurried out again to show us a book, "The Life and Work of Henry Rice: Liskeard's Foremost Architect". He apparently designed the Trevecca Cottages, which were built in 1847. The cottages were therefore quite new when the Lukeys lived there.

We also had this old photo of the fountain in Liskeard (on the right), also designed by Henry Rice, so took the same photo again just because we were there:

Liskeard Fountain circa 1914-19

Liskeard Fountain 2017 (on the right)

Edward II and Sarah's daughter, Elizabeth II, travelled to England in 1891 as a nursemaid for the Hamlyn family, and was able to visit her grandmother (Elizabeth I) in Callington.  Her diary reports they went for a walk which took in "Doublepools", and nearby Hangman's Lane.  Edward and Elizabeth were living in Callington in the Doublepools cottages at the time of the 1851 census.

Doublepools cottages 2017.

Hangman's Lane 2017.

On another day we walked to Land's End from Sennen Cove, a distance of a couple of kilometers.  Marion's photos include this one of Sennen Cove from the past:

Sennen Cove near Lands End.

Sennen Cove today (Google image) - many of the same houses are still there.

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