Eric

I plan on staying a couple days in South-East England to explore the castles & villages. Where is a good base for this area? Is Canterbury over-commercialized? What about Royal Tunbridge Wells or Alfriston?

Lori

We stayed in Lewes which is a real nice town, centrally located, etc. We visited Hever Castle, Herstmonceaux Castle, Bodian Castle, Rye, Hastings, Battle, Pevensy, Tunbridge Wells, etc. Personally I think Canterbury is over commercialized (what isn't these days), but that is only my personal opinion (I think York and Bath are too for that matter). We also spent 5 days near Farnham in Surrey (great little hotel called Pride of the Valley .. check their website,) and it was an easy ride to Arundel, and other places of interest. We like being away from the main tourist places and usually find off beat places to stay to use as home base if we can. Alfriston and Rye are very touristy by the way.

JMM

I loved Winchelsea a small town on top of a hill, west of Rye - very untouristy, very English, lovely old town gate and ruined church

Linda

Hi... I stayed 4 nights in Royal Tunbridge Wells. It was an excellent location, from which we went to Bodiam, Battle, Rye, Lewes, London, and many other locations in Kent and Sussex quite easily (London by train, the rest by car). It is a nice town, with an interesting High Street, excellent antique browsing in the Pantiles (the fashionable Regency shopping walk), and historic interest in the form of the Georgian "wells." I would definitely stay there again because of the central location. Email me if you want a B&B recommendation in RTW. <BR> <BR>That said, I also second the mention of Lewes -- a lovely smaller town. <BR> <BR>Personally, I think Royal Tunbridge Wells is better if you want a convenient base for exploring the area, but somewhere like Lewes would be nice if you wanted to just park yourself in scenic surroundings for a few days.

candy

just returned from doing the same. we chose rye as a base because we thought it would be charming, and it was, but we ended up wishing we'd picked somewhere more central, like royal tunbridge wells. we ended up spending a lot more time driving than we'd anticipated from the map because of the little roads, and since open hours are limited--usually about 10-5 or -6, for some properties even shorter like 12-3 or 2-5--we couldn't fit in as much as we'd have liked. if you care for any additional info on the area, i'd be glad to tell you what i know. ps, if you're going soon, please remember to bring a good sunscreen, and maybe a hat or long-sleeved shirt. my friend and i ended up with very bright red (and sore) skin. it's mighty hot there.

Terry

Let me suggest Arundel for a base if you like small quaint towns. It has a beautiful castle, a river and a neat wild bird sanctuary. Also it is a quick trip by train to London Gatwick if you're going there. E-mail me if you want more details.

m robertson

CANTERBURY IS A CHARMING CITY AND WELL WORTH A VIST BUT IT CAN BE VERY OVERCROWDED AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. I WOULD ADVISE A MEDIEVAL MARKET TOWN 8 MILES FROM CANTERBURY CALLED FAVERSHAM <BR>YOU CAN GET TO LONDON BY TRAIN JUST OVER 1 HOUR AND BY CAR VIA THE M2 . ALSO CLOSE TO DOVER FOR TRIPS TO FRANCE. <BR>FOR INFO ON FAVERSHAM WHICH HAS TO MUCH HISTORY FOR ME TO WRITE ABOUT TRY WWW.FAVERSHAM.ORG OR E/MAIL [email protected] <BR>