Southeast England - more planning ?
 

I am still working on where I want to base us for our trip to southeast UK next spring.
It looks like we will be mostly in "mid" Kent and Sussex (East and West). The rough plan at this time is to go no further east than Rye and no further west than Winchester.

I am currently leaning towards 2 bases for the approximately 2 week trip (one more easterly and one more westerly).

Right now I am leaning towards either the Cranbrook area OR the Rye area (easterly)
and South Downs (probably near Midhurst) for the westerly.
Would it make any sense to have 3 bases?
Any comments/recommendations/suggestions etc ?

Thanks for any help. My biggest problem seems to be that everywhere looks appealing.

>>Would it make any sense to have 3 bases?<<

Not IMHO. Settle in at the two bases and do day trips w/o extra packing/unpacking. Near Cranbrook and the South Downs would be good locations.

Are you going by car or public transit - makes a huge difference in where you should base sometimes to get around.

they are driving . . .

We will be driving.

janisj - you sort of confirmed my feeling that 2 bases + day trips should do it.

fewer bases the better - packing up and all takes for hours sometimes - get up - wolf down the breakfast and take off - the area is not that large.

My favorite town in that general area is Petersfield. I'd booked a week of study with a craftsperson nearby and stayed at Border Cottage near the center of town. It has 1 large room with a sitting area and I couldn't have been more comfortable. http://www.bordercottage.co.uk/

I particularly liked the town for it's non-tourist ambiance. There a train station and local buses as I didn't have a car, the town is attractive and seemed almost devoid of visitors which I loved.

The next town of any size to the east is Midhurst and beyond is Petworth. Winchester is not far to the west.

>>My favorite town in that general area is Petersfield.<<

Well as a long-standing resident I couldn't agree more - it's a great place to stay, though not a <i>huge</i> choice of visitor accommodation.

It's been mentioned in your other threads, Tenterden is lovely, plenty of places to eat along the high street, whilst Cranbrook is nice there are less places to eat out & I always find the town busy/held up with traffic flow, like T.Wells. From Tenterden you have easy access to Bodiam, Sissinghurst, Rye, about ½ hr drive to each whereas T.Wells is about 45 mins. Plenty of oast houses, period properties, architecture, a windmill in nearby Woodchurch open sunday afternoon, drive through this village onto Appledore then take Military Road to Rye, a lovely drive through varying countryside & reclaimed land.

Thx everyone!

my tentative list of potential bases (of which I will probably pick 2):
East:
Tenterden
Benenden (I know it's small but I found a really nice self catering place there that I am taken with (at least for now))
Rye
Interesting re: Cranbrook - while I liked the location I kept getting the feeling that traffic there might be hectic - it's interesting to have that confirmed

West:
Petersfield - checking this out
Midhurst area

My impression is that Midhurst is an upscale/polo crowd. I think Midhurst is more expensive than Petersfield for similar grade accommodations, much the same location. I have a friend in Midhurst but actually like Petersfield better.

Thx Mme Perdu - being cheap I am definitely not into the same accommodations as the polo crowd