The View

Looking for action-packed days out? First stop might be Bodiam Boating Station (15 minutes’ drive) to hire canoes and paddleboards or go wild swimming. Bewl Water (half an hour) offers a choice of scrambling around on inflatables in the Aqua Park, or hiking and cycling woodland footpaths. More physical energy is demanded for tackling high ropes and obstacles courses at Go Ape Bedgebury Pinetum (25 minutes). Delve into East Sussex industrial heritage to marvel at the steam-powered machinery housed in former engine houses at Brede Steam Giants (five minutes), or spend the day touring richly decorated rooms and stunning gardens at moated Leeds Castle (50 minutes). Visit National Trust-owned Chartwell (an hour) to see Winston Churchill’s treasure-filled family home, laid out as it was in the 1930s. To dodge the history altogether, hike over dunes and a dip in the sea at Camber Sands (25 minutes), take a romantic stroll along the shingle at often-almost-deserted Winchelsea Beach (20 minutes), or combine a day on the coast with birdwatching for swans, terns and oystercatchers in Rye Harbour Nature Reserve (20 minutes).