UK Day 6: A good morning and an awful afternoon

The new week began well. I managed to get all my gear in one go so I wouldn't have to walk up those fucking stairs again and the drive to Battle Abbey went reasonably well. To all those who haven't been to the battle site of 1066 and all that, the battle did NOT take place at Hastings, but in a field several miles to the north.

A couple of years after the battle, the new King, William I, Duke of Normandy, on the supposed x-marks-the-spot where the former King, Harold Godwinson had fallen, decreed the building of an altar, around which rose a grand church.

The church was demolished shortly after the Dissolution of the monasteries (and all that) in 1538, by that magnificent fuck Henry VIII, but several old, old buildings were left and are standing even today or have been incorporated into new structures.

I took a stroll around the area (I had a longer stay there in 2011, when my legs were still somewhat working) and took a couple of photos of some buildings and the battle field, then fucked off outta there in about an hour, but not before nearly bankrupting myself in the museum store again.

The supposed x-marks-the-spot.


I also shot a video:


Views from the top.


The battlefield.


Again, a video:


I love Tudor style buildings.


The next destination was the White Hart Hotel in Lewes, where Thomas Paine launched his political career in 1768. He apparently formed his own debating society, called "The Headstrong Club", where he began forming his radical ideas. Even though the building looks (and IS) ancient, not much remains of what was there in Paine's day; the building has undergone extensive renovations since.

I first visited Lewes in 2011 and just like then, seeing the place gave me goosebumps. Paine is one of the greatest revolutionaries of all times, and his work for the American Revolution in particular was extremely important. These are the times that try men's souls... oh yeah, still relevant to this day.

A video taken outside the White Hart Hotel:


My soul was tried by the fact that the streets are so narrow, you need traffic lights to control the flow of traffic. Honestly, one ancient house going missing can't be the end of the world, can it?


Back then, I had stuffed a very tasty duck in my face but they were not serving food when I stepped inside to inquire, so I fucked off outta there and instead repaired to the pup "The Rights of Man" across the street.

The menu was a tad continental for a pub of that name, but when at last I got the bright idea to turn it, I found a decent looking burger option on the other side. The burger was good, but I dunno if it was the corona situation or just incompetence, but it went downhill from there.

I had mah burger outside this pub. I was good; I gave away the fries to two girls who were sitting next to me. I still gained 8kg on the trip. The Universe has it in for me.


It took me almost an hour to both order and eat my burger (that last part was over in five minutes) so I really had to step on it to try and reach my final destination, which was Winchester. I'd never been there and now I fear I never shall.

I managed to reach the place but found no parking and there was digging on the street where the city museum was, with only a one-way street coming the other way to escape out of there. So, I left in a huff and fuck Winchester.

Also, very much fuck the Day's Inn at the M3 outside Winchester, which led me to believe they had a type of room without which I never would have booked there. Cunts, the lot of them. What, you didn't think this trip would be all sunshine and flowers, did you?