Top Secrets - Visit 1066

Visit 1066 Country – just 75 minutes from London

The Top 12 1066 Country best kept secrets for 2012

1. The beautiful town of Rye is not only the most perfectly preserved medieval town in England, but it is also one of the most haunted too.
2. Battle - the Guy Fawkes connection!  More famously known as the site of the Battle of Hastings 1066, Guy Fawkes is said to have sourced his gunpowder from the mills in Powdermill Lane, Battle, for his failed plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.
3. The Battle Bonfire Society is the longest continuously running society in the world (formed in 1605) 
4. The East Hill Cliff Railway, Hastings is the steepest working funicular railway in the UK, with a gradient of 78%.  Renovated in 2010, the replica Edwardian carriages rise the 81 metres up to magnificent views over the Stade, Jerwood Gallery, the largest beach fishing fleet in Europe and the picturesque Old Town of Hastings.  At the top you'll find magnificent coastal walks over Hastings Country Park.
5. The Shirley Leaf & Petal Company, also known as the Flowermakers Museum is a working museum situated in Hastings Old Town, which holds the national collection of artificial flowermaking artefacts, and the company produces petals, leaves and flowers for prestigious clients such as West End Theatre companies, Hollywood and Disney (Gladiator and Reign of Fire included), top fashion designers and national opera companies.
6. Sleep like a king at Herstmonceux Castle, where Queens University, Canada has a study centre.  When the students go home on vacation, the rooms become free and the castle offers 2 - 4* university accommodation standard.
7. The Adventure and Crazy Golf complex on Hastings seafront is the largest in the UK and each October hosts the annual World Crazy Golf Championships.
8. Top B&Bs.  Rye has the highest number of 5 star Gold Award B&Bs in the country and 3 of the 'Top 15 Cool B&Bs' listed by 'Coast Magazine' in July 2011 are to be found in Hastings.  Of particular note is the gay friendly nature of Hastings Old Town and Rye.
9. The beautiful 'Antient' Cinque Port town of Winchelsea, perched high on a hill just outside Rye, has a large underground network of medieval wine cellars - the largest in the country with the (possible) exception of those of Southampton and Norwich.  In the Middle Ages, Winchelsea was one of the principal English ports importing wine from Gascony in southwest France.  Guided tours of the cellars can be during the summer months.
10. Great Dixter House and Gardens, and Batemans, Rudyard Kipling's former home at Burwash provided the inspiration for a scene from Herge's Adventures of Tin Tin, 'The Black Island'.
11. Shipwreck!  Well and truly hidden under the sands between Hastings and Bexhill is the wreck of The Amsterdam.  However, during extremely low tides the outline of the wreck can still be seen and guided tours take place.  The Shipwreck Museum in Hastings is the place to go to see artefacts rescued from the wreck and to find out more about the geology and history of this fascinating section of coastline.
12. Famous contemporary people associated with 1066 Country:

• Bexhill boy, comedian Eddie Izzard maintains strong connections with the town.  He is the patron of Bexhill Museum and is know to give impromptu performances at De la Warr Pavilion and local comedy clubs
• Sir Paul McCartney has a house in a village just outside Rye and continues to be a frequent visitor to the town.  He and his late wife, Linda, brought up their children in the area, who attended the local state comprehensive school in the 1980s.  His windmill recording studio can be seen at Ickesham.