November 2025. Newhaven. East Sussex.
There’s a lot of dashing around at the moment, multiple rail journeys planned, some mobile tickets, some you have to print out (why ?) and then you miss your train.
And on the trip from Brighton to Lewes (patience) on Monday it suddenly occurred to me I could actually make it to Newhaven if I stayed on the train, as long as I could buy a ticket on-line in 32 seconds.
It was worth the effort.
Newhaven is definitely the weakest of the Sussex-by-the-Sea set, even Bexhill has charm (and 4 GBG pubs),
and the centre remains irredeemably dull, enlivened only by a lady from the New Episcopal Church of Latter Day Biblical Science or similar. I took her leaflet, and will attempt to weave its wisdom into future posts.
It’s only 2022 I was last here, so how did I preemptively miss the Bridge Inn, a GBG26 debutant ?
As obvious a Guide regular as I’ve visited down here in years, clean but cosy,
attracting a gentlefolk crowd who’ve come to drink, not to dine.
Actually I’m the only diner, their superb unfussy house burger almost making me forget Grubbs.
Almost.
Harvey’s Old is rich, cool and (yes !) chewy (NBSS4), the soundtrack Steely Dan (Reeling in the Years), Dire Straits (Sultans) and (yes !) Hall & Oates. “Out of Touch” this time, almost late period H & O.
The Old Boy in a mustard jacket sings “Going down south, London town” and “It’s all…he can afford” to his unimpressed wife. It’s a moment that will live with me forever, or at least till I forget.
And then I cross the actual bridge to Denton Island,
and admire the view of decay.
and dash to Lewes.
retiredmartin 
Newhaven’s a rarity in Sussex. A working town. The only tourists are those waiting for the ferry.
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Yes, Morten. “working town” is the description I was after. And we can’t all be retired, can we ?
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How about semi-retired?
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Quasi-retired. 😉
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I’ll use that. Somehow.
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I don’t doubt that Morten.
Working Farm is a con as they rarely have a farmer or farm labourers.
Maybe Dave can let us know whether Working Girl has the same meaning his side of the Atlantic.
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Nothing means the same in America as in the UK, Paul.
Take “tip” for example.
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You can regularly see Cormorants sitting on to top of the Cormorant statue in the river shown in your third photo.
An example of Anti Mimesis.
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Yes, Alan, I’ve seen people doing a sort of skipping walk past that sculpture in Morecambe too. (Although I’ve yet to see any swinging handbags near the one in Grantham.)
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Alan, my ornithological highlight of last year was seeing a cormorant drying its wings at Bradford on Avon, that being on my way from two nights in Bath to one in Swanage.
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I wish I had an ornithological highlight feature.
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Actually probably my ornithological highlight of the decade, the previous one being the swooped flight of a green woodpecker just beyond Gnosall before I had to retire.
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“And on the trip from Brighton to Lewes (patience) on Monday it suddenly occurred to me I could actually make it to Newhaven if I stayed on the train, as long as I could buy a ticket on-line in 32 seconds.”
Blimey. They could turn that into a reality show.
“It was worth the effort.”
(looks up)
Hmmm.
“I took her leaflet, and will attempt to weave its wisdom into future posts.”
You’re not fooling me. You took the leaflet just to get the heck away from her.
“so how did I preemptively miss the Bridge Inn, a GBG26 debutant ?”
(looks down)
Hang on; I thought Napoleon cleaned out all of the kings. Unless this one was in hiding?
“attracting a gentlefolk crowd who’ve come to drink, not to dine.”
I thought the gentlefolk were the ones dining instead of drinking?
“their superb unfussy house burger almost making me forget Grubbs.”
(looks down)
If you look at that burger in just the right way, it looks like the Rolling Stones’ Complete Collection album cover.
“Almost.”
I was getting to that.
“the soundtrack Steely Dan (Reeling in the Years), Dire Straits (Sultans) and (yes !) Hall & Oates. “Out of Touch” this time, almost late period H & O.”
I can hum all three of those.
“It’s a moment that will live with me forever, or at least till I forget.”
I have moments like that all the time!
“And then I cross the actual bridge to Denton Island,”
Why?
“and admire the view of decay.”
Ah. 😒
“and dash to Lewes.”
(looks up)
Crickey!
Cheers
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That last photo is my favourite.
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Nothing beats a grounded boat in a mud flat !
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Hall & Oates’s Out of Touch always reminds me of GTA Vice City. It seemed that every time I got in a car it would be playing, in the same way Toto’s Hold the Line was in San Andreas.
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“some you have to print out (why ?)”
I’ve no idea why when the Ticket Office staff will always happily do that for me.
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