A summer holiday: time to indulge in a spot of visiting. Everything has been so linked- sometimes this was planned, others pleasantly coincidental.

First day, first stop: sitting by The Bridge Theatre, enjoying street food, sunshine and pleasant company, whilst we idly passed time before the matinee performance of  ‘Allelujah’ by Alan Bennett.  Glancing at the skyline, which is now dominated by a hotchpotch of high-rise glass buildings, one wonders about the aesthetic sensibilities of those who plan- and those who agree to such plans. A glance to the right of the glass constructs, and there is The Tower of London. Long ago, this would have dominated the landscape…

After the play (excellent, with a dark twist) we set off for Hastings, where our base for the next few days was a cosy cottage in Old Town. Chips on the shingle beach, watched, as ever, by hopeful, if well-behaved, seagulls. These were less well-behaved during the night, when a mini flock behaved like rowdy teenagers: the cottage was not sound proof.

The next day we set off to explore 1066 country, our reason for visiting the area. Having spent decades visiting castles, historic houses, battlefields, museums and the like, thanks to a love of history (and a long-ago degree in the medieval variety), I’d never been to Battle. It was fascinating, especially the ruined abbey. But also strangely wrong: no archeological finds relating to the Battle of Hastings have ever been found on the site. Wrong place? A visit to Pevensey Bay, to see where the Normans landed, rounded off the first part of the magical, history tour.

The next day, having wanted to visit this particular castle for about 40 years, (it’s on the front cover of one of my castle books) I finally did so. Bodiam did not disappoint: it must surely take the prize for the most picturesque castle in the country.

Making the most of the drive home, I called in at St Peter and St Paul Parish Church, Lingfield, to look at the incredible tomb of Sir Reginald Cobham, (also known as Reynold)one of the first Knights of the Garter (created by Edward III). This not only linked to a visit to Windsor Castle in May, but also to many visits to Berkeley Castle, my local castle. This knight married (in 1343) Joan, daughter of Thomas of Berkeley, one-time custodian of Edward II, who met his unfortunate end at the castle. Cobham proved himself on the battlefield at Crecy and Poitiers, serving both Edward III and the Black Prince, hence his investment in 1352: Cobham’s parentage must have been forgiven.

My next stop was Hever Castle in Kent, family residence of Anne Boleyn. Double moated and exquisitely decorated inside, it comes across as very much a home, not a fortress. The coincidental link is that Sir Reginald Cobham’s mother was Joan of Hever, so Cobham held the manor of Hever amongst his many properties. The timeline of Hever (on display there) is puzzling: Joan d’Evere  was born about 1265, at Hever Castle, and unlikely to have married her son in 1340.  Wrong Joan? Wrong date? Wrong Reg?

Hever is full of delights: Tudor portraits, furniture, Anne Boleyn’s Book of Hours and another unexpected link: the drawing room panelling (created in the early 1900s) was based on  designs found at Sizergh Castle, my local castle when I lived in the north. In one room, where a portrait of an aged Elizabeth I stared down on the visitors, something brushed against my skin.  It felt like long hair, but there was no-one near me. My hair is short.

Home again, and a visit to Acton Court.

This ‘guesthouse’ was built at the instigation of Sir Nicholas Pointz. In August 1535, he expected Henry VIII and Queen Anne to visit, during their summer progress of the West Country. Constructed in nine months, it was essentially rendered drystone walling.

Twenty years later, Pointz had Newark Park built- a hunting lodge- which we visited last year. His family fortunes began to diminish somewhat after this. Queen Anne’s had long been extinguished: nine months after the summer progress, she was taken to the Tower of London, where she would face trial and execution. Full circle for the Magical History Tour of summer ’18.