The Kent and East Sussex Railway is a preserved steam railway which makes for an excellent family…read moreday out. Formerly a classic rural branch line, it has an interesting history and runs through stunning scenery. History Plans to link the ancient inland port of Tenterden to the rest of the railway network were made throughout the 19th century, but it was not until 1900 that a line from Robertsbridge (on the Hastings main line) to Tenterden was opened, extended to Headcorn on the Ashford main line in 1905. The line was built under what was then new legislation as a cheaply engineered 'Light Railway', running along the beautiful Rother Valley past Bodiam Castle to reach Tenterden. The engineer was the famous Colonel Holman Fred Stephens, who built and/or managed some 16 light railways in rural parts of the UK. The line survived as an independent operation after the First World War which saw most of Britain's railway companies amalgamated into the 'Big Four', but struggled financially from the 1930s onwards. After nationalisation in 1948, traffic ebbed away even faster, and the line was closed to passengers in 1954, and the Headcorn to Tenterden section closed completely. The Tenterden to Robertsbridge section survived until 1961 for freight. Preservationists fought hard to secure this unique line, which reopened in stages from 1974, to its present length in 2000. The Route The line runs from its headquarters in the attractive market town of Tenterden down through the valley of the River Rother to Bodiam, just five minutes' walk from the famous castle. The line follows marshland for much of its length, and part of it is even below sea level! Tenterden has a car park, shop, cafeteria, carriage shed and a small museum. The next stop is Rolvenden, the original terminus in 1900 and home to the loco shed. The next stop, Wittersham Road, really is in the former marshlands, and the ditches alongside the railway were once part of a crayfish farm. The line now joins the Rother Valley proper, towards the station at Northiam. This too has a large car park. The line then continues, with fine views of Bodian castle, to the small country station of Bodiam. Plans are afoot to reopen the section to Robertsbridge, but this is a significant undertaking (with a river and three road crossings to reinstate). The work is being undertaken by the Rother Valley Railway (http://www.rvr.org.uk) . The railway has an eclectic array of rolling stock: in keeping with its rural background, all but one loco are tank engines, and there are diesel locos and railcars as well. One of the best features is the prevalence of pre-war passenger coaches, including rare pre World War One 4-wheeled main line stock, and some very comfortable former Southern railway coaches from the 1930s. The railway lays on a number of regular events, including popular 'Thomas the Tank Engine' days, gala days with extra locomotives in steam, and Pullman dining trains - a good excuse to dress up! Practicalities There are car parks at Tenterden and Northiam, but not at the other stations, and refreshment facilities, a shop and museum at Tenterden. For information about disabled access and facilities, (including car parking, toilets and trains) see their website. All in all, this makes for an excellent day out.

This is a fantastic day out for the family. We drove here from East Sussex, lots of parking! We…read morecame for a Thomas Day which is when they have various steam engines dressed up as characters from the Thomas books. A show is put on for the children with the troublesome trucks, the fat controller and so on. Whilst we were there Christopher Awdley, the son of Rev.Awdley was signing his own books(he has carried on the family business, as it were) and his fathers. There is face painting and a bouncy castle included in the ticket price. You then have a short ride on a steam engine(thomas). There is a tent selling Thomas merchandise at low prices! The station also has a cafe(licensed) selling hot meals and snacks. The railway also does a range of other journeys for the enthusiast, fish and chip nights on a steam train etc. Good day out.

I rarely use taxi's as I drive myself however following an accident at home and suffering a nasty…read moreankle/foot injury it was obvious I needed to go to Eastbourne DGH. Having booked the taxi it arrived within 3 minutes. The cab driver JAY (28) was so kind and helpful to the point he almost carried me into the emergency department. Without his assistance I'm really not sure I could have walked the short distance into the hospital, Jay certainly went above and beyond his duties as a cab driver. A HUGE thank you to both taxi drivers your extra help was very much appreciated. I'm now back home, my lower leg in a cast for the next 6/8 weeks but relieved I made the journey there and back home safely .. Many thanks.

This taxi company is one of two main ones in the town, the other being sussex cars. I always use…read moresussex cars unless there is for some reason an exceptionally long wait for a car as i find them quite a bit cheaper than this company. For some reason any time i have ever had to use Eastbourne and Country Taxis i've had to pay well over the odds (it seems to me), sometimes as much as £1 or £2 more than for the same journey with sussex cars. For that reason i have only given them 3 stars. However a plus point is the very quick service - i have never really had to wait longer than 15 minutes for one of Eastbourne and Countrys taxis and even that is longer than usual. So can't fault them on speed and timekeeping. Drivers are always polite though often not as friendly as other cab companies drivers.

Eastbourne's railway station is one of the busiest on the south coast, handling over 3.2 million…read morepassengers a year. The present station is the third on the site, and was designed by F D Bannister and completed in 1886. The first station opened in 1849, followed by the second in 1866, but was expanded to handle the increasing traffic as Eastbourne developed as a resort. It is a grade II listed building. It is a handsome and well-preserved Italianate building in red and yellow brick, with a central clock tower, although the façade is not symmetrical: on the left is a large French pavilion-style roof with fish-scale tiles and iron cresting, and on the right a rectangular hall. Unfortunately, the street view is marred by an appalling clutter of traffic lights and pedestrian barriers. The concourse is triangular and has an attractive glazed roof, with the ticket office, cafes, newsagents and toilets opening from it. The station was built with four platforms, although it now has only three. These are adequate to handle the standard off-peak service of half hourly trains to Brighton and London Victoria and three trains an hour to Hastings, one of which continues to Ashford via Rye.

I was on my way back from visiting my sister in Seaford as I stepped off my train onto the platform…read moreI nearly fell through the gap from the train and the platform also nearly loosing my back brace. The rest of my journey from the train to the gate was great until I put my ticket in and it dragged me with it and it squeezed me through the little ticket eater. It felt like I had just been in a washing machine and I was shookith to the core as my grandchildren say. After I came out the top of the gate where my ticket came out I grabbed it and walked home it was a 2 hour walk because the gate ate my wallet as well. Im definitely coming back here because I have no choice.

southern rail stations are like the wild west sometimes- no even including unlocked toilets or bus…read morestops or telephones that aren't old by ones. This would probably suit people who aren't contactless - but not modern enoug & I come from a village and partner drives buses. so it's clear if it's viable or not in places like Berwick, just outside Lewes

Berwick (Sussex) station serves the little village of Berwick at the head of the Cuckmere Valley…read moreand is not to be confused with its rather better known namesake, the Scottish border town of Berwick on Tweed. Berwick station was opened in 1846 on the line from Lewes to Eastbourne. It serves a largely rural area, with the village itself a mile or two away on the other side of the A27. The station is mainly used by commuters but is also popular with walkers and cyclists, as there are several long-distance paths nearby, as well as the gardens at Michelham Priory three miles to the north. At weekends, a bus service operated by Cuckmere Community Bus connects a number of the villages and attractions in the area: details at: http://www.cuckmerebus.freeuk.com The station itself consists of an attractive small building - possibly the 1846 original - on the down (Eastbourne) side, and a wooden building with waiting room on the up (Lewes) side. There is a busy level crossing at one end, operated from an attractive little signal box (from 1876) with old-fashioned semaphore signals. The station is staffed on weekday mornings, but there is a ticket machine on the up platform, as well as cycle storage and a small car park. Both platforms have level access for wheelchairs, and both have a push-button information point giving train times. There is no toilet. The station is operated by Southern, which provides an hourly service each way on the Brighton to Ore (Hastings) service, with occasional through services to London Bridge and Victoria in the weekday peaks. Saturday and Sunday services are also hourly.

I have to admit that I'm glad I got off at the station before this one because it looks like this…read morestation has had a bit if a redevelopment and really just feels like your typical modern station, which tend to be rather boring. Okay, some people I know do like the really modern ones, but yeah, I prefer the older ones, where they really put a lot of love into their work.

Cheryl is a star and such a great ad for the railway station.Promote her…read more So helpful,professional and polite. The station is well kept. Keep up the good work.

The Loops are insanely strong smelling and noticed smoke coming from the exhaust which i've never…read morenoticed from the loops before plus the loops sounded a bit worst because of the issue.

Stagecoach runs numerous bus lines in Kent. When we spent our holiday in Margate, we were using The…read moreThanet Loop. The Loop connects the cities of Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate and Westwood within the Isle of Thanet. During daytime, the buses run every 10 minutes. They run until 11.30 pm, from 7 pm every 30 minutes. The tickets are from 60 p, depending on the distance. Day tickets for the Isle of Thanet cost GBP 2.60. The buses are a good alternative to go around the Isle of Thanet. We went on the Loop as often as possible.

Very reasonably priced and overall good value. Husband found this last minute and it suited our…read moreneeds. We got into town early and drove up to the front. I happened to walk up to the front door as the same time as the owner or manager, good timing and he gave me our room key early and instructions. He was so polite and helpful! We asked him about parking and laundromat recommendations, and he was more than happy to assist. He did warn us that the boiler in the building broke and the water would be out til at least 5pm (ended up being 7p but that is ok, we were not bothered by that). They had a plumber working on it when we got back from dinner, and the owner communicated with us about the situation very well. He also brought us some fresh towels and asked us if we needed anything. We felt very welcomed and comfortable. The room was super clean (very important). The room and especially the bathroom are super tiny but there was a mini fridge, tea pot, tea and coffee, ironing board and iron. Can't complain. Location was exactly where we wanted to be. We were pleased with our stay.

We had stayed at this Bed and Breakfast that also rents apartments. Located just 5 minutes from the…read moretrain station and convenient to the town and within short walking distance to the Old Town, this B&B is located in a street chock full of other small B&B's. The owners, Steve and Vicky, run an immaculate B&B and obviously care about the comfort of their guests. I found them both to be professional and very responsive. We were given a choice of two rooms and chose one that had purple flowers(asters?) on the wallpaper, the bigger room of the two but with the smaller bathroom. The bathroom was indeed small but so spotless you could eat off the floor. It was so smart to Senlac to have dispensers for soap, conditioner and shampoo and I appreciated the bottle of body lotion. The bed, smaller by American standards and standard to British, did not make for the best nights sleep for my bear of a boyfriend and me. We ran into unusually cold weather and unfortunately, only asked for an extra blanket the last night The owners obliged and also told us they would fix the thermostat so the heat kicked in sooner. That's service!. We only regretted not telling them sooner. For a fee additional to the room rate, the Senlac provides breakfast. I did not rate that as we wanted to try the local eateries and most times we woke up too late as breakfast was served from 7 Am to 8:30 AM. A mini refrigerator is provided in the room as is free WIFI.

My carpets have never looked better. I tried everything and still couldn't clean the stain. So I…read morewas recommended the services of Arundel Fantastic Cleaners. My carpets are clean, the price is good and the cleaners are fast. So if you ever need somebody to do the cleaning for you call Arundel Fantastic cleaners. You won't regret it!