In the quiet East Sussex village of Brede lies the tomb of a Tudor knight called Sir Goddard Oxenbridge.
He was a real landowner who lived during the reign of Henry VIII. But local folklore remembers somebody rather different: an enormous man who ate children, could not be killed by metal weapons and eventually met a particularly gruesome end.
He became known as the Giant of Brede.
Continue reading The Sussex Giant Who Ate Children – The Legend of the Giant of BredeToday, the landscapes around Rye Harbour, Forest Row and Uckfield are peaceful corners of East Sussex.
Walk across the marshes towards Camber Castle, follow the old railway path beside Forest Row, or drive through Uckfield and there is little to suggest that these places once lay beneath an aerial battlefield.
Yet hidden within these landscapes are memorials to three Allied fighter pilots whose stories span four remarkable years of the Second World War.
Harry Raymond Hamilton came from Canada. John Dallas Crossman came from Australia. Eugène Georges Achille Seghers came from Belgium.
All three served with the Royal Air Force. All three fought in the skies over southern England. And all three are now commemorated in quiet locations across East Sussex.
Continue reading Allied Fighters Over East SussexToday, the South Downs, Ashdown Forest and the wooded hills of the High Weald are among the most peaceful landscapes in East Sussex. Walk these places now and it can be difficult to imagine the skies above them filled with aircraft heading to and from war.
Yet during the Second World War, East Sussex lay beneath one of the great aerial highways between Britain and occupied Europe.
Bomber crews crossed the Sussex coast on their way out. Hours later, often in darkness and poor weather, they searched for England again. Some returned with damaged aircraft, wounded crew or failing engines, knowing that reaching the English coast did not necessarily mean they were safe.
Across East Sussex, memorials still mark some of those final journeys.
This story begins on the cliffs at Beachy Head, follows the returning aircraft inland towards the airfields they hoped to reach, and ends among the fields that once formed another temporary wartime airfield.
It is a story about British, American and Polish airmen. But it is also about the landscape that remembers them.
More than eighty years later the runways have disappeared, the wreckage has gone and nature has reclaimed most of the crash sites. In many places, a stone, plaque or small memorial is now the only indication that anything happened there at all.
Battle of Britain Over East Sussex – Four Pilots, Two Days, Four Memorials
Continue reading Bombers of East Sussex: The Last Miles HomeToday, the High Weald of East Sussex is one of the most peaceful landscapes in southern England. Narrow lanes wind between woods and fields, old farms sit among wooded ridges, and from the higher ground there are long views across a countryside that can seem almost untouched by the modern world.
It is difficult to imagine this same landscape with a battle raging in the skies above it.
Yet during the summer and autumn of 1940, south-east England stood beneath the Battle of Britain. German bombers and fighters crossed the coast while RAF pilots climbed to intercept them, often fighting at great height before damaged aircraft spiralled back towards the countryside below.
Continue reading Battle of Britain Over East Sussex: Four Pilots, Two Days, Four MemorialsHastings is famous for 1066, its ruined castle, historic Old Town and working fishing beach. Look beyond those familiar attractions, however, and another side of the town begins to appear—one hidden among woodland, cliffs, parks, housing estates and quiet corners that most visitors pass without noticing.
These lesser-known places reveal a much longer and stranger history than the Battle of Hastings alone. They include secluded beaches, the remains of a vast Roman iron industry, ruined medieval churches, a mysterious woodland bath, a pyramid memorial, a forgotten waterfall and a cave once occupied by a Victorian hermit.
This guide explores ten unusual places in and around Hastings, East Sussex. Some are nationally important historic remains, while others are natural curiosities or local landmarks with remarkable stories. Each offers something worth discovering and photographing, whether you are exploring with a camera, a phone or simply an interest in the hidden history of Hastings.
Continue reading 10 Hidden Places in Hastings Most Visitors Never SeeAshcombe Windmill is one of those landmarks that seems to belong exactly where it stands. High above Kingston near Lewes, with the South Downs rolling around it, the restored mill already makes a strong subject — but finding a field of poppies in front of it turned the scene into something far more special.
Continue reading Ashcombe Windmill and Poppies near Kingston, LewesHidden in St Helen’s Wood above Ore in Hastings is a small spring known as St Helen’s Well. Tucked away in the woodland valley below the ridge where Old St Helen’s Church stands, it’s an easy place to walk past without ever realising it’s there.
The well itself isn’t marked on modern OS maps, but the clue lies in the spring symbol in the valley. By heading towards the nearest spring relative to St Helen’s Wood, it’s possible to track down the location where the water emerges from the hillside.
Continue reading St Helen’s Well, HastingsThe church’s elevated position reflects an older landscape. In medieval times churches were often built on high ground overlooking settlements and farmland, both for visibility and for the practical benefit of dry ground above the valley below.
Standing quietly on the ridge above Ore in Hastings are the remains of Old St Helen’s Church, one of the oldest church sites in the town. Today the roofless walls and sturdy tower sit among weathered gravestones and grass, but for centuries this was the parish church serving the surrounding rural community.
Continue reading Old St Helen’s Church Ruins, HastingsWhile exploring the foreshore at Bexhill Beach over the last couple of days, I came across several remarkable features preserved in the rock – dinosaur footprints dating back roughly 135 million years to the Early Cretaceous period.
The Sussex coast exposes rocks from the Ashdown Formation, part of the Wealden Group. At the time these sediments were forming, this area wasn’t coastline at all. It was a warm river floodplain with muddy riverbanks, shallow lagoons and dense vegetation. Dinosaurs walked across these mudflats, leaving footprints that were buried by sediment and eventually turned into rock.
Coastal erosion along the foreshore is now slowly revealing parts of that ancient landscape again.
Continue reading Dinosaur Footprints on Bexhill Beach – 135 Million Years OldRomney Marsh once held dozens of small medieval parishes scattered across the wetland. Many disappeared as the land flooded, drained or shifted, leaving only fragments of stone, earthworks or a solitary church in the fields.
Before diving into each site, here is the full map of all locations:
All Map Locations – Romney Marsh Churches
Here is the long-form video that explores all four churches together:
This post breaks down each location separately, with individual map links and photos.
One of the earliest medieval parishes on the Marsh, Hope was built in the 12th century and abandoned by the 1500s as the coastline shifted and the land became grazing marsh. Only fragments of walling survive beside the B2075, now surrounded by a modern sculpture park that occupies the old churchyard.
Map: All Saints Church, Hope View on Google Maps
Midley was founded in the 14th century on what was then an island of higher ground in the Marsh. Flooding and silting forced the parish to be abandoned by the 1500s, and the church was gradually robbed for stone. Today only the lone west arch stands in the field — one of the most striking remains on Romney Marsh.
Map: Midley Church Ruins View on Google Maps
Eastbridge was a later medieval parish that stood between Ivychurch and Newchurch. It declined rapidly in the 16th century as water management changed and the local population moved away. The remains sit behind a cottage off Chapel Lane, half-hidden in scrub with a short footpath cut through the bushes to reach the site.
Map: Eastbridge Church Ruins (Chapel Lane) View on Google Maps
Fairfield is the complete contrast — a 13th-century church that survived while the other parishes vanished. Rebuilt in brick in the 1790s to replace the failing timber structure, it still stands alone in the fields and remains consecrated today. The drainage channels and wide open skies make it one of the most photogenic churches in Kent.
Full Post: St Thomas à Becket Church, Fairfield
Hope, Midley and Eastbridge all tell the same story: marshland, shifting water and the long decline of settlement across Romney Marsh. Fairfield tells the opposite — a parish that endured.
Together they form one of the most atmospheric and historically rich landscapes in the South East.
Broomhill Sands – East Sussex Coast
Long beach and shingle on the Romney Marsh edge.
Brookland Church – Timber Tower of Romney Marsh
One of the Marsh’s most distinctive standing churches.
St George’s Ivychurch – The Cathedral of the Marsh
A vast medieval church dominating the landscape.
Denge Sound Mirrors – Early Acoustic Defence
Historic concrete listening structures on the edge of the Marsh.
Scotney Castle is unusual because it isn’t one building but two.
Down by the water sits the medieval Old Castle, once a fortified manor. Above it stands the 1830s New House, built deliberately to overlook the ruins. Together they form one of the most photographed estates in Kent.
Below is the short video showing both parts of the estate:
A wider look at Scotney: the Old Castle in the moat and the New House in the landscape.
Location on Google Maps
View Scotney Castle on Google Maps
All Map Locations Collection
Explore the full Sussex Photography map collection
The Old Castle dates to the mid-14th century, when Kent was vulnerable to coastal raids during the Hundred Years’ War. It was never a full fortress, but a moated, defensible manor built to protect the family and estate during periods of instability.
By the 1830s the Hussey family wanted a modern home, so the New House was built on the hill. Rather than demolish the medieval structure, they turned it into a romantic garden feature. The valley below was landscaped so that the ruins were always the centre of the view from the new house.
The Old Castle:
Only part of the original structure survives – the gate tower, a hall range wall and the moat. Time, water and ivy soften the remaining stonework, making it one of the most recognisable scenes in the region.
The New House:
A classic Victorian country house built for comfort, with long views across the valley. The design intentionally frames the Old Castle, showing how 19th-century landscaping turned medieval remains into a feature rather than a burden.
The Grounds:
Lakes, woodland paths, and carefully planted slopes connect both buildings. The entire estate is a managed blend of medieval history and Victorian landscaping.
Location:
Scotney Castle, near Lamberhurst, Kent (National Trust).
Access:
Paid National Trust entry. Parking on site. Easy walking across the gardens.
Best Time to Visit:
Spring for rhododendrons, summer for reflections in the moat, autumn for colours around the valley, winter for clear views of the ruin.
Nearby:
St Thomas à Becket at Fairfield is the church most people recognise instantly from Romney Marsh — a single, isolated building in the middle of vast grazing fields, with sheep, water channels and open landscape stretching in every direction.
Although the other medieval parishes around here vanished centuries ago, Fairfield survived. The result is a site that feels both historic and photographic at the same time: part heritage, part natural sculpture.
Here’s the YouTube Short that introduces the location:
A short walk across the fields brings you right up to the church, and on the right light it becomes one of the most rewarding photographic spots anywhere in Kent.
Location on Google Maps:
All Map Locations:
Most of Romney Marsh’s medieval parishes didn’t survive. Places like Hope, Midley and Eastbridge were abandoned by the 1500s as flooding, drainage problems and shifting settlement patterns emptied the land.
Fairfield, however, took a different path.
The original church was built in the 13th century, constructed on wooden piles driven into the marshy ground. It served a tiny farming community long since faded from the map.
By the late 1700s the old timber-framed structure was failing, and the whole building was rebuilt in brick around 1792–1800. The interior fittings — including the Georgian box pews and pulpit — were brought here from a church in Snargate.
Despite its isolation, the church remains consecrated and still holds occasional services. It’s one of the only original marsh churches to stand more or less untouched by development.
Drainage channels, sheep fields and open skies dominate the area. At certain times of year, when the fields are saturated or flooded, the church appears to float above the reflections — one of the reasons it has become such a magnet for photographers.
Photographically, Fairfield is exceptional because it offers:
There is almost nothing around it. Every direction gives clean framing with long lead-ins, perfect for both stills and video.
Cloud cover, mist, and winter light create soft tonal transitions that suit:
The path allows the whole building to be photographed from every angle without obstruction.
On calm days, the drainage ditches reflect the church beautifully. On windy days, long exposures turn the grass and clouds into soft textured motion.
Winter gives you saturated marsh colours and dramatic skies.
Summer gives you dry grass, warm tones and clear geometry.
Your long-exposure shots of the church fit exactly into this environment — a quiet, timeless landscape where the Marsh seems to pause itself for the camera.
Location:
Fairfield, Romney Marsh, Kent — in the fields west of Newchurch and north of Lydd.
Official Information: For historical background, service details and the church’s preserved status, visit the Romney Marsh Historic Churches Trust page for Fairfield. It’s the most accurate and up-to-date source on St Thomas à Becket Church.
Access:
Park at the lay-by on Fairfield Road (TQ 949 275), then follow the footpath across the fields. The route is flat but can be very muddy in winter.
If you want to go inside the church the key can be recovered from the cottage nearby on the side of the road.
Best Time to Visit:
Nearby:
