Lewes, UK

Lewes, UK.

A brief stop and will need to return.

Not far from Brighton is a small town called Lewes, I had read that it was quite a popular destination for people who lived in Brighton to visit as a day trip. It's quite close, about 10 minutes by car.

I thought I would squeeze in a quick side trip before I returned my hire car at Gatwick. It was a very brief stop, enough to register with me that I needed to come back and spend a day (rather than 2 hours!) in Lewes.

The town slopes down to the river Ouse, I parked behind the High Street so it was downhill to the scenic part of town and a steep uphill back to the car!



The river and the brewery.



The main pedestrian area with various restaurants around the river. The street has a collection of antique shops, for local day trippers this seems to be major attraction. As it was a bright day I had a very late lunch or early dinner down by the river. (Forgot to take food pictures, still learning!)



Picture postcard scene from the pedestrian street!







The town slopes down to the river from both banks.

There is more to the town than just the pedestrian area, it boasts a castle, Lewes Castle and the 'Anne of Cleaves' house. Now it turns out that she never actually lived there, the house was just part of her divorce settlement from Henry VIII and she received the rental income. (Anne of Cleaves was one of his wives who left the marriage with her head still attached! She was a German princess whose very flattering portrait was shown to Henry VIII and he agreed to marry her. When she arrived and he saw that she didn't really bear that much of a resemblance to her portrait, he divorced her!)

Lewes is a scenic small town and worth visiting if staying in the Brighton area for an extended visit.

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