Spring break in Sussex - Part One: Child Fun at Brighton Palace Pier and Ashdown Forest

It's half term once more and this time we are heading south-east to Sussex. The campsite I chose was Blacklands Farm Caravan & Camping in Henfield, just on the border of South Downs National Park in West Sussex. This had an excellent playground which my kids enjoy so this primarily was the main reason, however the proximity to great walking and fun in Brighton made it perfect. The first night we just hung out at the campsite and had a great campfire. The site also has excellent dog walking facilities and also hosts day fishing passes at numerous fishing lakes there, if you are a keen fisherman. To see more about this campsite visit my campsite vlog.

The next day we headed into Brighton, I had some fun booked for the kids - UV Golf at Globalls. My husband and the kids did this while Digby and I walked around Brighton Marina and found a spot for us to have lunch.

After lunch we walked along the beach to Brighton Palace Pier. Unfortunately dogs are not allowed on the Pier so I took the kids to the funfair, whilst Digby and my husband chilled on the beach and went to the pub. The kids had a whale of a time. Fortunately for my my eldest was old enough and tall enough now to be an appropriate adult so I could let them go on the rides by themselves, which is actually the nicest bonding I have seen them do in a while, finally not fighting! And of course this made it much more cost effective as I didn't have to pay for three people each ride.

The pier has all the classic fun you would expect from a funfair and it's easy to spend a good couple of hours here, if you get a day pass you could go and come back, but I just paid per ride as we got there in the afternoon. Absolutely buzzing and overdosed on sugar after eating the biggest candyfloss stick I have ever seen, we head back to camp.

The day after the weather was set to change, so we thought we spend the morning lazing around the campsite and chilling out with a good book and in the afternoon we would head to Ashdown Forest.

I decided to pick out a cafe nearby in Hartfield to have some lunch before we went on our walk and, the aptly named Pooh Corner caught my eye. This was a delightful cafe. Not only a cafe but a museum dedicated to A.A. Milne and Winnie the Pooh and Friends. They also did bear shaped toast with honey. I bought a map of the walk to all the Winnie the Pooh sites in Ashdown forest and the first Winnie the Pooh book for my youngest.

The walk takes you across fields until you reach Ashdown forest. The destination for us was Pooh Sticks Bridge and on the way you can see Winnie the Poohs, Piglet and Owl's house. Digby very much enjoyed a paddle around Pooh Sticks Bridge also. There were more sights to see connected to A.A Milne but the weather was closing in so we decided to head back, getting somewhat caught in April showers, however Hartfield had a pub that we went in to dry off at the end, before going home for dinner.