You might have heard of the name, no not the cakes but the storybooks, "Jungle Book" is probably his famous one. Come to think of it, any story with talking animals in it at that time must be a winner, Beatrix Potter just proves the point.
When Rudyard Kipling first saw this house, it is claimed he said, 'That's She! The Only She! Make an honest woman of her - quick!' was how Rudyard and his wife, Carrie, felt the first time they saw Bateman's in the East Sussex countryside.
Surrounded by the wooded landscape of the Sussex Weald, this 17th-century house, with its mullioned windows and oak beams, provided a much-needed sanctuary to this world-famous writer. The rooms, described by him as 'untouched and un-faked', remain much as he left them, with oriental rugs and artefacts reflecting his strong association with the East.
Kim was his first major piece of writing that he wrote from his study at Bateman's which links him and his fond childhood memories to India with real clarity and devotion, truly a masterpiece of descriptive writing. Kipling was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907.
Bateman's is very much a family home that feels as though the Kiplings have just gone out for the day. They left the Roll Royce behind as it was unreliable! What there is of the garden is nice, I would have like to of seen more flower borders, the pond full of goldfish seem to follow you around, when were they last fed? At the end of the property is a water-powered mill, it was used to make flour, it wouldn't take much to get it working again but commercial flour making it obsolete.
Buy this time I decided to visit the house, I have been here before when I was younger but not as a woman, which was fun. The rooms were small, even more so with the visitors. The people of that time must have been about four foot high, going by the size of the beds. All the looking around makes you thirsty, so I went for a latte, it was very pleasant sitting outside, there was a small queue as the people in front of me decided to order everything with semi-skimmed milk and the remaining staff all disappeared at the same time.
So I decided to take a short walk as I saw some visitors earlier with small children go for a walk, well as I found out later they must have got so far a turned back. As you know, it had been raining for the last couple of days. The path was muddy in places, but you could go around, I wasn't planning to go hiking but on the map it didn't look long to walk, I just got away with my flat shoes, if I was wearing heels I would be still stuck in the middle of the field surrounded by the cows.
Not to mention the foot stiles, much harder to go over in a dress then you might think! Without falling face first in the mud! There is nothing stopping you from taking the path and gaining access if you know where to go. Actually, you could save yourself three pounds by just parking on the road outside of Bateman's and say you got a taxi there.
If, like me, you forget about change for the car park machine, you can get it added on to your ticket at the ticket office. I am queuing and the gentlemen (old charmer) said "can I help you young lady" this threw me off guard as I forgot for a second or two that I was dressed as a woman and was too busy rummaging around in my handbag trying to find my purse which of course always ends up at the bottom!
I asked him for change for the ticket machine, and he said he could just add it on to the ticket. He gave me a map and tried to sell me a National trust membership if I went more often I would consider it and I would have to have it in Julie name. My advice is, don't go rustic rambling in high heels unless you know a man with a tractor!
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