Beside Berwick station, in a quiet corner of East Sussex, lies a hostelry, now called
the Berwick Inn.
The Berwick Inn
© 2008 Simon Carey at
www.geograph.org.uk
Back in the late 1960s it was called the Fullers Arms, then a rough-and-ready
establishment with a wooden floor. This was where members of the London based
Vanguards Rambling Club used to gather after a hard day's walking on the nearby
South Downs, on one of the ramblers' excursions by train, which were then in
their heyday. The Vanguards were hell-bent on downing as much as possible of
the formidable apple wines produced by Messrs. Merrydown and Bob Luck within the
half-hour or so between opening time and departure of the homeward train. How
the place reverberated with lusty singing and boots stomping on bare
floorboards! Many a lurid tale is still told of those journeys back to London.
So those who knew the Vanguards were in for a shock when this motley crew managed
to establish one of the finest trails in southern England.
 Vanguards
outside East Croydon station in 1980
© 2009 Alan Smith
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