We were very fortunate to be offered tickets to see The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart at the Glyndebourne Opera House near Lewes, East Sussex. We decided to make it a mini break and left home on the Thursday lunchtime (August 7th) to make our way towards Lewes as we had secured a community site for a couple of nights behind The Laughing Fish pub in Isfield. On the way we inadvertently drove through Lewes with its quaint streets and medieval architecture.

We arrived at the pub in plenty of time to set ourselves up and have a wander through the village and relaxed before dinner at The Laughing Fish. It was just as well we had reserved a table as it was quiz night and the place was heaving! We had a lovely meal of fish and chips for Jo and a wonderful duck Thai dish for Liz. Washed down with some local beer before indulging in a glass of vino. The quiz had started when we realised that a couple of friends of ours, Simon and Dwayne, were also there with neighbours so we joined their table. Between us all we didn’t disgrace ourselves but neither did we win!

As we didn’t need to be at Glyndebourne until 14.00 on the Friday, we had a very lazy morning before donning our glad rags ready to picked up by our limousine, kindly organised by our co-conspirators, Femi and Claire.

Those familiar with Glyndebourne will know that it’s very civilised and very smart. We were definitely not under dressed but fitted in beautifully with Femi getting a lot of compliments about her very pink suit! When we arrived we were shown to our table by the lake for canapés before the show began at 16.00. It was a glorious setting to have our picnic with a bottle of pink fizz. We even managed a wander around the garden to see the Henry Moore statue, visited the organ and exhibition rooms before taking our seats in the auditorium.

The opera was funny, wonderfully sung but long and we were glad of the interval after the first hour and 45 minutes so we could tuck into our delicious picnic that was waiting for us, along with a couple more bottles of pink fizz we had been chilling in the van fridge overnight.

The second half was slightly shorter, which was just as well with all the food and drink we had consumed. The evening was finished off with the limousine taking us back to the pub and we were tucked up in bed by 22.30.

Saturday morning was another glorious day with blue sky and warm sun so we met up with Femi and Claire to have a walk around Horsted Green Park, just a few minutes away. Google said it had a large car park but failed to mention there was a height restriction! Luckily, we were able to park in the entrance but off the road. The park was small but full of little gems like an apple orchard with sculptures in it.

After we had parted ways, we started to make our way home but not before popping into Rudyard Kipling’s home at Bateman’s near Burwash just 20 minutes away. A fascinating place dating back to the 16th Century with a new exhibition with unseen artefacts.

Finally home by 17.30 in time to empty the van and join our neighbours for cocktails. A wonderful couple of days away that felt like a week!

Miles this trip: 232