Today we took a drive along the south coast from Brighton to Dungeness. We visited 7 Lifeboat Stations along the way.
Brighton Lifeboat Station
After a short 40 minute drive down to Brighton we arrived at a deserted Marina at around 10am. The station here is not manned and we were too early for the shop to be open so grabbed a quick photo and were on the road again.
Newhaven Lifeboat Station
Next stop was Newhaven, a lovely spot on the river Ouse. After the photo with the bears we popped into the shop and met a very friendly volunteer who was happy to talk to us about the lifeboat and his own experiences as a volunteer. We purchased some merch, said our goodbyes and were on our way to the next. We could just about see the back end of the Severn Class 17-21 Boat hidden behind the station.
Eastbourne Lifeboat Museum
Our next stop was Eastbourne and the fabulous original brick built boat house on the parade. At the back of the shop is a small museum dedicated to the local history of lifeboats since 1822. Some incredible artifacts including a vent pipe from a lifeboat that served in the evacuation of Dunkirk and clearly showing the damage cause by gunfire and shrapnel. After a long chat with the lovely volunteers and some more merch we moved on to the Lifeboat Station itself.
Eastbourne Lifeboat Station
This is located in the Sovreign Harbour, a modest modern looking building. There were a few people taking photos into the water when we arrived. A small seal was basking on the steps. The Trent 14-02 Esme Anderson boat was moored in the harbour and we grabbed a photo of that as well.
Rye Harbour Lifeboat Station
After an aborted attempt to get into Hastings due to the huge crowds and jammed carparks, we ended up at the lovely Rye Harbour. The shop had just closed so we took our photo and then retired to the nearby pub for some late lunch.
Littlestone Lifeboat Station
We made our way to the area called Dungeness where there are two stations. The first was Littlestone. There was an interesting Weather Forecasting Stone hanging on the wall which made us chuckle.
Dungeness Lifeboat Station
A short drive down the coast was Dungeness. As we pulled up in the car there was a large group of people standing in front of the station, they turned out to be crew having a chat. They were happy to allow us to take a photo of the station. This station should have a Shannon class with the ID 13-02 which is Helens birthdate. She was keen to see it but dissapointed to hear that it had been taken to Poole for some engineering works. In its place was Shannon 13-12, a relief boat. We got chatting to a really nice Irish chap who was a member of the Fleet team.
Hastings Lifeboat Station
As Hastings was kind of on our way home, we decided to have another attempt at getting into town. This time successfully we took our photo and headed for home.
Thankyou for your support
Thank you for reading about our trip today. You can see more photos in our gallery.
The RNLI rely on generous donations to save lives. Our aim on the challenge is to raise much needed funds for the RNLI. If you can support us in any small way we will be most grateful.
More details and a link to donate are on this website. You can also watch our progress and learn more about the work of the RNLI.
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