Hmm, those ker-razy marketing folk at our local Beachy Head Brewery really excelled when they named their new beer recently.

Personally I head up to Beachy Head for the crisp, invigorating air, breath-taking scenery and abundance of blackberries late summer. You’ll be aware that many other visitors choose the 500ft sheer cliffs for a different purpose, particularly at key points of the year – as the perfect spot for their final moments and last goodbyes. So, to name your new beer Beachy Head Christmas Jumper perhaps isn’t the most sensitive new launch of the year.

Good work, chaps!

The sun is shining on another delightful morning here on Hartington Place, Eastbourne.

Our guests from the Netherlands have just headed out for a trek towards Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters (true pragmatic Dutch stylee, with sandals, packed lunch and ever-so-slightly wary children) whilst others prepare for the opera at Glyndebourne.

Our London journalists have just left with one last rueful look at the sea before heading back to the station. At least it’s an easy journey for their family – just an hour an half back to Clapham Junction and Victoria.

Whilst the children are at nursery and the wife is out at Zumba (is EVERY woman at it these days?!) it’s a rare opportunity to indulge in a pain au chocolat, mug of builders tea and a little rumination in front of the pc and appreciation of all that is good in life.

Maybe, just maybe, there will be an opportunity for a kayak fishing session this afternoon and the possibility of a bass or a few mackeral for supper, post five-a-side football.

Before I lose myself completely in a fog of smugness I’d best crack on with tidying up the dining room and carry up innumerable bags of laundry just delivered. This bed and breakfast malarkey is non-stop.

The daffodils are out, the sun is doing it’s utmost to make an appearance and the much appreciated time-change now means the evenings are no longer a write-off post 7pm. Yes, Spring is officially with us, thank goodness.

For many of the lycra-embracing running community this will signal the final push on the marathon trail; training in full swing – the London race almost upon us, Brighton Marathon also prominent on many Southerners agendas and, for me, the inaugural Richmond marathon in May.

As a 26-mile virgin it’s been an interesting month – The Guesthouse East has proved to be the accommodation of choice for many who recently ran the Eastbourne half marathon and also the Endurance Life Coastal Series, so I now better appreciate the upside of finishing having witnessed their returns from the race – the gratifying glow of completing a run of such significance. As opposed to simply teetering on the edge on continual exhaustion – the training schedule a terrifying torture map laid before you. How many miles to be completed this coming Sunday??!

I know that many (runners and) readers of this blog are based around London so it might be worth trying to fit in a training day in April with The Running Inn based at the Evolve Wellness Centre in South Ken. It’d be the perfect fine tuning with an approach that looks to get you running stress free and body aware. There is a team of experts on hand including an ex-international athlete, a sports nutritionist, personal trainer and with yoga specifically targeted at runners.

Failing that, stay here on a Wednesday night and join the running club for a speed session along the prom, to compare progress, grumble about any aches and blow the cobwebs away in preparation for the summer and season ahead.

Sometimes it takes a trip away to fully appreciate what you have. Even when your destination happens to be a prestigious hotel in the beautiful Dovedale in the Derbyshire Peak District. As a full blown outdoor devotee, I can recognise and savour dramatic peaks and ruggedness as much as the next man (many thanks btw to the delightful newlyweds and friends who provided the backdrop, band and pinot noir – a wonderful occasion x).

With a family to return to, not to mention kayak, fishing rod and accommodating sea bass, my right foot was decidedly heavy on the accelerator returning south down the M1 on Sunday morning.

Whenever I stay in another hotel my eyes are inevitably drawn to a dusty shelf in the bedroom or taste buds sensitive to over-salted scrambled eggs.

Perhaps I should simply remain in situ here at The Guesthouse East, if not for hyper-critical hotelier eyes or withdrawal symptoms from Beachy Head but for the threat of being usurped as the host with the most – most recently by friends Ruth and Miles (above) last weekend who helped out, delivering hospitality, childcare and culinary offerings to frankly unparalleled levels.

I was chuffed to get short-listed and now we’re officially a finalist for Bed and Breakfast / Guest Accommodation of the Year 2010 and invited to a posh ceremony. Will they let me in wearing shorts and Birkenstocks?

If that doesn’t encourage you here for a visit how about some of these offers – we’re offering free midweek nights if you book for 3 nights or more in September.

And I might even offer a bowlful of my homemade blackberry & apple crumble – Beachy Head is handing out a bumper crop of blackberries this year so if you can’t face the hike you can sample some of mine. Mmmm…

We’re approaching the end of a long, sun-drenched (at least here in Eastbourne) and action-packed summer, completing our first year here, and even this irrepressibly enthusiastic hotelier is starting to feel a tad jaded.

Whether it’s bag carrying for guests, kayak hauling or indeed newborn winding that’s caused the trouble, I’ve had to call on Tina, our resident massage therapist, for some No Hands relief (I’ll explain more over the phone…). Indeed, Steve Crossley, the Back Mechanic osteopath, has just produced some dramatic noises from my spine during a consultation.

The freshness in the air must point us towards Autumn and with that comes our unique Pregnancy Pilates weekend retreats. So if you’re pregnent and also in need of some pampering can I suggest you talk to us about our pregnancy pilates and well-being weekends? Think about it – a couple of pregnancy pilates sessions, a treatment or two and a couple of nights away in boutique accommodation in a beautiful coastal setting (short-listed in this year’s Beautiful South B&B of the Year awards no less). We’re faced with difficult decisions every day so make an easy one for a change.

Call Carl or Sarah on 01323 722774 now to hear more and book in. The next planned weekend is 29-31 October which includes a Positive Birthing taster.

And fear not husbands/partners – if an afternoon with the papers, coffee and cake doesn’t hit the spot, there are the South Downs, Belle Tout and Beachy Head to explore with running trainers or mountain bikes (available for hire).

Now that’s what I can therapy.

If you need further encouragement to head south and hit the downs, which finish, rather conveniently for the Guesthouse East, just down the road at Beachy Head and Eastbourne – The Sunday Times travel section had a centre spread this weekend highlighting that Britain’s newest national park has majestic monuments, stirring scenery and terriffic pubs (you’ll need to quench your thirst after a satisfying walk).

Book yourself a suite here (preferably with a bath to relieve those weary limbs) and reward yourself a stay at this award-winning boutique accommodation – self catering and B&B available.

With scenery from chalk grassland to rolling wooded hills, coastal plains and magnificent cliffs such as Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters, the South Downs has just appeared in The Times ‘Top 20 places to cycle’.

And the marketing team at Eastbourne Tourism must be enjoying their Sussex breakfasts this morning with another top recommendation (again in The Times Saturday supplement) with ‘Top spots for rockpooling’ - ’Seven Sisters Country Park’, it highlights, ‘has acres of rockpools beneath white cliffs. Park at Friston Forest, walk half a mile to the sea, then head west along the pebbles’.

Apparently Britain can expect its lowest tides for yonks at the end of this month so if you fancy unearthing some coastal creatures dig out an old pair of trainers and get ready for some slithering over seaweed. Let me know you’re heading down there and I might well cycle down.

Apparently Eastbourne has been touting itself as the New Brighton for yonks but maybe the hype is finally morphing into reality.

It remains a curious blend of old school chintz (certainly east of the pier), historical glamour and aspirational charm – the property development, Gresham House, next to us here at The Guesthouse East on Hartington Place sums it up rather well. Regency splendour with the beautiful Grade II-listed villas converted into urban chic and swanky apartments. The ‘Sold’ boards outside confidently assert that the London-esque prices haven’t deterred all despite the chill economic conditions.

There is a recognition that the town should embrace sentimentality (with 75th birthday celebrations for the Eastbourne bandstand this year) whilst welcoming ‘The Dark Monarch – Magic and Modernity in British Art’ at the impressive (and new) Towner Gallery, which includes work by Damian Hirst.

Even the national press seem to have finally recognised the momentum and tackled the A27, with recent pieces in the weekend travel supp of The Times and Culture 24.

So I suggest you pencil in a date and brace yourself for more than simply Beachy Head. You might just be very pleasantly surpised.

Double suites at the boutique hotel The Guesthouse East start from only £70 per night, self-catering. Bed and breakfast also available. Check availability or ring 01323 722774.

I’m constantly being amazed at the beauty and opportunities within a stone’s throw of here at The Guesthouse East in Eastbourne.

We took advantage of a rare spare afternoon this weekend to head to the Seven Sisters National Park, just ten minutes down the road. There are 280 hectares of chalk cliffs, a meandering river to potter along (complete with a concrete path for buggies and easy-access), enough walking trails for even the most determined, Berghaus-clad enthusiast and birdlife to keep the twitchers happy for eternity. And that’s without mentioning the canoeing on offer – for hire and with instruction if you fancy it.

 I must be so transparent. Within 3.5 minutes the wife has seen through this apparently genuine quest for family-friendly fun in the great outdoors. Sure, this area truly is beautiful, invigorating and life-enhancing. It also plays home to Friston Forest which, as well as gentle trails for cycling, also plays host to death-defying , fear-inducing single-track mountain biking. Joyous!

Some of the country’s finest professional riders live in the area which says everything about the potential here. And even the fella in the cycle hire shop there hasn’t worked his way around all the trails. Ahh, heaven….

So, bring your bikes (they accept them on Southern Trains) and your kit, and get ready for some action. Your bikes are more than safe here as well - with secure storage and even a drying room.  

River plain