Golden Cross Lodges

Farleys House & Gallery was the Sussex home of the photographer Lee Miller and the surrealist artist Roland Penrose, who moved there in 1949 and lived there for 35 years. Over that time they built up a collection of contemporary art, including works by their friends Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Max Ernst and Joan Miró.

Tip: Book your timed house tour slot online in advance; the tour isn't suitable for children under 12, and tickets can't be moved or refunded.

SEA LIFE Brighton opened in 1872 as Brighton Aquarium and is the world's oldest continually operating aquarium. It was designed by Eugenius Birch, who also designed the West Pier, and it sits on the seafront. Inside, the High Victorian Gothic interior survives, and you can wander through the restored Victorian Arcade.

Tip: Book a timed entry slot online in advance; you can reschedule if your plans change.

Charleston, in the village of Firle, was the country home of the artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and for decades a meeting place for the Bloomsbury Group. The rooms on show are covered in their work, with murals, painted furniture, ceramics, textiles and paintings. The collection also includes pieces by artists such as Renoir and Picasso.

Tip: Check the Charleston website before you set off, as the site closes at times between exhibition seasons.

Pevensey Castle began as a Roman fort around AD 290 and is the largest of the Saxon Shore forts. Its massive walls, more than 500 metres long, still stand almost to their full height. In 1066 William the Conqueror landed here to begin his invasion of England, and the Normans built a stone keep and fortress inside the Roman defences.

Tip: Book advance tickets online to save money. Battle Abbey, the 1066 battlefield, is about 9 miles away.

Anne of Cleves House is a timber-framed house in the centre of Lewes, given to Anne of Cleves at the end of her short marriage to Henry VIII, although she never lived there. Inside, you can look around well-preserved rooms including a Tudor kitchen, a light parlour and a bedroom with a four-poster bed.

Tip: There's no on-site parking, so use one of Lewes's public car parks, or take the train: the station is a five-minute walk away.

Battle Abbey, run by English Heritage as 1066 Battle of Hastings, Abbey and Battlefield, is the site where William the Conqueror's Normans met King Harold's English army. The abbey was founded by William soon after the conquest, said to be on the spot where Harold died.

Tip: Head to the visitor centre first to get the story of the battle, then take the audio tour round the battlefield.

The Seven Sisters are a series of chalk sea cliffs on the English Channel coast, running between the mouth of the River Cuckmere near Seaford and the headland of Beachy Head outside Eastbourne. Each of the seven crests is separated by a dip, the remains of dry valleys in the South Downs that the sea is slowly eroding.

Herstmonceux Castle is a brick-built castle in East Sussex, dating from 1441. It is one of the oldest significant brick buildings still standing in England, built with bricks made from local clay by builders from Flanders. Its story runs from a ruined shell, left after the interior was demolished in 1776-77, to a major restoration in the early twentieth century.