Singehurst Pond

A Memory of Ticehurst.

Singehurst pond was the place for both girls and boys to go fishing with their bags of dampened bread and makeshift fishing rods. Throughout the season we caught loads and then returned our catch at the end of an outing, sometimes staying out all day. It was an excuse to meet up with friends and other village children with the same idea.
This was memorable, but more so were the occasional winters when the water froze over to several inches thick, and all the village children (and some adults) made their way there to slide on the ice. My friend, Julia, and I did whenever we could. The ice creaked continuously and ominously, but we were ever ready to drop to our knees and crawl to safer places.
Skating with only our shoes was one of the few unusual and fun winter memories, along with sliding down the nearby steep field on a straw-stuffed plastic bag!