The train service isn’t bad really. Last year there was a land slip that closed the line for a couple of months. Replacement bus services ran the whole time. The line used to suffer from ice in the winter, but the rails are heated now to prevent this.
Hmmm. I’ve been using it daily for the last 15+ years. Service is notably worse south of Tunbridge Wells. And did you actually go on the replacement buses? I did. Twice. Then I decided it would be safer to swallow the additional costs and drive myself – the first time the bus doors flew open every time we went round a right-hand bend, the 2nd time the driver got lost, got stuck on a narrow country road and refused to go any further. I would struggle to find anyone who braved the nightly melee at Tunbridge Wells for a ride to a station further down the line, who’d recommend the service. Let alone paying £££ for it.
Not saying it’s always bad. 85% of the time it’s fine. I was lucky in that I could turn round and work from home if things went south. Not always an option for everyone and some bosses might not be sympathetic to continued absence…
If you don’t absolutely need to be on the coast then Tunbridge Wells itself has a glut of rental properties, otherwise there’s loads of places around the town to rent in varying degrees of countryside.