Day: August 15, 2012

ARUNDEL CASTLE

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Slept well in our lovely house, where we had the top floor of 5! All walk up. It’s a vy relaxed B&B with Sally our charming hostess. There are lots of family photos around and you actually feel like you are staying in a house  with a friend. Sally is very charming and helpful -allowing us to do a load of washing  and hang it in her basement.

We had breakfast in her conservatory looking onto the garden, meeting the other family staying. They had travelled all the way from Canterbury !
Pip and I set off after breakfast for a little look at the shops and Steve stayed to catch up on emails. The shops are rather good though not too many of them. I bought a new umbrella as mine was falling apart. Mind you it was from the time we were in Beijing for the Olympics.

We collected Steve and drove off to Eartham – a very small village Steve remembers visiting when he was a child living in London. He said he stayed in a large manor house near the church. We found the village and it seems the house is now a private school catering for day and boarding child’s from 2-13 . I certainly hope they don’t take the 2’s for boarding!  We looked in the little village church and then had a drink at the pub the George. It’s a great little local and I can see why people love to go  to the pub here in England. Especially when the weather is not so good.

Headed along the country style lanes to Climping a beach Steve also remembers visiting as a child. It was windy and quite un attractive and he must have had plastic saddles to reach the water.

We returned to Arundel to visit the castle rooms and spent a good 2 hours touring and getting to know the Howard family castle. It was rebuilt a hundred years ago and refurbished in mo recent years. It’s great. Is banquet room is amazing and the Duke hosted his cousins wedding to an Italian prince there last year. The dining room is lovely and the Library was my favourite. All red and dark timbers and comfy chairs. I could really spend some time there.  The upstairs bedrooms are still used for the Dukes overflow of guests and reminded me of the room we stayed in at Carton House  Ireland.

W walked to the large town Cathedral where we spent about 10 mins. I took 2 photos and sat for a few minutes. W walked across the road to the local pub for a drink and I realised I had lost my camera . I ran back to the church……..and it was gone! There wee only about 2 people and us and then by the time we left no one. So in ten minutes someone arrived and found my camera and took it!

So readers no photos for a while. We have Pips – but v few  of us. So tomorrow in Brighton I might be buying another camera. 

Portsmouth

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After we left beautiful Downton Abbey, we headed down south stopping for lunch at a really lovely little country pub. It was cosy and full of over 60’s as they offered a special price lunch Mon-Thurs. Steve didn’t take advantage of the discount but Pip and I said not to be so proud and from now on he is to own up to being over 60!

Then the miserable rain started as we headed towards the beach. The traffic was awful and we were a little put  off and decided we just wanted to arrive at Portsmouth. Finally step foot into our sea front hotel which was not altogether inexpensive and it was like a dated 70’s style small rooms slightly faded hotel. But it was opposite the water. We  headed off for a walk  which Pip and I continued when Steve decided his knee had had enough. We checked out the old amusement attraction on the paint cracked pier and the fish and chips shops dotted along the sea front. Showered and changed we headed off to find the area of the port Steve had been talking about. Instead we found a great little restaurant at the fish markets area with great views of the tower. Watching it light up and change colour was terrific .
We went on a little tour of Portsmouth by night, then off to bed. 
The next day after our breakfast of eggs we headed off down the coast. We called into Bognor Regis which I have always remembered
From tv shows. It was such a little “England goes to the beach” type of place. By now it was warm and sunny and people were sunning themselves and eating soft serve ice cream. There was a little blue train running along the particularly ordinary promenade and little shops selling plastic sandals so you could safely walk over the rocks on the beach to get to the water. All I could think was – no wonder people love our beaches with the white sand, trees and grass nearby and lovely paved area for walking. 
 We continued on and reached Arundel by about 3.30 and decided to visit the castle  gardens while the weather was still fine. The castle is the home of the present Duke of Norfolk -in fact the 17 th . The castle dominates the rather charming English town. The gardens were beautiful -some very lovely formal gardens, kitchen gardens playful gardens and a lovely chapel were several of the dead Dukes now reside. The present Duke Edward and wife Georgina live in private apartments with their 5 children. 
We wandered back to the main street before locating Byass house our B&B for 2 nights . Our hostess Sally looked puzzled on our arrival and didn’t actually have us booked in . Slight mis communication on my . part – but hey I’d been doing lots of bookings ……. She had room for us as she juggled things around (she only has 4 rooms) anyway we had the top floor family area ( 2 bedrooms sharing a bathroom) and said we could move down into two other rooms tomorrow when another family arrived.
Walked into town and had a few drinks and then decided to eat at the Red Lion. It was really quite good. Home and asleep by 11 pm. No wonder we are sleeping in!