My weekends during term time usually involve a lot of time on the sofa, but a visit of a friend last weekend provided the impetus to get out and about and see more of the attractions in my adopted home county of Sussex.
With part baked baguettes cooked and filled with tasty home cooked gammon we pointed Rosie west and along the miserable excuse for a road that is the A27. It features heavily on the local traffic reports and even on a Saturday it didn’t disappoint as we slowed to a crawl approaching Worthing, barely getting out of 3rd gear - apart from down in to 2nd from thereon in!
Arundel itself - a lovely little Sussex town - was quite busy, a little busier than was comfortable in current circumstances if I’m honest, helped no doubt by the monthly farmers market. A parking space was easily found though and the Ring Go app proved handy in the absence of cash. We perused the farmers market for a while, procuring some grog - sorry, research samples - from the Riverside brewery based in nearby Upper Beeding before grabbing coffee and consuming lunch in the sunshine overlooking the fast flowing River Arun.
Pre-booking was essential - as is often the case at the moment and some areas were off limits - compensated for by a sizeable reduction on the entrance fee. Sadly the Keep was one of those areas which would have afforded a nice view of the surrounding countryside but no matter, the visit was still enjoyable and in these strange times it was great just to get out and about and do something ‘normal’.
First up was the castle itself, face coverings were mandatory inside of course but there were plenty of guides around to assist and impart their considerable knowledge of the castles’ history as well as it’s occupants. My personal favourite was the library - a lovely calming setting in which to relax with a good book in front of a roaring fire. And a glass of something suitable to accompany, obviously.
Back outside the delightful formal gardens gave a great view of Arundel Cathedral and the walk back to the entrance via the ponds afforded plenty of opportunities for lens clicking - or phone button pressing in this case.
We took the seafront road back, passing through Worthing, Lancing, Shoreham and a very busy Brighton, to sunny Saltdean and rounded off a superb day with a delicious steak meal cooked back home in Legs Down HQ.