Arundel Castle

Day 18 October 18 – Late star, free range eggs, playing in our private forest, A real castle.

Weather – Foggy cool start, Blue skies and sunny day, cool overcast evening

Quite a late start to the day – we just didn’t really feel like getting moving. After collecting some eggs and cooking up a lovely breakfast with our local artisan bread, and free range local smoked bacon and sausages, we decided to have a wonder around the property. Lucy had loads on fun on the zipline (Flying fox) and the trampoline. It would have been around 11am that finally decided to get on the road and explore a bit.

Apparently, there’s some sort of castle down the road – Arundel castle, the seat of the Duke of Norfolk. We agreed that this could be a good first stop, and off we went. Now when I say some sort of castle, I mean, a bloody great big thing, built shortly after the Norman victory over the Saxons in the 11^th century. It’s huge! The tickets to see everything are about £60 for a family, and they recommend 3-4hours. Katie wasn’t sure about pushing the back, however they had a golf kart to help, so we committed to the tour. I walked up from the gate while the girls were driven, and the approach is impressive. You can imagine approaching this thing as an enemy army thinking – um, no chance, and turning around. It’s the biggest, what I would call a proper castle, that I’ve ever seen. It’s looks like what you think of as a kid when you read about the knights of the round table. 

We walked into the castle proper, and there are tour guides throughout who can provide historical insights, directions and advice about where to go and what to see based on ability. Katie skipped the climb up to the keep, however Lucy and I were up the stairs! Here we found rooms done up to represent various periods. In one room it explained the siege in which the royalist surrender to the parliamentarians during the English civil war in the 17^th century. Apparently, it was running out of water that was their downfall. After this period the castle fell into disrepair and wasn’t fully restored until later Victorian times. The dukes of Norfolk are the senior most Dukes and also hold the title of Earl Marshal – so they have to organise the state occasions such as the recent funeral of Elizabeth II and the upcoming coronation of Charles III. The Duke and Duchess and their family still reside in the castle for 6months of the year when it is closed to the plebs, sorry, public, and during this time they live and entertain guest here. I have to say that this tour was one of the most enjoyable I’ve been on. Mostly because it was so unexpected, and really, I just wasn’t prepared for it at all. I’d highly recommend a tour to anyone who might be wondering through West Sussex. After a couple of hours at the castle, we decided to head out for Lunch – we didn’t want to push it too far and risk an injury to Katie, or have Lucy get overtired.

We walked back into the town of Arundel and went to a local pub for lunch. Nothing fancy here – bangers and mash kind of vibe I thought, and a pint of the local ale. Katie went for the special, which is always a risk, and was not rewarded for her risk-taking, however a local cider helped wash it away. Lucy went with chips and garlic bread… By this stage it was late afternoon and we were all pretty tired, it was decided that we’d pick up some food for dinner from the farm shop and then head home.

Now, a word of warning to foodies – don’t walking into a farm shop expecting to walk out without spending a lot of money. They’re great, but they really suck you in. We got a few cheeses – the Somerset brie and the Cheshire Appleby – both excellent, a scotch egg – because I was feeling adventurous (Not as good as I remembered, but OK), some salami, various crackers, olives, some local ales and a bottle of the Nyetimber classic cuvee. I am fast becoming a fan of English sparkling wine – one of the pleasant surprises of the trip. I’d put them up against any of the French we’ve tried. Although to be honest, it’s not like they are a bargain. You’re typically talking around £30 for and entry level English sparling NV – so around the $50-60, similar to most French NV’s. Anyway, with dinner now sorted, we drove back through the idyllic southern downs, with the clear skies, the sun shining through the green, yellow and red leaves, giving that mottled sunlight effect – a bit like a Monet. It was all enough to make it bloody difficult to drive, with the sun in your eyes, and then these dark tree tunnels, and these roads with enough space for 1.5 cars… Anyway, we made it home, had yet another play in the garden and then sat down to relax outside.

I would say up there with some of the best days we’ve had on the trip – and almost all of it unplanned. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.