A castle and “piloting” a plane near Arundel!

Arundel Castle

After visiting family near Brighton, we headed off to the Camping & Caravan site at Slindon. What a lovely place to stay! It’s a small site on the edge of the woods and set in an orchard. Our pitch was next to a mature fig tree, sadly the figs weren’t ready to pick. We settled in and went for a long circular walk through the woods and Slindon village arriving back in time to enjoy a cream tea outside our motorhome.

Next morning we were up early to negotiate our way into Arundel to visit the castle. There are stunning distance views of the castle from the bypass and it didn’t disappoint when we got close to. Parking the motorhome was easy, a dedicated area in the car park by Arundel museum was just a 5 minute stroll to the castle entrance.

The helpful warden at the campsite had advised us to make sure we visited the gardens before going in the castle. We were so glad we did! We started in the rose garden and then made our way to the formal gardens which enjoy spectacular views toward the cathedral. It’s a wonderful sensory experience of colour, fragrance and the sound of bubbling water displays.

We entered the castle and climbed the keep which is the oldest part of the castle buildings. It’s a bit of a steep climb, but the views are worth it. It’s amazing to think it’s nearly a thousand years old, I don’t think our house will still be standing in a thousand years!

The main part of the castle buildings are a tribute to Victorian gothic architecture and are crammed with treasures. We found the guides stationed in every room were really helpful and willing to share their knowledge of the castle and the artefacts in each room.

After spending a couple of hours wandering round the castle rooms, refreshment was needed so we headed into town for a reviving coffee for Tim and a hot chocolate for me! We could have gone back into the castle if we wished but instead decided to browse round Arundel. There’s a nice deli where we picked up some chutney and we found a super ice cream shop. By late afternoon we decided to go back to the site for another walk through the woods. Disappointed there were no teddy bears picnics, but we did see a couple having some romantic photos taken.

Next day was rain, so we idled away a few hours doing a jigsaw before settling down to watch some tennis. Sad to see Andy Murray go out, I wonder if we’ll see him at Wimbledon again?

Our last morning and we decided to go to the Military Aircraft museum at Tangmere. We were so pleased we did. It’s packed full of memorabilia as well as some military aircraft and we spent several hours there before heading home. We both tried our hands at flying a BAE Lightning in their flight simulator which is in a genuine Lightning cockpit. Tim only crashed once and I did few bounces on landing but made it safely back to the airfield! Great fun, thank goodness it was only in a simulator, not the real thing.

We’ve made a few more modifications to the motorhome, (no, not a jet engine), putting in some extra shelves. We shared the driving home and I’m pleased that I’m getting more comfortable with driving this big van. Very chuffed to get 33mpg out of it, especially with the price of diesel now!

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