| Product: |
Arundel in General |
| Date: |
01/03/01 (30 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Quiet, beautiful, relaxing... VERY romantic
Disadvantages: Castle closed in winter
My partner and I took a trip to Arundel on Sunday.
I'm nuts about castles and we both like walking around beautiful places.
Arundel did not disappoint us.
This was pretty good going, since flooding had closed the local wetland nature reserve and the castle is closed during the winter. In addition, the weather was freezing - it could all have been an appalling waste of time.
However, the sun shone all day and we had a great half day wandering around the town.
Parking spaces were plentiful (I'm not sure what it's like in peak season though!) and we secured a spot near the town "centre" - there's not an awful lot of town not to be central!
First port of call was the Tourist Information office, which was open and extremely helpful. For just 25p we bought walking tour sheets to guide us around the town. These were extremely informative and interesting, full of detail on architecture, history, little gems to look out for (like the miniature anvil on the roof of what was the Ironmongers) and fun stories - like the hill where Queen Victoria's carriage was once stuck.
The Catholic cathedral is an incredible, impressive but strangely squat structure. Apparently, plans for a huge spire were scuppered when they realised the building could not support it.
The castle - even from the outside - is magnificent. A melange of real defences and modern (Victorian) romantic reconstruction its spires and machicolations are Disney-like, except that despite the modern work, an air of impregnability stills hangs over it all. It dominates everything, with its hill-top position accentuated by the inherent height of its walls and towers.
In the town are many pretty shops and pubs. Antique shops are prevalent and a wonderful haven for cigarette card collectors.
Evidence of the recent floods abounded in the shape of sandbags, particularly down in the old docks area, but did not
detract from the beauty of the place.
We really enjoyed our half day of rural quaintness, before heading over to Brighton for the brashness of the Pier and pleasure beach.
And if you find the frisbee that my partner managed to launch from Brighton beach half way to France, please get in touch... I miss it.
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