October 1st, 2009

Russell — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:49:21 +0000

HIGH HALDEN — There’s not a lot of point leaving too early (unless you’ve got along way to go before your first stop) as most castles, abbeys, etc. open at 10:00 am. at the earliest. I left the Old Store Guest House at 9:30 am. and twenty minutes down the road I stopped at Arundel Castle, home to the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk.

As I still had a long way to go I felt that I couldn’t spend too much time here. The gardens and chapel opened at 10:00 am., the Keep at 11:00 am. and the Castle’s main rooms at noon. I took a chance that the gardens and chapel would be interesting for an hour or so so I could see the Keep.
They were! The walled garden was amazing. Well worth the entry fee on its own. Of special note was the grotto with the golden crown kept aloft on a jet of water.
This was one of the best castles I’ve seen and I wish I could have spent more time looking around. Even so I’ve taken more photographs at Arundel Castle than any other single location.

As I had spent more time than I had originally intended, I decided to give Bramber Castle a miss and headed for the Long Man of Wilmington—another hillside figure. This time I took the footpath up to the figure and the closer you got to it the easier it was to tell that the Long Man had been outlined with white ribbon or tape or plastic to make him easier to see.

As travel had been a lot quicker than expected I thought I’d visit Sissinghurst before arriving at High Halden. Unfortunately the house and gardens are closed on Thursdays so I’ll have to try and find time to make a return visit another day—so I ended up arriving at my accommodation rather earlier than expected.

Wynmelvin » Arundel Castle

October 1st, 2009