A year went by and it was time again for my annual trip with my three best friends Daan, Donata and Eline. This year I took us to The South Downs in the UK. The South Downs are located in West Sussex and Kent, we took upon West Sussex and drove around Arundel, Petworth, Midhurst and Chichester. On our way to West Sussex we made a pitstop at Knole in Sevenoaks.
This is us (from left to right: me, Daan, Donata and Eline) in the orangery at Knole. Knole was most enchanting as we were greeted by hordes of deer that run freely in the deer park that surrounds the house. Also the bookstore is gorgeous, the colours are inspired by the gatehouse rooms that Eddy Sackville-West decorated with blue bookshelves and beautiful pink walls, Eddy even painted his bathroom entirely pink. We spent a fair bit of time and money in the bookstore as we all share a passion for books and Bloomsbury. Knole was the childhood home of Vita Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf’s friend and lover.
After a bit of a hotel detour (we arrived at a really dirty B&B near Petworth, that looked and sounded great online) we stayed at the Hilton in Arundel. A listed building that had it’s heydays in the nineties. They cut us a great deal, and even though Donata and Eline couldn’t flush their toilet and we were hot all the time, it was a very comfortable stay in a great location.
Arundel is famous for it’s castle and even though we didn’t went inside we wandered around the beautiful gardens. The town itself is beautiful too, packed with little shops, tea rooms and beautiful buildings. It’s a shame that cars are allowed in the high street as they really ruin te scenery.
The best way to move through the South Downs is by car and occasionally getting out for a walk. The downs are really breathtaking when moving through them but they are quite hard to capture on camera.
We stopped at so many pubs, tea rooms and restaurants. These were our favourites:
- The Welldiggers Arms (were Bo and I always stay when we are in Petworth, great food and gorgeous bread)
- The Black Rabbit in Arundel (great for drinks and nibbles and riverside walks)
- The Horse Guards Inn in Tillington (such a gorgeous pub with garden set in a quaint little village)
On our way back to Dover I took the coastal route so we could stop at Charleston and still catch the last day of the Charleston Festival and to see the new barn.
I totally believe this chap is from another dimension as he sat there so perfectly dressed, on the stoop of Vanessa’s bedroom, reading his book. Daan and I imagined that he read poetry and we called him the secret poet.
Oh England … please don’t leave us as we love you so so much. Until next year with the girls and probably next month for Bo and I.