Our Blog - August 2025 - England trip - Week2

We moved holiday cottages for week 2, moving about an hour west and inland a bit. We were close to several hiking areas, so Lucy got some nice walks. This cottage had a little larger yard to play in but it also had a few too many holes (I assume wild animals) so we limited her ball playing to one side of the yard.

The first walk was next to a working farm and it had a walk up a hill and then back down. From the top, we could see Devil's Dyke across the way, which was also on the list to do.

We went to the town of Arundel on "market day", so traffic was pretty bad but we were able to find parking pretty easily.

We did a forest walk through Slindon Estate, which is a 3,500 acre agricultural and woodland estate that is now managed by the National Trust. It was sunny today so we tried to stay in the forest area where it was a bit cooler. Lucy took break from walking for a few minutes to dig a little hole and roll in it.

Another Sunday Roast, this one was a bit different from the first with a thinner sauce (but just as flavorful) that was just on the plate and not poured into the Yorkshire pudding.

Another "market town", we went to the town of Chichester to do a tour of the town along with the Sunday Roast ... then a quick stop at the ruins of Bramber Castle on the way back to our holiday cottage.

Our first walk through Devil's Dyke was quite nice. You can see the English Channel from the hill, which is about 10 miles South. A bit cloudy today but no rain, thankfully.

Famous for its iconic Brighton Palace Pier and the Royal Pavilion, we visited the seaside resort town of Brighton. The city is also known for its thriving LGBTQ+ community, street art, and one of the best independent restaurant scenes in the UK.

Everyone knows who Sir Winston Churchill was, and there are 2 main Churchill residences. His birthplace and ancestral home (Blenheim Palace) is near Oxford, which we will add to our next trip into that area. But we did visit his "country house" called Chartwell, where he lived after he left political office until shortly before his death.

We visited lots of "market towns" during our visit, including the market town of Horsham, that formerly traded in cattle, sheep, and corn but has now moved into the industries of financial services, pharmaceuticals, and technology.

There is a pub just around the corner that we popped over to a couple of times while we were here for drinks before dinner and for dinner one night.

The medieval moated manor house of Ightham Mote was next, followed by a less-than-impressive-castle, the Tonbridge Castle. Spoiler alert, it looks impressive as you walk up to it, but that is it.

Our 2nd walk in Devil's Dyke, this time taking a different path that took us down, around the side of a hill, and back up. Then we got to dodge cows that were grazing in the fields on the way back.

We then went back to Arundel without Lucy to visit the Arundel Castle, since dogs are not allowed. Traffic was still a bit of a problem because there was some special event going on that afternoon, and parking was a bit more difficult but thank goodness for "overflow parking"!

As you have probably gathered by now, we drank LOTS of cider and Guinness during this vacation. While we tried to do local ciders when possible, sometimes we just got whatever was on-tap.

We moved to a B&B a little bit closer to London (less than 30 minute drive to Gatwick Airport) for 2 nights. On the way, we did another forest walk for Lucy.

From there, we had lunch at a pub (go figure, right) and then stopped at Standen House, another National Trust property to take a look through the house and gardens.

One of the more impressive castles that we visited was Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn. For those of you interested, you can actually stay on the castle grounds since they now have a Bed & Breakfast offering.

I kept trying to find nice walks for Lucy, and the National Trust had quite a few properties that fit the bill. We did a walk through the Sheffield Park estate, a 450 acre estate that was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The house itself is private and was used in the 1961 film, The Innocents.

Some days, Lucy is a fanatic with the ball, playing forever, while other days, she has no interest. Today was a ball-playing-day! While our B&B didn't have a yard, just up the road was a soccer field where we could play.

Are you tired of cider pictures yet? After Lucy's play-time, we stopped at the local pub for drinks ... this time a local beer and a cider.

Time to move locations again ... but we hit a few things along the way. Our first stop was a walk for Lucy through another National Trust property, Emmetts Gardens. Then another Sunday roast for lunch on the way to our next holiday home. This time, the gravy was thick and over the meat with the Yorkshire pudding on the side. The veggies here were probably the best we've had so far. For the first time, Lucy ALSO got a Sunday Roast! They had what they called a "doggie deli" on the menu, so we ordered that. It had ham and sausage along with peas and carrots. The video doesn't go through the whole meal for her, just the start!

Out last stop on our way to our last holiday home was Stoneacre, a 15th-century half-timbered yeoman's house. An interesting bit of trivia: the oldest parts of this house were built by John Ellys, whose relatives supposedly gave their name to Ellis Island although I wasn't able to confirm the genealogy between John Ellys and the Welshman Samuel Ellis, who bought the island in 1774.