Chichester

 May 20 - 24 2025

Time Passages

Time for another short break, squeezed in between family duties. The destination was again a C&CC site, this time at Chichester. Arriving late afternoon after a slow journey down the very busy A34, we were now back in the swing of getting set up on site, so were soon sitting outside the van with a cup of tea.

Public transport was to be the order of the day for the next couple of days; the bus stop is right outside the site, so we set off eastwards towards Fishbourne Roman Palace on Wednesday morning. We had vague memories of a visit here when we lived in Sussex for a time, nearly 30 years ago. The site seemed somewhat larger and more impressive than we remembered though.

Although the site had been known of since the early 1800s, it was not until 1960, when Portsmouth Water Company were digging a trench for a water main, that the scale of the site was realised. Excavations over the following 60 years revealed the remains of the largest known Roman residence north of the Alps. The mosaics are especially impressive.

The following morning we were on the bus again, this time to the cathedral city of Chichester, the county town of West Sussex. A quick visit to the tourist office on arrival yielded a map for us to begin our explorations. Walking toward the Chichester Cross, we could hear singing. It was a young lady performing opera arias – definitely a better class of busker! 

Refuelled with coffee from The Trading Post, we headed back westwards to start a walk around the city walls, dating originally from Roman times.

About a quarter of the way round there was a break in the walls near Priory park. Whilst walking across the park, we were fascinated to see an archaeological dig under way; one of the regular digs undertaken by the Sussex Archaeological Society. Further round the park a cricket match was in progress, against the backdrop of the cathedral. A quintessential English scene.

A rather nice lunch at The Ivy (we were somewhat under-dressed compared to the rest of the clientele) was followed by a visit to the cathedral. Celebrating its 950^th birthday this year, it is certainly an impressive building.

Our visit, however, coincided with the sound check for a performance that evening – the drums and keyboards seemed a bit incongruous in the surroundings. There are a number of more modern decorations in the cathedral, including an impressive window by Marc Chagall.

Friday was a more low-key day. We drove the short distance to West Wittering beach, where there is a vast grassy car park behind the dunes. We spent the day relaxing outside, interspersed with a blustery walk out to East Head, opposite Hayling Island. We marked the end of our trip with another meal out, this time at the more normal surroundings of the Travellers Joy pub a few yards from the campsite

Chertsey

 April 24 - 27 2025

 Roses are red

Post from John

It was time for the shakedown trip, to get the van and us in shape for the coming year. Having had two trips to see Ruth’s favourite sport (tennis) over the last couple of years, I persuaded Ruth to come along to watch some Rugby (my favourite sport). I managed to get some tickets for the final match of the Women's Six Nations tournament at Twickenham, between England (the reigning champions) and their old rivals France. We would make a weekend of it and base ourselves at Chertsey Camping and Caravanning Club site.

Arriving on Thursday afternoon, we were immediately struck by changes to the site since our last visit in 2020; it looked like a fair bit of refurbishment had taken place. Settled on a pitch not far from the Thames, we bought an ice cream from reception and sat in the sunshine to plan the next couple of days.

The next morning we caught a bus from outside the site, destination Hampton Court Palace, where we arrived one hour and two buses later. We spent the day wandering around the extensive grounds, interspersed with a tour of the palace; the audio guide and information boards bringing to life the pomp, ceremony and political machinations of the court of Henry VIII.

As the match on Saturday was later in the day, we had a leisurely morning on site, before setting off to catch the train to Twickenham. We arrived in plenty of time, so we soaked up the atmosphere in the fan village outside the stadium, and kept an eye on the huge TV screens that were showing the Scotland match from Edinburgh (where Steve had taken Jocelyn for her first experience of rugby). 

Once settled in the stadium, we were treated to a classic game, with a raucous crowd of 38,000 singing and cheering the Red Roses to a narrow victory over Les Bleus, by a single point: 43 – 42.

On our way home on Sunday, we decided to break our journey at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. We had seen the sign for the gardens many times on our journeys up and down the M40, but had never investigated. It turned out to be an excellent find; the site had been a horticultural college in the mid-20^th century, specialising in food production. Now, though, the emphasis is on the more ornamental side, with a series of gardens, an arboretum and a riverside walk. We can also recommend the café!

A successful short break, with a mixture of history, sporting spectacle and natural beauty.