This morning we woke to a sensational day, blue skies were visible through the clouds and the forecast was no rain. A perfect day for a stroll in the woods.
After breakfast we headed out to Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve, we came to the carpark, left our coats and jumpers in the car and took off on the ¾ mile walk to the start of the walk!?
This is a walk Deb found and had been looking forward to doing. The walk to the walk took us through a mix of plains, woodland and grain fields. At the start of the walk there was a small information hut with a bit about the history, natural features and wild life you might see on the walk. It was interesting to know that flint axes were still being found in the area. The area is known for its Yew Trees. Almost every part of them is poisonous, and the Romans found them to be a good substitute for Hemlock. The area apparently has deer, many bird species and lots of butterflies. A sign at the start of the walk asked all dog owners to keep their dogs on a leash to preserve the wildlife, which of course they all immediately ignored. Needless to say, we saw no deer and only a few bird species and butterflies. The walk was great, about 1.25 hrs, the majority of the walk was through old growth Yew forests. The larger trees are said to be older than 500 years. As we climbed the hill, the trees got younger and grew more densely together. At the top, we got magnificent district views, all the way to the coast, and a complex series of inlets. Just as we turned to start our decent (yes, it was steep enough for the walk back to be called a descent! ? ).
We came across 2 large earth mounds. In the information shed they had said that there were Iron Age burial mounds in the area. I guess these were 2 of them. We both walked around them to see the views, it just seemed wrong to walk on a burial mound. On the walk down, we came to an area of wildflowers that Deb enjoyed, and further on an area where butterflies and bumblebees shared some wildflower blossoms. It was fun to watch them.
From there we drove to the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum. This museum is very different. It is a large park dotted with rescued old buildings, primarily houses. These buildings have been moved brick by brick, timber by timber from their original location, where they were to be demolished to make way for new developments. The foresight of the people behind this Museum has resulted in a village that covers around a thousand years of British history. With buildings from houses, barns, workplaces, schools, churches and stables represented, they come from Anglo-Saxon (950 AD) times, through medieval, Tudor, Victorian and early 20th century buildings. Most of the houses are complete with gardens of their day, for all of the older gardens this meant a vegetable/herb garden. It was really interesting to see how far we have come in such a relatively short time. From houses with no windows (just shuttered openings in the walls) and open hearth fires with no chimney, to the introduction of chimneys and then glass windows. Even going back to the late 1890’s, life seemed so primitive by todays standards.
We went back to “The Old School House” for a break before heading out again for a stroll through Chichester and getting dinner.
We had a tasty Italian meal in town. After dinner we went for a stroll down the main street, East St, to the Cathedral. Like so many buildings in England, a good portion of the Cathedral was covered in scaffold and screening. It seems they are replacing the roof and some rotting timber beams. They’re going to use lead as their roofing material. It is used as roof sheeting widely on many of the major old buildings due to its resistance to the weather and wind. The Cathedral originally had a copper roof, but it soon failed due to being lifted by the wind.
We enjoyed walking around the Cathedral and the cloisters. It was so good to have the area to ourselves. We scored a big bonus, the Cathedral was open and a service was taking place. There was organ music playing and the sound of the preacher giving his service, it all added to the atmosphere. It is a huge building, gothic in design and very minimalistic in adornments. We both love the architecture.
One of the must see things in the Cathedral is the Arundel Tomb, it has 2 figures on the lid of the tomb, a knight in full armour and a lady in a dress with her legs crossed, giving the effect of turning towards her husband. This is very rare for the time, 1375. The figures are also holding hands, it makes the monument one of the earliest concessions to affection where the husband was a knight (it was not uncommon for civilians).
We were glad we made it into Chichester.
The centre part of the main street is a pedestrian mall and the city has a very easy feel to it.
Tomorrow we head further west, our destination is Brixham in Devon.
While we were in the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum I saw a sign with a description of what a weather vane was, and it ended with this poem about the wind that describes English weather perfectly.
“The south wind brings wet weather
The north wind wet and cold together
The west wind always brings us rain
And the east wind blows it back again.”
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