Black Arts Festival

Holidaying In Brighton? Visit Arundel And Chichester Too

Brighton is a popular tourist destination on the south coast of England, fifty miles from London. It’s a great city, but if you are visiting for a long time, you might want to get away from Brighton’s fast pace and see some local history. A short drive or train journey away are Arundel and Chichester, both are well worth visiting.

Arundel Castle

About forty minutes from Brighton is Arundel, best known for it’s beautifully restored Medieval castle. The castle has dominated Arundel for over 900 years, and for the last 400 years has been in the family of the Duke of Norfolk. The building has been revised and extended several times over it’s long history, to keep up with standards of luxury living as time went on.

You have to pay to get in to the castle, and it’s only open from April to the end of October. It is well worth getting the ticket which lets you see all of the open rooms of the castle, it is full of beautiful historic artefacts, from paintings to furniture and tapestries. There are guides in most of the rooms and they have a thorough knowledge of the history of the items in the room, what was happening in that period of English history, and about the castle through the ages. Ask all of the questions you like and let the guides bring the rooms to life.

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

A short car journey or mid-length walk from the castle is the Wetlands Centre of the Arundel Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. This is home to a wide variety of rare birds who have little other wetland to settle on. They have New Zealand Blue Ducks, Kingfishers, Skylarks, Little Egrets and Snipe. The centre has broad paths and easy access so it’s possible to visit much of it using a wheelchair, and is a very easy walk.

Some of the birds are migratory so you can’t be sure exactly what you’ll see, but it’s very relaxing to tour around the centre slowly and see what lands nearby.

The Black Rabbit pub

A little way out of town, off the same road as the Wetlands Centre, is the Black Rabbit pub. Situated next to the River Arun, this is a lovely rural English pub and restaurant. It serves excellent food and beer, much of it local, and when the weather is good you can sit out on the river’s edge and watch for birds, some of which come out from the Wetlands Centre.

Chichester Cathedral

Ten minutes drive away is the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Chichester, commonly known just as Chichester Cathedral

It was founded soon after Arundel Castle, in 1075, replacing a much older cathedral built in 681. As with any building of such a long age, it has been rebuilt and remodelled several times, not least due to a fire which destroyed much of the town of Chichester in 1187. Finding the areas that have been added at different times and learning their history is part of what makes Chichester Cathedral so interesting to visit.

The cathedral is home to rare sculpture, carvings, and part of a Roman mosaic. The graveyard is the final resting place of Gustav Holst, most famous for writing The Planets.

Chichester is also home to some good art galleries, and a decent shopping area which has cheaper parking than Brighton. In July there is a three week ‘Chichester Festivities’ arts and music festival, so if you are coming to the area July you should visit Chichester to see what’s going on there. If you’re looking for an exciting holiday, Brighton is the place to go, but Chichester has it’s own relaxed, older world charm and is well worth a trip.

National Black Arts Festival Kick-Off

Black Cat Ceramic Mug created by Moonfire Pottery Black Cat Ceramic Mug created by Moonfire Pottery…

Asian Tea Set – Contemporary Tea Set / Black and White Chinese Design Tea Set with 6 Tea Cups – Along the River During the Qingming Festival $168.95 Redefine your home or office while drinking the tea of your choice. This elegant tea set will surely be a topic of conversation as it is detailed with art that depicts a famous painting from the Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145) called “Along the River During the Qingming Festival”. It has been referred to as the “China’s Mona Lisa”…

Black and White Cat Ceramic Mug created by Moonfire Pottery Black and White Cat Ceramic Mug created by Moonfire Pottery…

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Ellington At Newport 1956 $11.98 When Duke Ellington took his orchestra to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956, the band was in need of an uplift, some humongous event that would revitalize its image in the wake of bebop, hard bop, and so many more jazz currents. Ellington got the lift he needed when he called “Diminuendo in Blue” with set-closer “Crescendo in Blue” tacked on the end. Tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves got the nod fr…