Castle Rock!

Last few hours in England, we had about two hours on our hands before we had to head to Heathrow and head back stateside, so Andrew and I decided to venture out during the only stretch of wet weather we had in England to explore nearby Arundel Castle.  Despite what you've ever heard about English weather, we had nothing but glorious sunshine for virtually our entire visit.

Truth be told, the mist and light rain added to ambiance of visiting a 12th century castle.

Andrew calls this his "This is my crib" pose.  You'll see it frequently on his travels through the passageways and the keep of the castle.

We'd run, walked and driven past the castle enough times during our stay, and our hotel was practically looking out at the castle atop the hill, so we felt it was time to get inside its walls.

One of many royal poses Andrew would strike inside the halls.

Not quite sure if he was allowed to venture into this stairwell, Andrew approached new entryways with some trepidation.

A Lannister always pays his debts.  Pay up, Andrew.

I kept waiting to hear the falsetto tones of "I Love You More Today Than Yesterday" belting out.  Google it, you'll get the reference.

Quick history aside:
Arundel Castle was built at the end of 11th century by Roger de Montgomery, the Earl of Arundel.  The oldest part of the castle is an artificial mound build in 1068.  The Keep, where we did most of our exploration, was built around 1150.

This guy dates back to 1993.

Here's the parts of the castle they don't let the public get near.

Cool side note: one of the previous occupants of the castle, the Duke of Norfolk, was the uncle of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were wives of King Henry VIII.

Having flashbacks to so many Game of Thrones episodes at this moment in time.

The view from atop the keep.  On a clear day, you can see the England Channel off in the distance, along with Martin's old Littlehampton stomping grounds.  Not this day though, as the fog and morning mist created an eerie but effective setting for our visit.

From high atop the keep

And again with the spiral staircase

Andrew was so busy scoping out the architecture in the chapel he didn't notice the creepy monk watching him from the corner

King of his Keep

Here he goes again

Arundel Castle is the family home of the Duke of Norfolk.  The Dukedom in this case is in charge of state ceremonials such as the coronation and funeral of the Sovereign.

Not a bad way to wrap up an emotional, but important trip

Can you tell Andrew's fairly jazzed by his surroundings?

The view of the castle's other, private side

Our whirlwind tour over, it was time for some repast in the castle's dining hall.  That consisted of a scrumptious chicken and mushroom pie, and for Andrew, a treat he'd been looking for throughout the trip - scones with clotted cream and tea.

Tea aficionado that he is, Andrew tried the local teas at every turn.  Literally.  Morning, afternoon, night, Andrew was packing away as many cups of tea as pints of local ales.

But really, with a setting like this, can you blame the guy?

An absolutely unforgettable father-son side trip during our UK trip.  We felt as though we immersed ourselves in Martin's homeland to the best of our abilities during our jam-packed, five-day stay.

If you've followed the blog posts this far, thanks for reading.  There's one more to come, a heartfelt thank you to our gracious hosts, and the newest members of the international band of E Streeters.

Running Burpham Style

When they say it takes a village, we now know what they mean.

Last morning in England, and there was time for one final round of exploring.

This time though, we had the benefit of a local tour guide and an accomplished runner in his own nation, Andy Foster.

For THIS run, though, we needed to go way, way, WAY off the beaten path into a little village called Burpham (pronounced Bur-fam), where said Mr. Foster spent much of his misbegotten youth.

Some quick facts about Burpham, in case you didn't know.

Located in the Shire County of West Sussex, Burpham is a burgeoning hamlet with a booming population of 145.

This particular morning, it grew to 149.

Though, truth be told, we only saw one other human being who was actually up and about that morning, so the population numbers have yet to be verified with visual confirmation.

As you can see from the following pics, we all were feeling quite sheepish about running in town

Everyone once in a while, we'd pause so Andy could recount some of the tales of his wild youth.

Here, he surveys his former keep

Here they come 

And there they go 

Father and son on the mud flats of Burpham

The lone runner strikes an imposing figure on the backroads and byways of Burpham.  The town covers 31 square miles.  I think we covered them all that morning.

Back in the village, Andrew still scours the landscape looking for any sign of civilization.

The town has one main street.  We ran it in its entirety.

The town hosts its own church, the Church of England parish church of Saint Mary.

Of Saxon origin, it has a lepers window from which lepers could watch the Mass.  Or watch over Barry posing at run's end.

The cemetery out behind the church also hosts a piece of Martin Brewer lore.

Martin was often known to trump up particular authors or poets he enjoyed, and he regularly tried to get friends, family, students, and even strangers to share his passions.

This held true for music as well.

But in this case, we're talking poet and writer Mervyn Peake, whose name I heard recounted in Martin stories throughout the England trip, and I must confess, I had never heard before.

According to lore, Peake walked the South Downs of the land and there created the characters that populate his fantasy work Gormenghast.

We found where he was buried.

I still haven't found his published works.

But Martin, I'm on the case, and affirm that at some point, God knows when, I WILL read me some Mervyn Peake. 

At run's end

For so many reasons, an unforgettable trip.

Here we are on the last of our running miles Across the Pond 

And finally, back at town's center, our inimitable host strikes a pose in front of the town's pub, the George, built in 1736.  Sadly, it was closed for business at the time of our early morning run.

Thanks for the behind-the-scenes mileage, Andy.  You were a lovely host.  Next time we run together, though, dial it back a notch and take it easy on us Yanks!

Swanbourne to Run

Another quick early morning run on the roads and off-roads of Arundel, England.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, we E Streeters tend to see a bit more of our environs when we take to the streets, and occasionally, off the beaten paths, to better explore the places we visit, even when we're not there under the best of circumstances.

Case in point, our return to the village of Arundel.

This time, though, Barry, Andrew and I opted for some off-road trailrunning, a favorite past-time of ours on New England weekends whenever possible.  But the chance to explore the woods around Arundel Castle?  A bonus.

This time, our trip took us around Swanbourne Lake behind Arundel Castle.

Arundel, as detailed in an earlier post, is a fabulous little town a few miles from the coast, part of the Sussex by the Sea cluster of communities.

The vistas heading into town are inspirational.

Complete with the wildlife

Where the Streets Have No Traffic 

Just can't get enough pics of the town's castle 

Smart people work at this castle.  They wouldn't let this trio through its gates. 

Didn't stop us from interrupting our run for some classic castle backdrop pics 

Not a postcard, just a running pic 

Heading off-road 

Did I mention there's a few hills along this trail?  Andrew wanted to explore them but was apprehensive about running into castle security 

Nothing compares to trailrunning 

Alone with his thoughts, Barry takes in the terrain 

At every turn, Andrew opted to explore the offshoots 

And occasionally, scale the hills for a better view 

And what goes up, must come down.  Just a lot faster.

Any ornithologists among us?  Name the bird.

Not a picture we get to take running around Lowell

It wasn't a blue police box, but Andrew stepped in for a quick change nonetheless

Because sometimes, there's no words that can do a picture justice

As we ran through the town square, the butcher was laying out his fresh wares, as was a nearby fruit seller.  The tea shops were just opening.

And finally, before just before we headed out of town, Andrew got to stop in a second-hand bookstore, where he bought a treasure trove of books, including some second-hand Agatha Christie, some Doctor Who, a Tolkien surprise, and, in a nod to our mate Martin, a Thomas Hardy book, an author Martin always tried to convince Andrew to sample.

Mission accomplished, Martin.