Arundel castle

On Monday, a peaceful day visiting Denman's Garden with my sister.  This is a tranquil space with gravel acting as a kind of mulch everywhere.

Tulips out in full force and birdsong, uninterrupted by the occasional visitor.

My sister and I drove into Arundel for a shopping fix: car-park pretty much empty and, for lunch, a delightful tea-room right there among interesting independent shops.

Very different the next day when Arundel Castle was open.  We queued for the car-park tickets, then queued to get in even though we had pre-booked tickets.  Later, we queued for lunch.  If the Duke of Norfolk is one of the richest men in England this must be one of the reasons. 

The castle was having a tulip festival, with extensive plantings all over the enormous grounds.  The massive main building dates from about 1900.

The Norfolks were Roman Catholics and kept their half of the parish church partitioned off - the other half is C of E.  Their half is full of family tombs.

Of course you also need a cathedral if you are really going to make your mark on the skyline - and, from a distance, Arundel is like a fairy tale.

 

Then, there were the actual gardens, as opposed to the grounds.

And back to the tulips, red ones cascading down the slopes, perhaps in a take on the Tower of London display.

It was certainly spectacular, if not very peaceful.