Arundel Castle and Grounds in Lockdown

 

Hey guys!

In our pandemic outings series, we got the chance to visit the fabulous Arundel castle and lake. It’s a stunning place to take kids with a cafe, lots and lots of birds, some lake activities and a nature trail.

The castle is a formidable building that comprises of a much older structure, with a later built upon castle connecting it into this huge building. You pay 10 pounds to access the castle, grounds and the garden, and the family that live there are part of the touring process. In the pandemic Mary Queen of Scotts prayer beads were actually stolen from the castle so we got there just before.

It’s a typical crazy castle, with huge imposing corridors and a huge wealth of history. My niece loved it and there happened to be a woman dressed as a princess rushing around so we pretended it was a real princess, which she was so excited to see haha. We got to venture around the castle and there is a lot of taxidermy, old historical artefacts and what seems like a used space. Part of the building is residential so we didn’t have access to see, but it’s a really fascinating place.

The gardens are connected to a church which is off limits to the public, but you can look around this very pagan feeling garden. There’s a greenhouse with sustainable crops and lots of different, stunning plants. There’s four monuments around the garden which all kind of give a mythic quality with antlers, a spinning jet of water holding up a crown in a bed of seashells, and all kinds of gold embellished plinths. It’s fun to walk around and we had a great experience.

 
Joseph Harwoodflower