Taking Time Out

Last weekend we spent a pleasant 24 hour break away from everything. And how great it felt.

Mrs W had booked an overnight stay at the St Mary Gate Inn in Arundel (that's it in the picture, the white one not the big one with stained glass windows) as part of my Xmas present. And how nice it was to simply get away from it all. No work, no worries (well plenty but we promised not to think about them), no kids (as much as we love them), no cooking, no washing up, no mobiles phones (self-imposed 24 hour ban) and what made it best of all, no time restraints whatsoever.

We ended up in a 16th Century room with an ancient four poster bed, and had a lovely meal in the restaurant, not to mention a huge English breakfast next day. We simply spent the evening and next day exploring the town and surrounding area. Reading it, it sounds really boring but it wasn't. And by the end of it we got back home feeling like our batteries had been re-charged and all the cobwebs blown away.

As for Arundel itself it's a place I've never visited despite being only an hour down the road. It's the sort of place I guess all Americans think the whole of England is like, old fashioned and bustling and full of market stalls and antique shops and 4 by4s with labradors in the back and families wearing green wellies and Tudor houses and castles and cathedrals and sweet shops with sweets in big jars and a bridge over a river and ancient pubs and, and ... I could go on and on. I was half expecting to bump into Miss Marple at any minute.

The perfect place to relax and lose yourself for a day, no doubt we'll visit it again at some time and would recommend it - both Arundel itself and the idea of a 24 hour time out - to anyone. But a word of warning, if you decide to visit The Ghost Experience take a spare set of pants.