A year or so ago I came across the concept of an Explorer Day in a magazine I was reading:

Explorer Days are simple: travel locally with the same wide-eyed curiosity that you’d pack into a suitcase. The town three over, a different neighborhood, or a street completely new to you: Lewes, Bristol’s Gloucester Road, Stoke Newington: names on a map that don’t yet mean anything but by the end of a day could.

So today I headed to Arundel. I’ve driven past it many times. I even stayed there once for a friend’s wedding many years ago, before I moved to Brighton, but I’ve never really explored it. While doing a bit of research, I discovered that the cathedral hosts a celebration for the festival of Corpus Christi featuring a carpet of flowers. The day of my visit kind of chose itself, as this seemed like too great an opportunity to miss.

I started with the carpet of flowers, and it is truly impressive. You are hit by the scent of flowers the moment you arrive, and there are gorgeous floral displays all around the building. The colours on show are incredible. What really grabbed my attention, though, were the vestments. They often featured floral designs to tie into the colours of the displays. These cloths have so much intricate work and beautiful detail that I did a second loop around just to focus on them.

It was a soggy day unfortunately, so on leaving the cathedral I decided to head off for a coffee. I found the small but perfectly formed Tarrant Street Espresso, where I sat with a coffee and my magazine and spent a happy, dry half an hour.

Next on my list was the castle. I approached it through what felt like a meadow of daisies and alliums with a mown path cutting through. I loved this. It felt so beautiful and natural. As for the castle itself, well, what a place. Some bits are proper castle, including an armoury and a keep with battlements that you can walk around. But other parts feel like a stately home with a mix of styles and materials. There is oak, marble, stonework, mahogany, and gold leaf, and I’m sure I’ve missed some.

I got a bit distracted in my head trying to work out how the Duke of Norfolk came to be at Arundel Castle in the first place, and then how one of the Dukes was also the Mayor of Sheffield. Is there no place in England that the Duke wouldn’t claim? I’ve since looked it all up and fallen down a vast rabbit hole of hierarchies involving Royal Dukes, non-Royal Dukes, and Earls.

After completing my tour of the castle, I headed out to the chapel and overheard a guide telling someone that the space they could see through the glass panel was the parish church of St Nicholas. St Nicholas is a Church of England church, while the Fitzalan Chapel is a private Catholic chapel in the grounds of the castle. They are joined but separate, and have been since the 1870s. After a dispute over ownership, the Duke of Norfolk ordered a brick wall to be built, blocking the arch that connected the chancel to the nave.

Despite the rain, I took a stroll around the formal gardens. The water features seemed somewhat apt. I could easily see why they’ve won awards because they are spectacular, and I can see why people visit just for the gardens. There are lots of benches dotted around, though sadly they weren’t in use due to the soggy weather.

I left the castle, returned to the town, and decided it was time for lunch. I found the Motte and Bailey cafe, which advertised various brunch options. I’m a sucker for a brunch, though this time I opted for a mezze bowl. The lady sitting next to me apologised for the size of her pastry. She’d ordered a cinnamon bun and it appeared to be the size of her head! As I sat and ate, the weather lifted and blue skies appeared overhead.

I finished my exploring with a stroll around the town, popping into the bookshop and a craft area. Along the way, I found St Nicholas church and popped in to look through the glass screen into the Fitzalan Chapel from the other side. They’ve made much more of a feature of it than the chapel has, and there is a helpful information panel explaining the history. This felt like a fitting end to my exploration, so I headed back to the station and caught the train home to Brighton.

All in all, a grand day out.