97
EAT AND DRINKAROUND MIDHURST
Moonlight Cottage inexpensive
This is a very English tea room in a 200-
year-old cottage with a pretty garden,
5 km (3 miles) south of Midhurst. Also
does B&B and roasts on Sundays..
Chichester Rd, Cocking, GU29 OHN;
01730 813 336; http://www.moonlightcottage.
co.uk; open in daytime only, Wed–SunCHICHESTER
St Martin’s Organic Tea Rooms
inexpensive
Home-made snacks, soups, bread, cakes
and ice cream are served in this friendly
café. The handsome period building has
a garden and a nice log fire in winter.
3 St Martins St, PO19 1NP; 01243 786
715; http://www.organictearooms.co.uk;
open in daytime only; closed Sun
The Dining Room at Purchases
moderate
This is an excellent restaurant in a
Georgian mansion. Try rabbit with
pearl barley, local game or Selsea crab.
31 North St, PO19 1LY; 01243 537 352;
http://www.thediningroom.biz; closed Sun
AROUND CHICHESTER
Anchor Bleu inexpensive
Good food in a friendly pub with terrace.
The High Street, Bosham, PO18 8LS;
01243 573 956e Chichester
West Sussex; PO19 1NB
This peaceful county town is centred
on a market cross from which North,
South, West and East Streets radiate.
The Festival and Minerva Theatres
(www.cft.org.uk; 01243 784 437) are
renowned, and Pallant House (closed
Sun am, Mon), is a superb modern art
gallery. Don’t miss Chichester
Cathedral, consecrated in 1108, with
Graham Sutherland’s small painting
Noli Me Tangere (1962), John Piper’s
dramatic 1966 altar tapestry and Marc
Chagall’s striking stained-glass window
Above left Traditional beach huts at sandy
West Wittering Above right Surfer
negotiating the pebbles at East WitteringDRIVE 8: Exploring the South Downs
DAY TRIP OPTIONS
Explore the area from buzzy Brighton,
arty Lewes or pretty Arundel.Town and Country
Spend the morning in Brighton 5
with its museums, arty shops, pavilion
and restaurants. There’s plenty for
children, with a pier, aquarium and
mini-railway. When the seaside glitzpalls, drive up Ditchling Beacon 6 for
views and down to the village for tea.Follow the drive route to Ditchling.Arts and crafts
In Lewes 4 , browse the crafts shops
before heading over to Charleston
and Berwick 3 to see the
Bloomsbury circle’s art.Follow the drive route in reverse.Historic Waterland
Explore Arundel 9 with its castle,
antiques shops and wetlands centre.
Then, off to Chichester e for the
cathedral, ancient Roman art and a
boat trip or a walk on the beach.Follow the A27.Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under £25; moderate, £25–£50; expensive, over £50Above The tapestry designed by John Piper,
Chichester Cathedral
(1978). The recumbent figure of
Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel,
with his wife, Eleanour of Lancaster,
inspired Philip Larkin’s 1956 poem An
Arundel Tomb, which can be read
alongside it.
There’s also much to see just outside
Chichester. Head west on the A27 and
turn left on the A259 for the impressive
mosaics of Fishbourne Roman Palace
(Feb–mid-Dec: open daily; mid-Dec–Jan:
open Sat & Sun). Further along the A259
lies Bosham, one of the many inlets of
Chichester Harbour. Bosham has a
pretty Saxon church; the supposed
burial place of King Cnut’s daughter,
the church is depicted in the Bayeux
Tapestry and is the oldest Christian site
in Sussex. At low tide, drive (or walk)
from the village to Bosham Hoe, and
return to the famous Anchor Bleu
pub. The harbour inlets are in an Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty, one of
the best boating areas on the south
coast, so consider taking a boat trip for
the scenery, birdlife or to go fishing
(see left). Other inlets can be reached
by heading south from Chichester on
the A286 to charming Dell Quay and
Itchenor. Finish a tour of these wet
flatlands with a walk on the sandy
beach at West Wittering or the more
pebbly one at East Wittering, a short
drive to the south.