England 2026

Wednesday, May 13 – West Sussex

First, I will share a screenshot of where we are in Britain and then ask Tessa to share with you the article that prompted Karen to suggest this adventure. Of course, I said YES immediately.

Petworth is a small town of 3,000. Karen and I grew up in Clarinda, Iowa, population 5,000. The difference is Petworth and the area of West Sussex draw visitors from nearby London and all over the world. There are 30 – yes, 30 – antique shops here. We used our rental car to drive around with difficulty; the streets are really narrow, and parking is very limited. We are better off walking.

Of course, Karen is always on the hunt for bookstores. Our very first stop was “Readers Books.” Hundreds of books, maybe thousands of old books. They even had a section on aviation. The kind, gentle woman in charge asked where we were staying. It turns out “The Nook” is owned by her son and family who live in Singapore and is a place for them to stay when they visit home. She was off soon to visit her daughter in Vancouver. We really do live in a small world.

Lunch was at “Cherry’s” and across the street was “Petworth Bookshop.” We both had a fun time looking at new books. I especially enjoyed the boxes of LPs from a variety of periods. I collect LPs based on my attraction to the cover art and sometimes because I know the artist. Basically, I took photos of the ones I liked, so I can look for them at home. I took a photo of Karen in a beautiful Afghan rug shop with one of the rugs as a backdrop.

The weather changed by the minute. From sunny skies, to rolling cumulus clouds, to rain and even pea-sized hail, then back to sunshine. I am guessing that is typical here.

The town is full of beautiful old houses, or former houses, in many cases. We even spotted an old church for sale; it would make a great house. Many of the buildings are adorned with greenery and flowers. The old church at the top of the hill is a landmark. Our house is just across the street. While driving, I found a place to turn around that was full of farm machinery. I grew up on a farm when I was young, and I had never seen massive farm machinery like this.

Back home, we were relaxing about 6:30 when my phone notified us we had dinner reservations at “The Parsons Table” in another small town 30 minutes away. Again, I wasn’t checking my calendar. We took off on another driving adventure. Again, the roads were really really narrow, and the traffic was moving way too fast. A couple of times, the side of our car brushed the hedge on the left. The rolling green hills, planted in crops we did not recognize and fields with cattle and/or sheep, were so beautiful.

Tessa had made dinner reservations for us in the town of Arundel, a village with a castle on the hill. They made my DuncanTini perfectly.

We split the Fillet of Halibut with Jersey Potatoes, English Asparagus, and Morel Cream. It was “out of this world” great – our best meal of this journey! And the staff could not have been kinder or sweeter. They even entered the DuncanTini in their database. It was actually printed on the check! Famous in West Sussex now. In fact, everyone we have met in West Sussex has been wonderful! Thank you, Tessa, for finding “The Parson’s Table.”

Robert

More photos are posted to my gallery here.