Footpaths

 Judy. It's pretty common knowledge that England is noted for it's footpaths. Pick up any British novel, and a walk along a trail will show up somewhere in the story. And you know we love to hike.

Looks like an invitation to me!

The English Costal Path is about a block from our little Airbnb, and we were told it was a pleasant five-mile walk to the ancient town of Arundel, with its castle and cathedral, so we headed out early one morning. I can't say it's the prettiest hike I've taken, and it was quite overgrown, but it was a pleasant walk by the River Arun for awhile, before it ducked inland through some farmland. 

Ted checks out the river

A couple of hours in, we stopped at the Ship and Anchor pub for cider and beer and conversation with the owner before walking on.

A much-deserved break

Getting closer to Arundel

Arundel Castle is noted for being in the Howard family (Dukes of Norfolk) for over 900 years; remarkable, since they were Catholics, and managed to keep it despite Elizabeth I having Sir Phillip Howard killed. He was subsequently made a saint, and the Catholic Cathedral in the village carries his name. 

Entrance to the castle and gardens

We wandered the village, ducked in the Cathedral and the charming Church of St. Nicholas (Protestant on one half, Catholic on the other), and, deciding not to explore the castle, had lunch in The Red Lion Pub and tea in a lovely tea shop before catching the bus back to Littlehampton.

St. Nicholas Protestant/Catholic church

Tea and cake

The South Downs

So many wildflowers

Sussex is home to a huge national park, the South Downs, which is a series of rolling hills. It's a popular place for walks, and, although we decided not to do a long walk, we took on a shorter one. It took us up a steep hill with incredible views, all the way to the Channel and Arundel on one side, and farmland on the other. Sheep watched us as we ambled by, and the few hikers we met were cheerful and helpful.

Gorgeous views

Once we topped the hill, we took a shorter detour over country roads, and discovered a beautiful 12th century church simply called the North Stoke Church, which is mentioned in the Doomsday Book! Of all the churches we've seen here--cathedrals to chapels, this one spoke to us most clearly.  

North Stoke Church

Beautiful day for lunch outside

One of many thatched homes

Then it was on down to the  Bridge Pub for lunch, and a walk to the charming village of Amberley, noted for its thatched-roof houses. We stopped for tea, and chatted with our waitress, a huge Elvis Presley fan. Then it was back to the train for the ride home.

A major surprise awaited us at the station:

Bomb???

Evidently, this is not uncommon, as old bombs from WWII are still found all over Europe. This one was discovered as ground was dug for a new housing development. It was a poignant reminder that this country suffered greatly during that war, a suffering I hope we Americans never fully understand, although we appreciate it.

Brittany, part deux

Ted. On our second day in Brittany, we drove north. For our first stop, we actually drove a few miles into the neighboring region of Normandy. While we visited that region two years ago, we chose not to visit an abbey that Judy had always wanted to see; Mont Saint-Michel. 

As seen from a distance

A childhood dream come true!

My only request was that we arrive at the crack of dawn to avoid the crowds. That’s what we did and we were in and out in a jiffy! 

Since we had most of the day ahead of us, we opted to visit Cancale, just a bit west along the coast. According to Louis XIV, and millions of French people since then, Cancale is where the best oysters in France are found. My goodness, I have to say they were easily the best I’ve ever had. And a fresh shucked dozen with wine down by the pier cost just $13.00! 

Oyster beds

We made one last stop on our drive back to Rennes and it was to another town with a well deserved reputation. Dinan is exquisite, with ramparts going nearly all the way around the town. There are lots of well preserved houses throughout and we enjoyed it.

Arriving back in Rennes, we turned in our car because we would use the train for our visit the next day. 

St Malo is a city that has intrigued us for a while as it provides the setting for a wonderful novel by Anthony Doerr called All the Light We Cannot See. It is easy to reach from Rennes by rail so we made a day trip of it. There is a lot of interesting history here. For one thing, it is the birthplace of Jacques Cartier, the explorer who basically founded New France in an area that the indigenous people called kanata, and we now refer to as Canada. 

As this was Judy’s birthday week, she could have anything she wanted for lunch. Naturally, she picked moules-frites with cidre (steamed mussels, french fries and hard cider). It was outstanding! 

For our last day before flying back to the UK we wandered around the town we had been living in but hadn't really seen. Rennes is a well preserved city that is home to over 350 half-timbered houses. We tried to see them all but failed. Here are just a couple of images of this amazing town.

Brittany

Ted. Judy and I have always loved France. While we enjoy the history and food, a big reason is that we are both comfortable with the language. It's a big country, though, so it becomes a challenge to visit a new region every time we return. 

Knowing that we would be based in Southern England this August, it didn’t take long to realize that we were only short distance from Brittany, a part of France that we had always wanted to see. When we found a daily flight from nearby Gatwick airport to Rennes, the ancient capital of Brittany, we quickly decided that this city would be the perfect base for our explorations.

Canal in Rennes

We took a late night flight on EasyJet, a British low cost carrier that frankly wasn't bad, checked into our hotel near the beautiful old town and got a good night's sleep. We wanted to see a bit of the countryside so, the next morning, we jumped in a rental car and drove south.

Our first stop was Paimpont, a village deep in the ancient forest of Brocéliande. According to Arthurian legends, this is where Merlin and Morgan le Fay lived and died. The town was charming, the forest more so.

Wizard shop - of course!

Continuing south, we entered Auray. This is another beautiful old town with a lot of history, which includes an American twist. The tiny port here is where Benjamin Franklin landed on his visit to France in 1776. 

Auray River

Bar Franklin

Brittany is famous for their galettes (huge buckwheat pancakes that come with a variety of fillings), so guess what was for lunch? After stuffing ourselves, we headed on to the site of much older history. 

On the edge of the village of Carnac can be found the Carnac stones; the largest collection of menhirs (prehistoric standing stones) in the world. Over 3,000 chunks of granite, weighing up to several tons, stand upright in various configurations. There is a lot of speculation as to their age and meaning but some believe that the oldest stones may have been standing for as many as 6,500 years.

From here we continued as far south as we could go to the tip of the Quiberon Peninsula. If one were to draw a line due south for 300 miles from Quiberon, across the Bay of Biscay, one would arrive at Bilbao, Spain. [More on that in October] 

This was a good spot for an ice cream before heading back to Rennes.

Le Normandie - apple ice cream + Calvados

Rye: It's more than bread!

Judy. One of the reasons we chose to stay in Littlehampton was its proximity to areas we want to visit, so a couple of days in, we took the train (well, three) to visit our friends Harvey and Colin in the medieval city of Rye. 

There’s always a concern when you see people you’ve not seen in awhile, that you won’t enjoy each other as much as you think you will. That was definitely NOT the case with Harvey and Colin. We were met at the station with big hugs, and transported to their home at the edge of town, and sent to explore the small, vibrant, two-level garden behind the house while they prepared lunch. 

I could live in the little summerhouse

They use every inch of space!

Then we were off for a tour of this ancient and fascinating city. We’d heard about the town’s charm from several friends, and Harvey and Colin were great tour guides. 

Ancient city gates

Old fort/castle, now a museum

The Citadel is the most expensive part of town

After breakfast the next day, they decided we needed to explore more of Sussex and Kent, so we headed north, stopping at St. Clement’s for a view of a 12th century church in a field of sheep. Right out of the picture book, for sure! 

St. Clement

Hythe was our destination, a beautiful city at the end of the Military Canal that starts in Rye. Like Rye, it’s built on a hill, with stunning views of the countryside. 

View of the Channel from St. Leonard's church

I love how these flowers grow out of the stones!

Then it was on to Folkestone, for a walk above the Channel and a tasty lunch before heading back to Rye for a superb Pakistani dinner at Mango. 

This once grand hotel is now an apartment building

Looking across the Channel in Folkestone

On our third day, the train back to Littlehampton didn’t leave till the afternoon, so we headed to Hastings for a morning walk. Historians can’t decide whether the Battle of Hastings took place there or at a town called Battle or somewhere in between, but we loved visiting the town we learned about in the old television series “Foyle’s War.” 

Net houses in Hastings

Streets of Hastings

This old church looks over Hastings

But the pièce de resistance was certainly a visit to the Winchelsea Fete—a scene right out of “Father Brown” or “The Vicar of Dibley.” We truly felt we’d gotten a taste of the English countryside! 

Ted's looking for Fr. Brown

Welcome to the Fete!

In the evenings and as we drove, we debated all kinds of subjects—I’m not sure when my brain’s been so stretched—a marvelous exercise. Yep, we do enjoy each other, and we’re looking forward to more time together in Malaga in a couple of months!

A fearsome foursome