Lodsworth Day 2

Today was the day to further explore the surrounding area. After a delicious healthy breakfast, we drove to Petworth Deer Park and Home. The grounds are beautifully maintained - and yes, we saw deer with hugh antlers.

The home is amazing - a 17th century palace for the 3rd Earl of Egrement, with a huge collection of artwork, sculptures, furniture. I was curious about the owner, and the day to day operations of the palace. It seems the current family now lives in 1/5 of the palace and rest is open as a museum. Interesting to see the original kitchen and hear about the 123 servants and the tunnels they travelled through to « service «  the family. A true Upstairs, Downstairs scenario.

The Earl himself was an interesting character. A real patron of the arts, he had 42 illegitimate children - his only legitimate one, a daughter, died in fancy so his nephew inherited his estate.

From there we were off a long, lovely hike on the South Downs Way. Jill had prepared a lunch for us, so we were good to go. Spectacular scenery - the pics say more than I could. Dinner was at Badger Restaurant a local fav. I was enjoying the ambience and company so much I forgot to take pics.Read more