Annual Tulip Festival in West Sussex, UK
My
jaw literally dropped open, and I exclaimed “Wow” as the train rolled past the Arundel Castle in the English countryside.
Guess
I didn’t do enough research about this nearly 1,000-year-old castle, located in
West Sussex, about 90 minutes away
from London by public transport. I
simply had a day off and had Googled where I could find a tulip festival as I
recalled hearing about one on TV recently. (The castle overlooks the River Arun
and was built at the end of the 11th century by Roger de Montgomery, Earl of
Arundel.)
Well,
the first week in May (this month) might be about the last chance you have to
see the annual tulip festival in bloom at Arundel Castle. I visited the extensive
gardens earlier this week and was disappointed to see that the large field of
tulips were already depleted. Bookmark your calendar for mid-April 2020 so you
can see the more than 60,000 tulip bulbs burst into bloom. Of course, when the
tulips bloom is always up to Mother Nature.
Tulips
of all the rainbow colors adorn massive flower pots as well as immaculately
designed gardens spaces. If you love flowers and gardens like I do, you could
easily spend a few hours in the gardens alone.
Get
ready for a ton of tulip photos!
Castle History and the
Keep
While
there are several ticket options, I purchased a silver level one for £16.50,
which included access to the castle keep as well as the gardens. I also
received a £3.00 voucher for the café where I
bought a slice of Victoria sponge cake and a coffee after all the walking I did
outside in the gardens.
The
keep, located within a courtyard and surrounded by a stone wall, was the heart
of the medieval castle. The tower keep, with its extra thick walls and protected
entrance, generally was the safest place to be during warfare. The tall tower
offered its protectors a 360-degree view of potential enemies. Today, the keep
offers spectacular views of the English countryside and of Arundel Castle
itself.
One
of the oldest parts of the castle is the gatehouse, which dates to 1070. Under
his will, King Henry I (1068-1135) settled the Castle and lands in dower on his
second wife, Adeliza of Louvain. Three years after his death, she married
William d'Albini II, who built the stone shell keep on the motte. In 1155, King
Henry II confirmed William d'Albini II as Earl of Arundel, with the Honour and
Castle of Arundel.
I
was also interested to learn that the castle is pretty well preserved because
the same family – The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk – have owned it for several
generations. Part of the castle is open to the public, and part of it is where
the family actually lives. I can only imagine the upkeep of this impressive
castle.
In
2002, Edward Fitzalan-Howard became the18th Duke of Norfolk when his
father died. Arundel Castle has been the seat of the Dukes of Norfolk and their
ancestors for over 850 years – descending directly from 1138 to the present
day, carried by female heiresses from the d'Albinis to the Fitzalans in the
13th century and then from the Fitzalans to the Howards in the 16th century.
 |
| Looking at the private section of Arundel Castle where the Duke of Norfolk lives with his family. |
If
you want to peek inside some of the castle’s extravagant rooms, check out this
post by British bloggers Hand Luggage Only.
If
you missed the tulips, don’t fret as they are followed by a flurry of purple
and white as thousands of allium bloom for the Allium Extravaganza this month.
 |
| On the way back to the train station, I had a nice view of Arundel Castle along the river. |
Wouldn’t you like to visit an English
castle with gardens like these?
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