England’s best views: Arundel from Crossbush

Simon Jenkins picks his favourite views: Arundel

Arundel, shrouded in mistm seen from the plains below. ©Paul Barker/Country Life
Arundel, shrouded in mist, seen from the plains below.
(Image credit: Paul Barker/Country Life)

‘Grey, sombre Arundel lies on the flank of the downs like a cat waiting to prey on the valley below. It is a marriage of Middle Ages and 19th century, a monumental expression of the aristocratic pomp and the Catholic faith of the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk.

'The tightly packed town at the foot of its castle is at first more French than English, a lofty citadel on a defensible cliff on a bend in a river. But from across the fertile flood plain of the Arun, the scene acquires the softer outlines of Sussex and the South Downs. From here, Arundel could only be England.

'There are water meadows so smooth they might have been rolled for cricket, interspersed with dykes and punctuated by an occasional tree, barn and church tower .'

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