Ship Inn Menu small print

So that night we returned to the Ship Inn in Itchenor, Flyingpops went for her "usual" of deep fried Hallumi and I had an interesting burger with Mango on the top (we shared a baked camembert for our starter) -

- spotted this amusing small print on the menu (you'll have to click it to read it)...Thomas, of course, came along for the trip and was *very* good throughout... ;)

The Ship Inn, Itchenor

After we had unpacked all our things and enjoyed our delighted nose around the static we popped into East Wittering (only five minutes drive away) to the shops to buy some food and drinks (as that was where we had been told the nearest supermarket lived), and I have to say, the place was absolutely charming, just a hint that we were seconds from the water, a couple of little shops selling buckets and spades (and that sort of thing), the rest of the town being made up of 40 or so bespoke stores (such a rarity in this day and age) from a wonderfully brimming greengrocer -


- to the fantastic pie shop -

- where you can see them busily making the pies you are about to buy (I bought a steak pie and a ready to cook cottage pie for later)...absolutely wonderful...

That first evening, we thought we would go and check out the local village to the site (Flyingpops having spent most of the rest of the day napping while I read in the sunshine)...on our way passing a large group of (no doubt ravenously hungry and desperately thirsty) ramblers on a grim charge, prompting us to put pedal to the metal (suspecting, correctly, that their destination was the same as ours), unfortunately we missed the entrance to the pub on our first try -

- affording us out first taste of Chichester harbour, unfortunately the two minutes it took to comment on how pretty it was, take a quick snap, then turn the car around-

- meant that by the time we had parked the car, the ramblers has beaten us to the bar and were monopolising the staff ordering gallons of real ale and time consuming dinners, so we checked in the restaurant, but were politely informed that there were no tables free and we would have to wait for about 20 minutes (oh well)...so we grabbed a couple of drinks and headed outside to find somewhere to sit, eventually settling on a bench next to a selection of fishing gear dumped outside the public bar (only some of it decorative)...

We didn't have to wait long, which was good as Flyingpops was starting to get a little chilly as the sun started to set, before we were being seated on a little table right by the door...

Dinner was rather good, when we did finally get it, Flyingpops choice was particularly interesting - listed on the menu as "Vegetarian Fish and Chips", it turned out to be chunks of halloumi deep fried (like a cod fillet would be), the fried potato was a little on the "well done" side, but I kind of like that...I went for their (extremely mature) cheese burger, cooked medium rare, which also came with chips, but mine were served up with a very interesting dip called French Ketchup, which tasted a lot like a mixture of ketchup and mustard...jolly nice anyway...after our meal we made our way contentedly back to the static, for a few drinks and a snooze in front of the DVD player...

Itchenor Caravan Park

Can't believe this was so long ago and I'm only just getting round to writing about it...what a slacker! Being away from home has really messed with my routine (not necessarily in any sort of bad way, apart from my lack of blogging, of course, but) things should get back to (whatever) normal (is) soon...Anyway, if you would care to join me, set your wayback machines to two weeks ago, Friday morning - Flyingpops and I are to be found battling around the workmen, gathering clothing/bedding and then squashing everything into the back of Poppy the Beetle (in a tetris-like jumble), before somehow levering ourselves into the remaining space and setting off for the seaside (yay!), the journey was pretty good until we got to just outside Chichester, where we hit a *huge* traffic jam, my knees started to seize up with all the use of the clutch, and by the time we pulled past the (very welcome) entrance sign and I hopped out of the car to visit the little reception office, I really was hobbling...

Anyway, equipped with directions, we made our way through the maze of roadways, lined with literally hundreds of static caravans, each lovingly embellished with their own individual quirks, be it a posh raised decking arrangement, or a beautifully appointed garden with topiaried(sic?) hedges...the initial impression you get is that this place really doesn't feel like a caravan park - these are more like lovingly tended second homes...you definitely get the feeling that there is little in the way of normal "camping" taking place here...

So, working our way slowly, to avoid the wildlife -

- we found the static caravan we were lucky enough to be borrowing (which, of course, was situated right in the furthest possible corner on the other side of the site, directly opposite the way we came in) -

- but actually, that was rather nice...it certainly guaranteed by far the best view from the back windows over the fields towards the bay and was blissfully quiet, devoid of all but the most personal of transient visitors (*so* many people knocked on the door expecting their neighbours, only to find Flyingpops or myself peering out the front door and comments like "Oh, you aren't x")...

The inside of the static was an absolute revelation, an incredible kitchen (probably smarter than our one at home), a washer/drier combo, microwave, posh toaster...and the living room had large screen TV, DVD player (with surround sound), and even an old SNES! Incredible...

But, and this is most unfortunate, if you fancy coming to stay here then you are most probably out of luck - of all the statics on the site only *one* is available to hire, all the rest are permanently privately owned...which is actually rather a telling endorsement for the place all by itself...fantastic site, and a privilege to be invited to stay there! :)

More to come!

Phew...

Nearly time for us to start our mini-break...only one more day to get through...really looking forward to getting away and switching off for a few days, our venue is a borrowed caravan (thank you MEEM) located (not in the South West, as I had thought, but) in Itchenor, West Sussex (near Chichester)...it's a little village that sits looking out on Chichester Harbour (which is apparently one of the busiest waterways in England)...unfortunately, after the excellent weather we've been enjoying (sat in the office - bah) it's forecast to rain all weekend, especially bad on Sunday (what is it with us and mini-breaks in the rain?)...so we might have to do the usual, and find some indoor type things to do...!