Round and round the castle ...

Readers may notice that this is not a Finnish landmark. As I have only spent four days in Finland over the last three weeks, this post is about our weekend trip to Arundel in West Sussex to celebrate my wife's birthday.

Arundel has been a favourite destination for many years. I grew up not far from here and when our eldest was small, a visit was always a popular choice.

We started with a tour of the castle, seat of the Dukes of Norfolk, set in 40 acres of beautiful countryside and dating back to Norman times. After a stroll around the gardens and tea and cakes, we visited the Roman Catholic cathedral of Our Lady & St Philip Howard. Back to the Norfolk Arms to get ready for the evening and then out for dinner at Butlers. (In case anyone from the restaurant is reading, here's what a Caesar salad should be. It should have egg and anchovies. Romaine lettuce not mixed leaves. Definitely no cherry tomatoes. And no vinegar in the dressing!)

On Sunday, after the inevitable full English breakfast, we took a stroll at Swanbourne Lake, a former mill pond which is now home to a variety of wildfowl. This and the surrounding land was purchased by the Duke of Norfolk in 1787 and forms part of the Arundel Park. Our memory was that the full walk around the lake took around one and a half hours, so we nearly didn't attempt it. Of course, it used to with a young daughter, but with both of our girls now grown up, the full circuit took around half the time!

It was a wonderful spring weekend in England, with flora and fauna at their most appealing. For more pictures, see my Arundel 2009 channel on Ovi Share. Many happy returns, darling!