Where was I? Oh that’s right, the seaside at Brighton. Well the next day was even better in terms of weather so as we waited for our bus to the train station at the beach, Brighton looked even prettier than yesterday and I was sad to be leaving. If I ever come back to the UK with kids, a trip to Brighton will definitely be on the itinerary. We were so used to transport in London going all the time and never having to wait so we turned up at the station 2 minutes after the train to Portsmouth and the next one wasn’t for an hour. Lesson learnt (check train times) and thank goodness for the amazing cafe across the road that did an amazing haloumi wrap.
We were heading to Portsmouth (or Pompey as it is more casually known) as this was the area where Edd was born and grew up before he left for New Zealand. Once there we had lunch at a little microbrewery (I tried my first rarebit which is just a strange name for variations on cheese on toast) and then met up with some old family friends of his who were very kindly letting us stay with them. They gave us a big tour of Portsmouth, Porchester and all the areas Edd could only just remember. We also got to meet our other housemate who was a lovely dog called cracker. Quite possibly the biggest dog I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Portsmouth is, well a big port as the name suggests but the city was actually much prettier than I was expecting. The people were friendly and the weather was beautiful which always helps, but the town centre was scattered with nice looking buildings and old pubs. The Town Hall in particular was pretty stunning. It was weirdly exciting to see the old military forts scattered all over the hills surrounding Portsmouth and we had time for a quick cider at a little boat dockyard as well.
We also went and visited Porchester Castle which was quite a contrast to my first castle (at Windsor) as it hasn’t been in use for a long time and has turned in to a huge, beautiful ruin with a giant grass field in the centre for picnicking and games. The old weathered bricks have wildflowers growing out of them and the walls have slowly crumbled away in bits . There is something rather wonderful about someone as magnificent and powerful as a Castle being worn down by time and reclaimed by nature. There is also a beautiful old church called St Mary’s where Edd’s grandparent’s were married.
That night we met up with some other old family friends and all went out for dinner at Gunwharf Quay, which reminded me a lot of Auckland Viaduct. After a delicious meal and lots of laughs (and a couple of bottles of a very nice wine) we ended the day and as seems to be common on this trip, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
My Foxy Travels 