Deer spotting and foraging season!

It seems I chose a very wet Sunday to go to Parham House for the deer spotting and foraging event last weekend but I wasn't going to let a little English rain put me off...

Parham House

Parham House

1130am and on the deer spotting walk - very informative with Jim from Parham estate heading up the event giving us lots of information about the "rutting season". This is the time of year when male deer are driven by the urge to reproduce. From October to early November you will hear groaning and belching sounds coming from the woods together with the sounds of clashing antlers as males show off their virility to potential mates.

We stayed well sheltered under the old oak trees whilst we listened to the talk, keeping quite still to spot the estate deer...

Parham House Grounds

Back to base and at 1pm on the fungi foraging tour - a couple of "chaps in the know" advising us what you can and can't eat from Beefsteak fungus, to Horn of Plenty, Hedgehog Fungus and more!

Beefsteak Mushroom!

I have to say its a good job we had an expert to advise since at first sight this Beefsteak mushroom that I picked did not look appetizing but I was reassured that it will be delicious...pan fried beefsteak mushroom with beetroot and horseradish salad anyone?! I will still be cautious and only pick when with an expert - but it was a very interesting talk and one can go on advanced courses which is something I will definitely do in the future!

Beefsteak Mushroom!

The weekend of wildlife spotting didn't end there! On my trip to Climping on Sunday I caught a cheeky little peacock running out of the reception at Balliffscourt Spa...

A cheeky Peacock running out of the reception at Balliffscourt Spa!

I'm looking forward to  more nature watching and foraging on the doorstep of the hotel this week...today I'm off to the festival of Fungi at Pulborough Brooks RSPB!

Lissette x

Bluebell walks in West Sussex

The bluebell or “Hyacinthoides non-scripta” is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell. In spring, the Bluebell produces a nodding, one-sided inflorescence of 5–12 tubular, sweet-scented violet–blue flowers, with strongly recurved tepals, and 3–6 long, linear, basal leaves. The flower is particularly associated with ancient woodland where it may dominate the understory to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers in "bluebell woods". It is protected under UK law and it is said that half the world’s bluebells flower in the British Isles.

Bluebell Walks 

April is a great month for a woodland or river bank walk to view these spectacular plants - good for both the soul and mind!

We have been scouting to find the best bluebell walks in the local area for our guests to enjoy and discovered there are many beautiful “Bluebell” walks in West Sussex close to Chequers. Whether it is along the River Arun or through our local woods, you can enjoy the annual spectacle turning our woodlands into a beautiful blue landscape with trees bursting back into life and the beautiful background music of bird song once again. Here are a few examples of nearby places to enjoy the scene:

1) The Low Weald nature reserve of Ebernoe Common near Petworth encompasses ponds, streams and meadows as well as ancient woodland which are renowned for their beautifully scented bluebells. You can even hear the nightingales singing from April to June whilst enjoying the spectacular scene of bluebells. We advise you to park next to the church off Steel's Lane (sat nav gu28 9jy). If you are enjoying a stay at Chequers ask John or Lissette for maps or go to sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk for a map of paths.

Bluebell Walks

2) Angmering park estate near littlehampton hosts the annual “Raw Energy Persuits” 10km and 10 mile bluebell trail walk and run on 21^st April. This is a rare opportunity to explore the privately owned 11,000 acre Angmering Park Estate. The woods of which are peppered with picturesque cottages and outbuildings in amongst the stunning bluebells. This year will be the 9^th staging of this spectacular trail event and sees people returning year after year to get involved. Contact Rawenergypursuits.co.uk/events for more info and to enter.  

We advise our guests to park at The Fox pub in Patching (Sat Nav: BN13 3UJ).

3) Woods Mill Sussex wildlifetrust near Henfield where you can enjoy a pleasant walk through the woods scattered with bluebells and round the lake. I actually spent a wonderful 6 month sabbatical 3 years ago working on Woods Mill Nature Reserve so have a lot of information and stories to tell about this great trust. Just ask me about any questions you have!

Enjoy!

Lissette  x

A visit to the local village of Petworth

As part of our ongoing mission to be the most knowledgeable hosts you could wish for, we recently paid a visit to the wonderful local village of Petworth. Whilst we have been there before to see the Turner Exhibition at Petworth House, we decided to make our way back there this weekend as our daughter was over from Geneva and wanted to explore this lovely local village. Petworth is a delightful picturesque market town, a short distance from Chequers Hotel and has a reputation for being a leading antiques centre with 30 antique shops within a half mile radius.

A recommended first stop would be the famous Petworth House - a must visit attraction (Opening for the summer season on 16th March). Petworh House is a palatial 17th Century mansion with gardens designed by Capability Brown. The rooms are dedicated to displaying art by Turner, Van Dyck. Reynolds and Blake - with stunning adjoining deer filled gardens. Also worth a visit is Petworth Cottage Museum, laid out as it was in 1910 when a seamstress for Petworth House lived there!

Petworth

The centre point of the town is the market square where we started our exploration. We spent the afternoon investigating the village's many specialty shops (including 'Eternal" vintage clothes shop and Follit home accessories shop) and stopped for a coffee at the fabulous village deli: The Hungry Guest. 

Whilst staying at Chequers it is definitely worth spending a day here exploring Petworth House and then ambling around the village or even better... coming to visit for one of the numerous local but famous events the village is involved in: (National Antiques week 20th - 28th April, Petworth Fete in the Park, Saturday 6th July, the Petworth Festival, 15th July - 3rd August and the Petworth Food and Wine Festival, 21st and 22nd September).  Looking forward to updating you with more detail bout these events nearer the time.

John and Lissette x

Chequers Hotel Pulborough Official Blog is born!

Now that we have been settled in to Chequers for 11 months we feel it is time to kick off our official blog and keep everyone up to date with what is going on at the Hotel, in the local area and inspirations that we have collected along the way that we look to reflect at Chequers. It has been a hectic year... settling in, starting the decorating, bringing in furniture from our interior design business "Talking Points Interiors" and exploring some of the many local attractions on the doorstep (including Arundel Castle, Pulborough Brooks RSBC, Parham House, Petworth House and Gardens, Bignor Park, Goodwood Race course and Fishbourne Roman Palace). This gives us plenty of local knowledge to share with our guests. We have also been busy changing the menu to one that uses locally produced and foraged food and changing the wine menu to include wines from the fantastic local specialist fine wine merchants "Hemmings"

For now we leave you with a photo from our walk at Pulborough Brooks RSPB last weekend...

John and Lissette x

Pulborough Brooks RSPB