Local information, help and advice
Not really snow but close enough. I drove up to Midhurst after a heavy frost as the sun rose, to pick up our Christmas ham from Michael Courtney Family Butchers.
A magic time of day with the heater going full blast. Parking no problem, very little traffic besides one idiot in his SUV sitting on my tail through West Dean, Singleton and Cocking.
Not much gets going in the UK before 9am in the morning. So an early breakfast can be a problem in Chichester.
Reason enough to turn into the lay by and Fuel Stop cafe, dead on 06h50. It was still dark, with a nip in the air. But out came the tables and there was heater in the cozy cabin.
Early breakfasts are a rare thing these days. As are traditional English breakfast cafes.
But the Fuel Stop cafe is just that. Sweet instant coffee (I think), a big breakfast which was followed up with a lamb and mint burger. I shouldn’t have. But I did.
I was curious and was not disappointed.
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I got it all wrong.
Not dressed for what became a bitterly cold day. But that made an early breakfast at the Swan Inn in Midhurst all the more welcoming.
I understand that in this country breakfast is taken very seriously and I was fortunate to bump into the perfect breakfast sausage, quite by accident. Arriving in Midhurst a bit before time, I stopped outside the Swan Inn. It didn’t take long to decide to take them up on their offer of a full English breakfast and a bottomless pot of tea.
I didn’t have that many options. It was my only option.
The perfect sausage, the perfect breakfast in an English country hotel in the South Downs.
There are three Thai restaurants to choose from in Chichester but don’t expect authentic, home cooked and independent. There is Niyom on Hayling Island and Thai Time in Arundel and one of the Thai restaurants in Bognor is supposed to be good. But it’s trip into Portsmouth for anything resembling Thai street food at Saros. There are a few more indepentently owned cafes in Southsea which I gaven’t tried as well as Na’s Bar & Galley on Kemps Quay in Southampton.
Not much gets going in the UK before 9am in the morning. So an early breakfast can be a problem in Chichester.
But if you know where to find Good News they open at five in the morning and carry handmade sandwiches and snacks provided by The Lunch Box.
They also close at six, so if you miss your lunch time snack at the Lunch Box, it is well worth turning the corner and wandering down St Martins St to find them.
I cycled out past Maudlin, Strettington and Westerton along quiet country roads. Quiet until I hit Clay Pit Lane and all the traffic out for a Sunday drive.
The attraction was the Goodwood motor racing circuit which is a destination for the breakfast/brunch riders.
As well as those out for a day drive.
The event was the ‘Breakfast Club’ which is a semi regular free to enter, and open-to-all gathering of drivers and riders who come to view each other’s cars and bikes etc. Each meeting is themed with striking examples of the days theme paraded on the start finish straight. It is held on five Sundays across the event season at Goodwood, on the first Sunday of the month, with breaks during Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival.
Goodwood Circuit is a historic venue for both two- and four-wheeled motorsport in the United Kingdom. The 3.8 kilometres circuit is situated on the estate of Goodwood House, and completely encircles Chichester Goodwood Aerodrome. It became famous for its Glover Trophy non-championship Formula One race, Goodwood Nine Hours sports car endurance and the Tourist Trophy sports car race.
The last race meeting was held at the track in 1966, because the owners did not want to modify it with chicanes to control the increased speeds of modern racing cars.
The two main events hosted at Goodwood are the annual Festival of Speed and Goodwood Revival events.
The Festival of Speed is an annual hill climb, held in late June or early July. But not at the circuit. It is held in the grounds of Goodwood House featuring historic and modern motor-racing vehicles.
Following the success of the hill climb, racing returned to the Goodwood circuit in 1998. The Goodwood Revival is a three-day festival held each September for the types of cars and motorcycles that would have competed during the circuit’s original period, 1948–1966. Historic aircraft help to complete the vintage feel. Nearly everyone dresses up in vintage outfit from mods and rockers to racing drivers and just smart period clothes.
The track is now used for classic races, track days, and try-out days.
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