Chichester Harbour
Bite 12
One of our
prettiest natural harbours, with the old world charm of Itchenor, the briny
bustle of Bosham and the culture of Chichester; add in some great beaches at
the Witterings, fun, fast racing with some beautiful day boats to watch from
waterside pubs and you have it all.
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| Chichester Marina, locked but lovely. |
There is a choice
of moorings in the Harbour – see www.conservancy.co.uk
for more detail, we plumped for Premier, who run the conveniently placed, very
pretty Chichester Marina, which sits
on the Salterns Way, offering an attractive
hike or bike into Chichester, renowned for its theatre, shops, restaurants and
the perfectly formed Pallant House
Gallery.
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| Dell Quay on a Sunday lunchtime, an easy walk along Salterns Way |
A small, theatrical
town buzzing with a great choice of restaurants, allowing you to take advantage
of the pre theatre menus, that are usually well-priced and allow you time to
get back to the boat in daylight! This
is a compact walking town with lovely gardens around the Cathedral, some good
independent shops and a thriving theatre that attracts decent plays (and
players) from London and a serious Art Gallery.
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| Salterns Way, by bike or foot |
We got on the bikes, walking past the steady queue
outside the Boat House, towards the lock building, where much fun is had
watching the ebb and flow, rope throwing, skipper shouting and boaters’ banter,
whilst waiting to cross over t’other side to cycle along the Salterns Way.
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| The Crown & Anchor at Dell Quay, worth a visit |
Wild flowers, verdant barley fields and the blue
glimpse of the harbour to our left, we sped along towards the spire of the
Cathedral, but couldn’t resist a glimpse at the Crown & Anchor, in top spot at Dell Quay, under new ownership now. Have heard good things about
their new menu, locally sourced ingredients and their oyster & fizz bar.
We
will be back – as Chichester and caffeine were
calling, but if you’ve been recently let me know.
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| Attibassi's cool interior |
We are ready for a
stiff coffee and head straight to Attibassi
Coffee, in Church Square.
I love the way this retro, Roman style espresso house rubs shoulders with
Raymond Blanc on one side and fellow Italian Carluccios on the other, but is
cooler and busier than either.
The uber
bright red espresso machine looks like an enormous radiogram, but sits well
with the red leather banquette seating and interesting architectural wallpaper.
Great coffee, and,
for mocha fans try a café Nutella, and an Aperol Spritz to accompany your
panini. Now off for a
quick whizz round Pallant House,
with its wonderful minimalist garden, pleached London Plane trees and some great
sculpture
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| Pallant House gardens, a nice looking cafe too. |
We could easily
have stopped for a slice of cake in the temptingly tasteful cafe but we have other plans. Whilst cycling past the Cathedral – we wanted to see how the
Peregrine chicks were doing, see www.visitchichester.org
for more info, but you should be able to see the parents and fledglings well
into June I hope – we spotted an interesting sign ‘Belle Isle’ it said,we went
in.
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| Can't beat a good club sandwich - Belle Isle |
I loved the
interior of Belle Isle, all bright
big bar, smiley staff, stencilled washed wood, lots of fun for a group, or to
bring the teens, who will love the fish finger sandwiches and burritos.
We had a lunch
date at Amelie & Friends though,
as it came highly recommended for a special night out – as did No 1 and Food & Fork, all independents.
These top guys are
not particularly cheap, for example Food & Fork’s Market Menu is £19.50 for
two delicious courses, but Côte can
knock £10 off this, if you are in the mood for simple calamari and Steak frites, and I have to say they do this very well, even if they are a chain –
but with exceptionally good bread, flown in from Paris daily I’m told?
The review: Amelie and friends….
We started with the asparagus, with poached egg and
wild garlic emulsion. Now I love asparagus, but think there was too much
emulsion and not quite enough flavour. However this was compensated when the
Onglet steak arrived with its Port jus and some fine fluffy chips, really
crunchy on the outside, but great mashed up in some of the jus – full of
flavour.
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| The Onglet cut - underated in the UK - full of flavour and bite if cooked correctly |
The warm lemon meringue pie with raspberry sorbet was
magnificent – top marks to pastry chef.
Lunch came to £35 each with a glass of Picpoul, many
happy neighbours enjoying a special Sunday lunch feeling. Nice conservatory and
patio with some fine old olive trees at the back.
Other favourites:
Whipped
& Baked – sour dough and a great
choice of cakes and bakes
Artisan
Café – best brownies
The
Exclusive Cake Shop & Vintage Tea Rooms – what a mouthful, but can vouch for the wonderful cakes and teas in
this wee gem of a place. Try the Cowdray Afternoon Tea
Russell’s
Garden Centre – Birdham, try the
sausage rolls in the deli section, nice café. 1 hr walk from Marina = 3 miles; www.russellsgardencentre.com/restaurant/
The bike: Salterns Way - 18km
route from the centre of Chichester out to the
sand dunes at East Head, conveniently via Chichester Marina. Well kept path,
not road bike suitable.
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| The cycle rout home - via the canal basin |
The hike - we cycled into
Chi from Chichester Marina - just over 4.5 miles, so will take about an hour
and a half. If you haven't time or inclination to walk this far I would suggest
the lovely river walk (30 mins, 1.6 miles & come back via the fields) to
Dell Quay (clearly signed once you cross the lock) and have lunch at the Crown & Anchor. And there are a
couple of walks within Chichester itself. I
loved the Tree Trail, as I like trees, but the City Walls walk looked fun too
and takes you into the Bishop's Palace
Garden, lovely in May. We
cycled back via the Ship
Basin, along the tow
path.
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| The Cathedral Gardens - great picnic area |
More info:
Moorings/ Salterns
Way Cycle Route: www.conservancy.co.uk
Bosham moorings
call the Quay master on 01243 573336
Chichester Marina:www.premiermarinas.com/uk-marina-locations/chichester-marina
