The adventure begins. From Gothic cathedrals to Roman palaces, explore the southern coast of England.
5 AM. Wake Up. Time to Go.
My month-long adventure around Great Britain began in the not-so-glamorous environs of a London hostel. 5 AM, dragging myself out of bed to greet the sun on not much sleep while hauling my very heavy suitcases to London’s Heathrow Airport.
I chose Heathrow as a starting spot because of its convenience; it is both easy to get to, and easy to get away from. Car rentals from Heathrow make it an ideal jumping off-point for a London-based trip around Great Britain.
After renting my car, a little Vauxhall something (European GM Brand) and getting my essentials situated (music and GPS), I drove off into the early morning light. After about 5 minutes of driving on the opposite side of the road than what I was used to, I had acclimated to the United Kingdom‘s left-lane driving, and it was not so bad. Fear not, foreign drivers: It only takes a couple days to get used to driving on English roads. You will learn to love round-abouts. I still do.
Google Maps Day 1’s route of the adventure.
I took the M3 motorway, driving straight down to the southern coast of England. From Heathrow to Winchester, to Fishbourne Roman Palace, Chichester and Brighton.
First stop: Winchester
Winchester Cathedral. First of many houses of worship in my 30 days.
After a couple of minutes of stalking the parking lot (called car parks in Britain), I found a spot and made my way to Winchester Cathedral. To give you a sense of the sheer age of this place, Winchester has seen the Romans, the Normans, and the Victorians walk along its streets. Its cathedral is one of the largest in England, with the longest nave (center aisle) and greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. With the congregation founded in 642 CE and the current building started in 1079, Winchester Cathedral has been altered over the ages by craftsman adding Gothic and Classical elements.
The very long nave of Winchester Cathedral.
Winchester Cathedral’s altar. That probably took forever to make.
Winchester Cathedral is truly a site to be seen. The center nave seems endless as you walk toward the quire area, where the cathedral’s choir still sings each week. The stained-glass windows are extravagant, which were remade after Oliver Cromwell destroyed the originals in 1642 during the English Civil War.
The reconstructed stained-glass window over the main entrance into the cathedral.
Second stop: Fishbourne Roman Palace
Jumping back from the Medieval to the Roman era, the second stop was at Fishbourne Roman Palace near the coast. As a Roman archaeology geek, this was truly the highlight of my day. Having been featured in at least one of my graduate school essays I had written in the previous year, I had to see the palace for myself.
Fishbourne Roman Palace in its heyday. All that is left are the floors.
The second highlight of the day.
Fishbourne Palace was built in the 1st century CE, about thirty years after the Roman conquest of Britain. The Romans left many traces of themselves throughout Britain, but Fishbourne Palace holds a unique place in archaeology. In fact, Fishbourne Roman Palace is the largest Roman residence ever found in Great Britain, clocking in at 150 sq. meters, dwarfing the much more famous Buckingham Palace!
An overview of a small portion of the palace. A very, very small portion of the once-gigantic palace. Fishbourne is definitely called a palace for a reason.
The beautiful dolphin mosaic of the dining room has been restored, but the replacement tiles are a bit darker than the originals.
The rest of the mosaics looked a bit more like this.
Next Stop: Chichester
On my way again, down winding country roads to Chichester, a quaint cathedral city a few miles away.
Chichester Cathedral from the back.
The freestanding belltower, fortunately not leaning or collapsing.
Another unique aspect to Chichester Cathedral is that it incorporates many modern works of art. Quite frankly, I think it ruins the ambiance.
The central nave, with its Romanesque arches and Gothic ceiling.
This side chapel was one of my favorite things about this cathedral. Sort of made up for the modern art, that I don’t even have a photo of since I hated it so much.
Oh, and the Roman mosaic under the floors of the church.
Found in Chichester Town Centre. Not sure when this dates from.
Fourth stop: Brighton
On the road again, now onto Brighton.
Tip: Never drive along Brighton’s beach on a Saturday night. I ended up parking a mile away on top the hill.
The wonderful Brighton Pier.
My first stop and the only attraction still open was the Brighton Pier, a pleasure destination built at the turn of the 20th century and turned into an amusement park in the 21st. There is nothing like the sounds of the ocean and a carousel to round out a day on the road. (More on Brighton Pier)
I actually was very tempted to ride the carousel.
The Brighton Pavilion, an extraordinary building constructed for Queen Victoria.
The day ended after a traffic jam, driving to nearby Shoreham-By-The-Sea, losing my way (Google isn’t always right), and heading up a dark country road to the top of one of the area’s tall hills.
Watching the sunset from Brighton Pier, a perfect ending for a perfect first day.
That night in the blackness of the English countryside, I looked up and saw a clear starry sky. I knew this was the adventure of a lifetime.
Check out Day 2 of this grand adventure where I explore the southeast coast of Britain.
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Start at the beginning of my 30 days around Great Britain!
Wow Jana! That’s a terrific tour and Thank you so much for the effort that you put in to write down the trip in such detail. I’m planning a similar, albeit a shorter version, trip and found your post very useful.