This Friday 16th June is “Sussex Day” – an annual celebration of our county’s rich history and culture. The date was chosen to coincide with “St Richard’s Day”, with Richard of Chichester being the patron Saint of Sussex.
There are many things that make Sussex special, from the rolling South Downs to our beautiful beaches. West Sussex is home to many historic houses, castles and gardens, from Arundel Castle to Petworth House.
This glorious weather makes this weekend the perfect opportunity to go out and discover something new in our county – ‘Experience West Sussex’ is great for inspiration: https://www.experiencewestsussex.com/
Today is also “National Beer Day”, which was chosen to coincide with the date that the Magna Carta was sealed in 1215 (“the pint” can be traced back to the Article requiring the sale of ale at a standard measurement!) We are lucky to have a number of celebrated craft breweries locally – I marked the occasion by visiting Firebird Brewery in Rudgwick and trying some of their refreshing New England IPA. It was great to see that Firebird have expanded their business and premises since my last visit and I am so pleased that they are celebrating their tenth anniversary this year.
We are also fortunate to live in the heart of England’s award-winning wine region. Next week is “English Wine Week” which is the perfect opportunity to celebrate Sussex wine and visit one of the many prestigious vineyards we have locally. Sussex is making a huge name for itself in the international market with Sussex sparkling wine (which shares very similar soil to the Champagne region) even beating their French Champagne rivals in wine tastings in Paris!
In addition to the direct benefits the “add-ons” in terms of tourism and Sussex “brand recognition” right across our impressive food and drinks production are immense.
Like many others I also battled the heat last weekend to follow the Horsham Artists’ Art Trail which runs across the District – some wonderful scenes of Sussex were captured among many others and the trail will be open again this weekend with details available at www.horshamartists.org.