The English countryside....or a day at the beach?

Or both.........On a delightfully warm (24C) sunny Wednesday, we embarked on a small road trip with Simon and Ed to a surprise location. All we knew was it was near the beach. Near-ish with Simon driving.

Cute narrow country roads where the sunlight filters just perfectly through the trees...just what we needed! We eventually arrived at our surprise location - Weald & Downland Open Air Museum.

'The leading museum of historic buildings in England
Designated by the Government for its outstanding collections of national importance
Winner of the Museum of the Year, Community Museum of the Year and national awards for interpretation and education.' http://www.wealddown.co.uk/home-page-english.htm

The open air museum is perfect on a sunny day....historic buildings with plenty to keep the avid historian busy, plus educational audio for those not so much in the know. We had a good few hours to scope the place out - with rolling fields, cow and sheep filled paddocks, chickens, beehives, working horses and ducks all dotted around the place it was something quite special.

The group then moved onto Littlehampton beach, a short drive away where we could dip our feet in the cool sea, throw a few pebbles, and see Thomas Heatherwick's 'turd' building - the East Beach Cafe.

All in all a really good day out - much needed and very appreciated. Thank God the summer is here, sort of.