Before you all think that I've broken free and hopped on a plane I fear that I might have to let you down a little...yes I've been to LA, but the Sussex version Little 'Ampton😆What do I know about the town? It turns out not a lot...my snippets were simply that it has the world's longest bench [which I placed my posterior upon as many have done before], Ronnie Barker had a holiday home there and the events upon which the film 'Wicked Little Letters' is based happened there. Spoiler alert...LA doesn't feature in the film as they used nearby Arundel instead!
As I was fairly clueless perhaps you would care to join me for a stroll round? A quick trot along the High Street...not much to see out of the ordinary [well by my weirdling standards anyway], but a rather fabulous cafe which the owners have decorated with hand drawn images in black pen on white on every surface literally...I took a couple of photos surreptitiously and had to inwardly chuckle at that door as I waited my turn to use the facilities🚽
Our first port of call was the free town museum. One of my aims this year was to get round several more of the county's museums, but it simply hasn't happened. This is the first one I've managed, but I hope to squeeze a few more in over the colder months when I'm looking for inside entertainment. This one didn't disappoint and although small had the usual array of all sorts within its cabinets. Even the gate took my fancy.
An Anglo Saxon hanging bowl mount. It's one of the best of its kind so is important at national level.
It might seem odd to our eyes that a child would be given a ring with a phallus on, but to the Romans it was a sign of good luck and a symbol of protection.
A rather pleasing assortment of clay pipes from different periods in time.
A couple of shelves of holiday souvenirs as we are afterall on the coast here.
With these I thought that they were toy tanks, but apparently not. These were used by the Canadian troops to plan military manoeuvres when they were stationed in the town in WWII.
Next door is the church which I wouldn't have minded a poke around. Sadly not possible as it was closed, but did rather like this trio of curled wormy serpent things on the front and this rather lovely peace train sign on the Quaker meeting house over the road.
By now the sea was most definitely calling David. We started by walking along the river Adur which runs into the sea here and enjoyed a quiet sit on the 'pier' [call that a jetty] keeping a close eye on the gulls and our sarnies. They're quick to spot townies and are well practised at smash and grab🤣. They didn't get lucky with us though and besides the beach was rammed at the amusements end so they had plenty of potential victims they were keeping their beady eyes on. Below is the LA lighthouse. It's small, but fit for purpose.
I liked the tower on the Angling Club and am intrigued by that massive stone mullioned window in the house. It seems to be a later addition and not in keeping with the rest of the facade. Just a glimpse for you of some of the sights as we wandered up to the quieter end of the promenade. The 'rusty' building [it's made from raw steel] is the award winning East Beach cafe and was designed by Thomas Heatherwick. That curly wurly structure is a portion of the longest bench.
As we neared the end of our trip icecream was calling us so we turned into Mewsbrook Park. After the hubbub of the crowds enjoying the sea this was like a breath of fresh air. It was beautifully calm and still with its stunning Art Deco shelters, quirky wooden benches and wild flower borders. I think it was my favourite spot of the day.
What a lovely day that was and all the more special as it was the first Monday we had not had to spend in the hospital for two months. We've been back in again this week with David having his next biopsy, so we really did appreciate the change of scene.
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