We arrived at the breakfast room a little later than usual to find that breakfast room had more people in it than on previous days. This meant that the self-service breakfast was warmer than the previous day.

We drove to Chichester to visit the Cathedral and get another stamp in my Cathedral passport. We enjoyed the Cathedral in a way that we didn’t when we stayed in Chichester many years ago. On our previous visit the space was full of artworks obscuring the architecture so we could not enjoy the Cathedral at its best.

We had lunch in the Cathedral Café, where after having had a cooked breakfast, I opted for an Apple Danish pastry (one of my five a day ????).

After lunch we walked around the nearby Bishop’s Palace gardens which looked delightful in the sunshine. As we walked through the town towards the car it was sad to see empty shops where businesses had closed in the main street. I was also saddened to see homeless people; I don’t remember seeing any on my previous visit.

We set the SatNav to avoid motorways and drove back to Winchester via a leisurely route through the countryside in glorious sunshine.

Later we dined in Brasserie Blanc where I chose vegetable risotto, which was delicious, and Mr C chose steak followed by a cheeseboard. After dining we called in at the nearby Royal Oak for a post dinner drink. The beer wasn’t to Mr C’s taste so we returned to the hotel for one last drink before retiring to our room for the evening.

We arrived at the hotel shortly after 10pm to be told that the bar had just closed! The girl behind the bar was on the phone to her boss at the time and explained that customers had just arrived and asked if they could be served. The answer was NO!

We walked off in disgust. We were not experiencing the advertised 5-star rating that the hotel advertises. So far, it was the worst ever hotel had I had ever experienced. We were both regretting booking the extra two nights on the spur of the moment, just because we could now that Mr C has retired.

It is the management of the various facilities which all seem to be subcontracted out that is the problem, the staff were mostly lovely. I suspect part of the problem is the hotel struggling to cover its costs. By now I was noticing that the quality of things such as serviettes and toilet paper had declined since we arrived.

The Bishops Palace Gardens, next to Chichester Cathedral, is a beautifully kept, tranquil garden bordered by the historic Roman city walls, and the Tudor wall. The perfect place to take a relaxing wander a few steps from the thriving centre of Chichester, you can enjoy some of the best views of the cathedral. There are plenty of benches to take that well-earned rest, or sit and admire the immaculately kept gardens.

In the gardens you will find a section of shrubs, trees, roses, climbers and herbaceous plants, with around 100 unusual trees and shrubs throughout. There is also an eye-catching rose pergola which was planted in 2009 and carries climbing roses, clematis and honeysuckle.

Because we had packed up the night before, we arrived for breakfast a little earlier than we had on previous days. There was only one other lady in the breakfast room and we wondered if most of the rooms were empty. We learned that this was due to breakfast being served a little bit later on a Saturday and that guests tended to come down to breakfast at the last minute.

After we had settled our bill, I took a few last photographs of the Cathedral before we set off for Stonehenge, stopping off at a garden centre along the way for a cup of tea. Before we left the garden centre Mr C phoned West Dean Gardens on the off chance that his missing spectacles had turned up. He was surprised and pleased to hear that they had. On learning that we were on our way home they agreed to post them to him.

At Stonehenge we decided to have lunch before walking to the stones. The walk and views were as lovely as usual especially in the sunshine. After enjoying the stones and capturing a few photographs we took a different walking route back to the visitor centre.

We arrived home just in time to freshen up before going out to dinner. Family had invited us so that we didn’t have to bother with shopping. The food was delicious and a good time was had by all.

After breakfast we went to the Cathedral to see if we could purchase a guide book because the shop did not open until later in the morning. When we got there the information desk was in the process of being set up ready for the day. Mr C didn’t want to linger so we took the short walk to the Guildhall in order to take some photographs.

By the time we had finished the Cathedral shop was open. We couldn’t see any guide books on display so we asked the assistant if there was one. He said there wasn’t a specific guidebook but we could purchase several books on different aspects of the Cathedral or we could have some collated, photocopied fact sheets on various Cathedral features; I opted for the latter.

Next we visited the Roman Remains of Fishbourne Palace which were simply excellent. There was a small museum, a large collection of floor mosaics as well as formal and plant gardens.

Before we left, we thought it would be fun to lunch on the Roman Platter which included chunky olive bread, hummus, olives, feta cheese and salad. Amply sufficed we made our way to West Dean Gardens, which were especially delightful in the sunny weather.

After wandering round the gardens we stopped for a drink and I had a piece of cake. As we were about to leave Mr C realised that he had lost his spectacles. He checked with both places we had visited but unfortunately they had not been handed in at either place.

We dined in Brasserie Blanc for the second time and found that the restaurant had a particularly lively and enjoyable atmosphere that evening. Earlier in the day Mr C bought a magnifying glass as a temporary measure to do the job of his lost spectacles. Whilst we were in the restaurant it fell out of his pocket onto to the hard flooring, causing the glass to crack but, luckily not to break.

We returned to the Park pub which was even more lively than it had been the night before. We wished we had found this pub earlier in the week.

After breakfast we called into Waterstones so that Mr C could pick up the latest book in a series that he is reading. After that he had to join a work teleconference for an hour or so. Whilst he was doing this I walked around Chichester photographing things I had seen whilst we were sussing out restaurants.

We met at Cloisters Cafe before heading to the Cathedral, only to find that a university graduation ceremony was about to start. We decided to visit the Cathedral later in the day and headed, instead to the Novium, which is a museum that houses the remains of Roman Baths and artefacts as well as a display on smuggling. There was also a temporary exhibition (on tour from the V&A) about the history of board games. As a board gaming lady I found the display interesting and nostalgic with games old and new.

Lunch was in the Chichester Cafe which is one of a few run by the Real Eating Company. The food they serve is nice and fresh and a little different. I opted for a hummus, beetroot and mozzarella toastie with salad leaves, beetroot and carrot; it was delicious.

After lunch we headed to the Pallant House Gallery where two birds looking like dodos sit atop pillars to the main entrance. They are in fact ostriches, which are from the crest of the Peckhams for whom the house was originally built. Pallant House is home to a collection of modern British art. The gallery also has a programme of temporary exhibitions, the current one being ‘Virginia Woolf: an exhibition inspired by her writings’. It would be fair to say that I enjoyed the gallery more that Mr C did.

Following our visit to the gallery we sat outside a small cafe, soaking up the rays with a glass of wine before returning to the Cathedral. We enjoyed the Cathedral and it had some interesting art. As we arrived one of the stewards mentioned to us a piece of modern art that was currently being displayed in the Cathedral. When I picked up the leaflet to find out what it was supposed to be I noticed that there were other pieces of art both inside and outside the Cathedral. I had seen the artwork that was outside earlier in the day and had mistaken one for a billboard frame and the other as being something to do with the roof renovations.

We relaxed in our room before dining in the Jetty in the Harbour Hotel. I chose Haddock and Chips which was delicious. Before returning to the B&B we went to a nearby pub called The Park, which was bustling with people, although most of them were outside due to the glorious weather.