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s you sweep up the drive toward Amberley’s formidable twin towers, passunder the oak portcullis (lowered at midnight and raised at 7 a.m.), and turn to contemplate the majestic views over the chalk escarpments of the South Downs, you’rein no doubt that it is the Real Medieval Deal. Signs of its tumultuous history crop up everywhere amid the beautifully landscaped gardens within its walls: the ruins of a Great Hall, destroyed by Oliver Cromwell during the Civil War of 1643; a pair of perfectly preserved 14th-century garderobes, i.e., toilets; and an oubliette, a well-like shaft where miscreants were once miserably imprisoned.
This venerable heritage has been preserved in the castle’s transformation into a 19-bedroom hotel, and the trappings of Amberley Castle are suitably aristocratic. Innumerable leather-bound volumes complement the roaring log fire in the Library lounge; suits of armor brood in niches; pikestaffs and lances decorate the walls; and jacket and tie are obligatory at dinner in the Queens Room restaurant, where eclectic cuisine is served beneath a 12th-century barrel-vaulted ceiling. But the atmosphere is far from stuffy. White peacocks, black swans and white doves strut and saunter among the landscaped ponds and the professional putting course, while those of a Swallows and Amazons bent can navigate a rope bridge to reach what’s surely the only thatched treehouse in West Sussex with electricity and central heating.
On the castle’s doorstep is the stone and thatch village of Amberley, justifiably regarded as the “pearl of Sussex.” But as you linger over tea or chess in the Court Room, or drift into a reverie on one of the bench-swings on the grounds, you might lower your own portcullis and keep the outside world at bay for a few days.
—Stuart Husband
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Escape-O-Meter
Amberley Castle, Amberley, West Sussex, England
Location Amberley Castle (Amberley, West Sussex, England; 44-1798-831992;
www.amberleycastle.co.uk)
is approximately 75 miles south of Central London. Direct rail services run from London Victoria
(estimated journey time: 1 hour 20 minutes); the castlestaff will arrange transfers to and from Amberley Station
Money Room-only rates start at £155 (US$279) per night for a midweek stay
or £165 (US$297) per night on weekends. “Castle Break” packages startat £440
(US$793) midweek and £580 (US$1,049) on weekends, with dinner, bed and breakfast for two nights
for two people. A nonrefundable deposit of 50 percent is required to secure a booking.
Local Knowledge Amberley Castle sits plumb in the middle of some of England’s
finest countryside, and there’s much to tempt the more adventurous—the South Downs for
walkers, nearby Roman villas for history buffs, Goodwood horse-racing course for those who like a flutter.
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