Our lovely anniversary weekend continued

Orchard Farm campsite, Bosham

 with taking Bailey away for two nights at Bosham, near Chichester – hence the no presents ‘rule’ mention earlier. Orchard Farm campsite is very peaceful but basic –water tap and electric hookup provided, own sanitation essential. No shop or club room onsite although there's a Co-Op close by in the village and nice-looking pub within a few minutes walk - we didn't actually go in. There's very little light pollution so a fantastic place for stargazing. It's also a caravan storage place so there were loads of vans but very few with people! We got there for lunch on Saturday, having avoided the Festival of Speed traffic, and met up with our friends Barbara and Andy who had not only saved us a shady spot under trees but also made a delicious chicken and mango salad that was perfect after the stuffy, sticky drive. I drove all the way and only really messed up once caused by indecision approaching a roundabout. There’s a weird creaky noise when we go slow though –probably best get that checked out.

Saturday afternoon we all went on a boat trip from Itchenor and saw hundreds of little and not-so-little boats. It felt as though everyone in the area must own their own vessel and we were left wondering ‘what recession’?! There are also loads of cyclists. It’s mostly flat countryside and they seem well catered for with cycle lanes, off-road routes and a tiny, cute ferry. Dave as a tad jealous I think and would take his bike if we go there again.
Saturday night I shared cooking with Andy. My contribution was Turkey Tagine that had been slow cooking all afternoon. It was just as tasty as if it had been done in the tagine and I’m definitely going to make the slow cooker a caravan essential. We weren’t sure due to the weight of the ceramic crock, but it was so easy to leave it safely doing its thing while we went out and I appreciated arriving back to the aroma of dinner all ready. Andy did a fruited couscous with chopped dates, apricots and pistachios. This will probably be one of my next recipe posts!

Dave steeling himself to start dinner!

The whole area is perfect for gentle strolls around picturesque harbours and spying on how the other half live on Bosham Hoe which is how we spent our Sunday. I’m happy to recommend Anchor Bleu in Bosham for lunch –good food, fast and friendly service, and they have Fentimann’s ginger beer! There’s an extensive arts and crafts shop on the harbour front where I managed to avoid spending any money despite many temptations. As it turned out, Dave drew the short straw with Sunday night cooking (salmon and pesto penne) as juggling two pans on the hob is going to take a bit of practice. He says it’s necessary to clear the area of anything that’s not needed before you start. And I must perfect doing pasta and rice in the microwave properly – like the slow cooker this will save our precious gas when abroad, and help utilise the limited space to its best advantage too.

And now it’s Monday and our wonderful weekend is over :-( 
Worthing was a nightmare of heat and traffic and it took us two hours to get from Bosham to Polegate. I’d taken a half day and did still manage to get into work early though. Nearly kept walking to the seafront but thought I’d better not!