A modest town and civil parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, Petworth is ideally situated for exploring the South Downs National Park, as well as benefiting from sitting in close reach of the coast, offering a varied selection of coastal and countryside attractions at any time of the year. Twinned with Ranville in Normandy, France and San Quirico d’Orcia in Tuscany, Italy, the beautiful town hosts a good range of amenities to keep you entertained on your travels. Home to a selection of shops where you can pick up any essential ingredients, as well as a range of bars, pubs, restaurants and cafés, it caters for all of your culinary requirements. Petworth is also home to the 17th century stately home Petworth House, the grounds created by Capability Brown, this impressive National Trust property is well-worth visiting for its fine art and deer park. The Petworth Cottage Museum also sits within the town, demonstrating the domestic life for poor estate workers in the town in the 1900s, it makes the perfect place to learn about the rich history of the area. You will also find a scatter of art galleries within the town, as well as annual events such as ‘petfringe’, a fringe festival in the style of Edinburgh Fringe showing off local talent and guests, and a fun fair on the 20th November each year making fantastic family days out. Sitting within the South Downs National Park, you can expect to find ample opportunities for walking, cycling and horse riding within the local area, with the park owning International Dark Sky Reserve status, it also makes a great spot for stargazing too. You can even explore the area in lots of unconventional ways, via paddling in a kayak amongst wildfowl and wildlife, or taking to the skies and paragliding to get a bird’s eye view, there’s so many ways to discover the park. Spend a day in the charming market town of Horsham with its wonderful shopping experiences boasting both independent and highstreet names as well as pleasing parks to mosey around, or venture to the seaside town of Worthing, offering a traditional coastal experience on its picturesque pier as well as being home to one of the oldest working cinemas in the UK, there are plenty of family-friendly attractions to be found here. Chichester, Guildford and Crawley or all within easy reach of the town too, making Petworth a splendid base for a fun-filled holiday.
