Mother’s Day is a rare chance to treat your mother. Or, if you don’t have a mother, or any children to treat you, then it’s a rare chance to treat yourself. So, here’s to enjoying what’s on offer this year with these three Sussex Mother’s Day ideas:
Afternoon Tea and the i360
Viewing Brighton, the Sussex coastline and the South Downs from 138 metres above is always special. There’s just something about watching the hustle and bustle slowly slip silently away beneath you as you climb and view the layout and architecture of a city from above. Add to that a glass of some of the best Sussex sparkling wine (yes, there’s a bar in the viewing pod) and it’s really rather lovely!
Come back down and enjoy a fabulous afternoon tea. You can sit inside, in the warm with views of the historic West Pier and coast, or on a sunny day, soak up the sunshine outside. The tea is superb with dainty sandwiches, warm scones and the best millionaires shortbread I’ve had in a long time. As a busy mother, this is a rare chance to head to Brighton and indulge in a bit of city life. Walk along the seafront to Hove, or head to the North Laine District.
Brighton i360 + Nyetimber & Afternoon Tea Ticket (Adult) Flight and Glass of Classic Cuvée (including Brighton i360 journey and a Glass of Nyetimber Classic Cuvée, followed by Afternoon Tea) for an Adult aged 25+ is £48.75.
Book here: Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea
Sunday Lunch at Gravetye Manor
Nestled in more than 1,000 acres of Sussex countryside, Gravetye Manor, near East Grinstead is a magnificent 16th Century, award-winning country house hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant and historic gardens. Their 3-course Mother’s Day Sunday Lunch has a mouthwatering choice of seasonal roasts such as “Partridge, parsnip, Savoy & smoked sausage”, “Creedy carver duck, beetroot & red cabbage” and a “Slow roasted short rib of Trenchmore Farm beef, beef-fat potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, garden vegetables and Port sauce”.
Afterwards, take a stroll around Gravetye’s gardens – one of the most important historic gardens in England created by William Robinson in 1885. Or for a longer walk, guests can follow the Wakehurst Place walk which starts at Gravetye Manor followed by the Cat Inn at West Hoathly and finally, finishes at Wakehurst Place. The walks range from 30 minutes to over 4 hours and take guests around the gardens, meadows and woodlands surrounding the hotel, to other interesting gardens such as the Arts and Crafts building and gardens of Standen House and the Sussex vineyard of Kingscote Estate. Finish the day, with a bespoke in-room beauty treatment.
Mother’s Day lunch is priced at £68 per person. Rooms at Gravetye Manor start from £385.00. All room prices are inclusive of VAT, Full English or Continental breakfast.
Afternoon Tea at Tinwood
Just outside Chichester, in the hamlet of Halnaker, and at the foot of the South Downs, is the Tinwood Estate. A family-run vineyard, your mother should love this tutored wine tasting with a carefully crafted Afternoon Tea. You are welcomed with tea and coffee, before you head off for a tour of the vines as you learn more about the estate and the journey from grape to glass. Then relax in the tasting room with views out across the vines, as you try the three Tinwood wines.
While you’re in the area, visit the historic Boxgrove Priory ruins and Grade II listed Halnaker Windmill. There’s a walking trail that starts in the nearby Boxgrove Village Hall car park and is signed which will take you to the top of Halnaker Hill (a Scheduled Ancient Monument and home to a Neolithic earthwork structure known as a “causewayed enclosure”).
Whatever you do on Mother’s Day, I hope you find a bit of “you” time.
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