Pretty UK town packed full of independent shops wants more tourists | Travel News | Travel

Think of the most quintessentially English town and you might get a picture of Arundel. The windows of the traditional independent shops are all lined with something unique, whether it’s decadent sponge cakes piped with fresh cream, quirky perfume bottles, antiques or homemade biscuits. The town feels distinctly olde worlde.

Locals jokingly tell us that Arundel “doesn’t wake up until 11am”, and if it’s a slower pace you’re looking for, this Sussex town is the ticket. “You’ve got a chocolate shop, a tea and biscuit club, a perfumery, which you don’t see on the high street anymore, with samples on the windowsill. You don’t get that anywhere else,” explains tour guide Martin Alderton. 

He adds: “It gives us a different feel. That’s why Arundel is as quaint today as it’s ever been.”

It’s not just the shops that are a draw, with an impressive castle towering above the town. However, locals tell us this means many tourists often miss out on one of the most charming parts of the town.

Martin says: “We don’t get people coming out of the castle into the town. This is the biggest bugbear and it has been for 50 years.”

He explains this was compounded when the castle closed its gate leading onto the high street, and now tourists are funnelled through a different exit point.

Local Margaret Austen adds: “Unfortunately, they go to the car park, go across the castle and come back down to the car park. Because it [the town] is set aside, it sometimes doesn’t get that trade.”

In a former chapel turned collectors’ gallery, antiques seller Denis Mitchell says footfall is down on previous years, like many other towns. “It’s a lovely town. Unfortunately, in the last year, there has been a downturn in trade.”

However, all three have one thing in common: their love for the area. Martin is enthusiastic about showing people exactly what Arundel has to offer, and there is plenty to highlight, including its rich industrial history.

It was also dubbed one of the UK’s most Christmassy towns in research by Betway, which compared 37 towns and cities across the country. The historic market town ranked seventh overall, praised for its festive scenery and abundance of cafes.

In the bustling collectors’ gallery on Tarrant Street, Margaret Austen describes Arundel as a “hidden jewel”. 

“To me, it’s got the quaintness of England. We get a lot of overseas tourists who like it,” she enthuses. “People who come down from London take to it because it’s like nothing that they’ve seen.”

She adds: “We have over 50 craft people in here. All local under this roof. And almost none of them are online.”

Trader Denis tells us: “[Independent shops] show the individual’s personality, which makes it more interesting. It’s just lovely. There aren’t many places like that around here. You never know what you’re going to come across.”

When you cross the road into the old Printworks, the fairy-light-lined arcade is equally charming, with a handful of shops placed slightly back from the street. 

Circling back to the high street, one of the independent cafes that looks particularly delicious is Cockburns Tea Rooms, with rows of fresh cakes lining the window.

Behind the counter in the quirky building that used to be an inn, Jeanne tells us about Arundel’s “chilled” feel. She says: “It’s not like going to a big town where there’s lots going on. It’s nice that you just want to have a few shops, close by, and there’s a history.”

There are, however, events in the summer, and a Christmas market, which had to be called off this year due to the weather. Her colleague, Nikki Meridue, adds: “It’s nice in the summer when you can sit in the castle gardens.”

While spring and summer are “lovely”, Denis says winter “takes on its own mood”, adding: “It can be very good for Christmas.”

As we leave the main high street onto Maltravers Street, we meet Maya Coppen at the Independent Art Gallery, who says Arundel is so special because it has character, without feeling out of touch. 

“Its a historic market town. with interesting, very individual shops,” she explains. “It’s historic, but it’s contemporary at the same time. It’s sort of in step with the times rather than being in the past.”

Martin Alderton acknowledges the number of independents could be a double-edged sword, explaining: “You don’t get the big companies coming in, and the money that comes along with that.”

Those who come to visit the castle are not only encouraged to head to the town, but also to visit nearby Swanborne Lake, which we’re told has peaceful nature walks.

Local pubs are also in abundance, like St Mary’s Gate Inn, owned by Katie Allen with her husband. She tells us it dates back to 1525 and began its life as a thatched farm building.

Mark and Caroline Winship, who run travel platform The Staycation Gateway, tell us Arundel is their “happy place” and describe it perfectly: “It is one of those rare places that feels like an unspoilt step back in time.”