Day 9 - Southease to Exceat, 10.8m 4.75h

With the promise of a small chance of a very little light rain, we set off on the penultimate leg of our South Downs adventure.  Uniquely among the downland communities the SD Way passes through, Southease makes no provision for walkers; indeed they clearly don't want us there at all.  I loved this sign, which clearly doesn't apply to the locals when it suits them . . .

 



 

 

Once across the river (Ouse) and up Beddingham Hill, there are some fine views of Newhaven.  Smack in the middle of the photo you can just make out Newhaven's fairly recent incinerator, which looks uncannily like an enormous nuclear submarine has run aground in the town. Wow, is it ugly!

 

 

But then Beddingham Hill also has the mandatory communications masts - I've lost count of how many of the South Downs peaks are enhanced (?) by the presence of masts like these.  Still, it gives you something to aim for . . . 



 

 

From Firle Beacon, there's a good view of Firle Tower, which I thought might be a folly.  A web search reveals that : "Dated 1819. Built by the third Viscount Gage as a game-keepers cottage and
placed at the top of a small hill so that the game-keeper could signal to the
keeper of Plashet deer-park at Ringmer, which also belonged to Lord Gage.
Circular tower of 3 storeys. Faced with flints. Castellated parapet. Sash
windows with glazing bars intact."  As I thought - a folly.


Sadly, from the Trig point atop Firle Beacon, you can still see Newhaven.

 



But then we descended into the picturesque village of Alfriston where we had a lovely lunch and a very welcome sit down in Badger's Tea Rooms.

Leaving Alfriston, we wandered along the banks of the Cuckmere until we reached Litlington, where the official path climbs over three steep ridges to reach a point you could also reach by continuing along the river bank.  But we're doing the official SD Way!  From Litlington Hill, there's a good view of the Litlington White Horse, cut out of the chalk in 1924.

Up some horrible steps

. . . and down the other side to a spectacular view of Cuckmere Haven and its textbook meanders.



Day 8 - Ditchling Beacon to Southease

Today we had the luxury of starting 'on the top'.  And I can honestly say it makes a huge difference not to have to spend the first hour flogging up the next hill.

We're now going east of home, which comes as a bit of a surprise after 7 days of generally getting nearer to home.

The first 'sight' today was Plumpton Agricultural college (below) which has grown steadily over the years - perhaps I should have said organically! - and is now a very large and impressive set of buildings.

 

 

One of the most noticeable things about the South Downs Way is the constantly changing surroundings.  Not the views - that's obvious - but the fact that you can be walking across open downland one minute and along a woodland path the next. 

 

Then there are the unexpected excitements like a path diversion for an archeological dig!

Another bit of lovely woodland with dappled sunlight . . .

 

 

The A27 . . .

 



 

Well, that's quite enough of that.  Back to the lovely views, this time of Kingston near Lewes in the foreground, with Lewes behind.  Fortunately, you can't really make out the appalling '60s concrete tower block that is County Hall and where Glynis recently retired from.  She did give her former colleagues a wave from the top of the next hill.

 

 

A little further on, we came across a gaggle (flock?, murder?, parliament? - what IS the collective noun?) of hang-gliders.  There were two in the air, making the most of the north easterly breeze rushing up the hillside and they were able to stay in much the same place for ages, just circling round and round.  There were quite a few others setting up in amongst vehicles labelled 'general builder' and 'landscape gardener'.  Obviously when times are hard you just have to fly over it all . . .

 

 

At long last, I managed to find some poppies at the edge of a field.  This is such a typical Downs plant and I thought we were too late in the year for them, but I was wrong.

 

SIGN OF THE DAY (need I say more?)



 

And finally, here's the view just before we started to drop down off the ridge to Southease.  The lump on the horizon towards the left hand side is Firle Beacon, the highlight of the next section.  At the right-hand edge of the horizon is Seaford Head, the first of the chalk cliffs that in due course become the Seven Sisters (final day!).  And now for a soak in the bath . . .



A couple of amusing posters

Along the way, we've seen quite a few amusing notices, either because of dreadful English or simply their utter pointlessness.  I was particularly taken by these two. I hope you enjoy them too.

Anyone know what a 'canine first aid certificate' is?

Day 7 - Botolphs to Ditchling Beacon, 10.2m, 5h

Yes, yes, I know we seem to be getting slower - I'm going to plead that it's that we stopped for longer to enjoy the views . . . but as you'll see if you read on, that's not the whole story!

Driven by a reasonably suitable weather forecast, we were out there again today, doing the next leg, from Botolphs to Ditchling Beacon.  This will mean that by the end of today, we'll have walked right across West Sussex from the Hampshire border to the one with East Sussex.

It was pretty murky when we set off, so the view of Upper Beeding wasn't very special:

The first two miles just seems to go up and up as you climb up onto Truleigh Hill.  There are quite a few 'interesting' things on the top of Truleigh Hill, for example:

 

 

. . . It's one small hill for Glynis, one giant hill for telecoms masts (there are 4, all spectacularly ugly!)



 

 

. . . and the boat isn't your usual hill-top find, either!  There were three hulls and a mould up there.

 

But the inhabitants were nice and friendly - we came across a herd of very friendly young cows as we neared Devil's Dyke.  Even though they were sitting right on the path, they didn't move as we got nearer and didn't even mind being photographed.

 

 

Devil's Dyke itself is this spectacular valley:

At Saddlescombe, we were seduced by the Hikers' Rest (below), which despite its unpretentious premises right on the path offered herbal teas (not available in Dorset!) and a huge selection of very yummy cakes (I had rhubarb and ginger cake) including a dairy-free option for Glynis.  What more could you ask for?

From the stretch between Pyecombe and Ditchling Beacon, there were fabulous views out to sea across Moulsecoomb, with the sunlight sparkling on the water.  Magical!

Finally, we arrived at Ditchling Beacon, with wonderful views north over Ditchling and beyond.  It never ceases to amaze me how much of the over-populated and built-up south-east is covered with trees.



Day 6 - Amberley to Botolphs (Steyning), 13m, 5.5h

After a brief interlude 'castle-ing' in West Wales, we're back on the path again.  We were going to walk on Monday as the weather forecast looked better, but then this morning the idea of going walking seemed more attractive than tidying up after ten days away so off we went . . .

The climb up out of Amberley seemed tougher than it should have been, but the view back over Amberley and its castle was stunning.

 

 

The views on this section are absolutely amazing - and well beyond the abilities of my phone to capture.  There are limitless 180 degree vistas to take in on both sides of the ridge.  We could even still see the ghastly white 'thing' that is Butlins at Bognor Regis and Shoreham power station in the other direction - neither the most photogenic of subjects!  Having crossed the A24 without breaking stride (wow!), we soon found ourselves looking at Chanctonbury Ring.  This is somewhere else we've never been despite living nearby for the last 35 years!

 

 

In due course, we came to Steyning Bowl, an impressive natural amphitheatre overlooking Steyning.  The path runs right round the rim of the Bowl, so you get to admire Steyning from pretty much every angle!

 

 

The descent towards Botolphs and the bridge over the Adur (not photographed as it's modern and uninteresting!) passes through a most unexpected pig farm.  A novelty for about 30 seconds, we soon tired of the smell and couldn't wait to get past it!

 

 

 

Shortly afterwards, we arrived at a finger post that confirmed that we've now covered 60 miles and have just (!) 40 miles to go - or 46 if we do the coastal last leg as opposed to the shorter inland leg.

 

 

 

All we need now is another suitable day which doesn't clash with other commitments for the next leg, which will be Botolphs to Ditchling Beacon.  Check back by the end of the week to see if we found one!

Day 5 - Cocking to Amberley, 12m, 5.3h

After 2 days at home we decided to take a chance on Sunday which looked as if it would be the best day to continue our walk before we go to Wales next Wednesday.  The weather forecast kept changing and the final version showed sunshine and showers, with the best weather in the morning.  We set off with 2 cars and parked one at Amberley station and the other one at Cocking. 

As we arrived at Cocking the heavens opened and we began to wonder if we had made the right decision.  After 5 minutes wait to let the shower pass, we set off up the hill towards a rather black sky.  Fortunately the black cloud moved well ahead of us and the sun came out. 

We soon arrived at the Cowdray Estate famed for its game birds (we kept seeing them fly as we startled them) and the yellow paint they use on the woodwork of the estate cottages.

 

We walked in woods and meadows and when we could see the views they were fantastic. 

 



 

 

 

 As we reached Slindon and Bignor Hill we saw this rather modern 'Roman' signpost, where we joined Stane Street.  The old Roman road follows the ridge and gave us great views along the Downs.

 

 

 

 

 

 Roman road surface - Stane Street

 

We stopped for lunch close to this monument, taking in the views.

 

As the weather was still good, we stopped to do a spot of blackberrying. Having filled our bag we set off on the final couple of miles to Amberley Station.  Even though we could see black rain clouds to the south over Chichester and to the north over the Weald for most of the walk, we had stayed mostly dry for almost 5 hours.  We got all dressed up in our waterproofs once for just a couple of minutes of rain half way through, but luckily it didn't last.  About a mile before the we left the South Downs Way for the short walk back to the station, the rain started, but fortunately it was fairly light.         

 

 

After tea and cake in the café by the river we set off back to Cocking to collect the other car.  Driving home through torrential rain showed us just how lucky we had been with the weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4 - South Harting to Cocking, 6.3m, 3.5h

It promises to be a hot day as we set off from Harting Down

Within a few hundred yards we find exactly what we've been expecting for the last few days - open Downland and lovely grassy paths. At last!

It soon starts to warm up as we start the ascent of Beacon Hill (there's been no imagination used when it comes to naming hills on the South Downs; this is at least the third Beacon Hill already!).  While we have seen a walker or two and the occasional horse and rider, there are certainly a lot more sheep up here than anything else.  Here are some having a snack on the top of Beacon Hill.

We found some interesting path-side things today, even though this leg is only 6.3m.  The first was this little memorial to Hauptmann Joseph Ostermann, a German airman shot down on 13 August 1940.

 



This was closely followed by 'The Devil's Jumps' - a group of Bronze Age burial mounds (with Glynis on the top of one!) which were surrounded by ground-hugging brambles covered with lovely blackberries which we couldn't resist picking.

Back on the main trail, we encountered a lone walker from Ireland who must be doing 20 miles a day from what she told us.  As she didn't appear significantly younger than us, we were suitably awe-struck!  Next came four mountain bikers who had set off from Eastbourne yesterday morning and were planning to be in Winchester tonight.  Two days to do 100 miles!  Makes our effort look pretty feeble.

Somewhere along this stretch, we disturbed some pheasants sitting in the grass alongside the path.  There were a few wandering about the path, but when they started taking off from the verges, accompanied by lots of grousing (do pheasants grouse?) we realised there must have been 20 - 30 of them and it was really impressive.  Needless to say, the camera wasn't out and ready, so no photo.

Towards the end of today's stretch, we came across this huge ball of chalk. Apparently, it's one of five originally placed along the SD Way in 2002 by artist Andy Goldsworthy to study weathering.  You could definitely describe it now as 'weathered'. 

 

 

We were very glad to have chosen to do just 6.3 miles today as it was 26C by lunchtime - too hot for walking really.  So we completed our day by visiting Uppark, which is a lovely National Trust property back at South Harting.  It practically burnt down in 1989 and was re-built and re-opened in 1995 - a staggering achievement.

 



And that's it for now, though we're highly delighted to have covered a third of the distance.  We're hoping to do the next leg, Cocking to Amberley (12m), soon but we're off to Wales next week.  At the moment Sunday is looking relatively promising among a sea of pretty grotty days . . . Check back soon!