In my own footsteps

Tuesday June 24, 2008: 5.5 miles, approx 330m ascent (Map: OS Explorer 122)

It was already midsummer and I had't been for an after-work walk on the Downs yet. The route I chose started from the car park by the Jack and Jill windmills on the Downs near Clayton in West Sussex. I followed a shorter version of the route described in the walk "Fresh Air and Exercise and Jack and Jill" from March 31 this year.

It was a lovely evening when I set off  at about 6.30 pm. I followed the bridleway just north of the car park, heading east for a short distance and then roughly southeast, passing New Barn Farm, where I saw a few linnets, and crossing the South Downs Way by the golf course. Keeping going in the same general direction, and seeing my first and only poppies of the evening, after wiggle and a short eastward section, I then joined the Sussex Border Path going northeast.  Close to the SDW I detoured north for a short stretch to cross the SDW at Keymer Post (a big footpath signpost - not on the map, it's near the marked 234m spot height). Here I went east for a couple of hundred yards in the access land north of the SDW, to pick up Burnhouse Bostal, which I followed down hill (northeast-ish) to Underhill Lane. The slopes above the bostal were scattered with orchids, little pink ones and pale pink spotty ones (apart from bee and spider orchids and early purples, that's the sum of my orchid knowledge).

Going east for about a half mile along the lane I arrived at the car park (not marked on the map) by the Beacon road at the foot of Ditchling Beacon. Crossing the car park I took the footpath south for an uphill slog onto the ridge half a mile west of the Beacon trig point, passing a yellowhammer on a gorse bush, I was greeted at the top by a stonechat sitting on a fencepost. Staying on the access land north of the SDW, I headed west, crossing my outward path back at Keymer post . Here I turned  north on the bridleway down hill, joining Underhill Lane just east of Whitelands. Following the lane west this time, after just over half a mile I turned onto the footpath continuing west and the curving south round the lip of an old  chalk pit to join the bridleway up towards my starting point by the windmills.

Although disappointed by the lack of poppies (had I missed them, or wasn't it a good year for poppies?), I got back to the car feeling like I'd had some good exercise on a lovely evening, and headed home for toast.

Sunday June 15, 2008: a very long 13 miles (should have been 10, at least 400m (should have been 340m) ascent (Maps: OS Explorer 124 & 136)

My shredded feet had recovered from Scotland, they were getting itchy again, and I had a date for a walk in my diary, so off to the High Weald I went for an change of Sussex scene. For those of you that don't know this part of the world, the landscape is different from my usual Downland habitat, has a fascinating history, and is well worth a visit. Another important thing you need to know is that this landscape is a richly varied mix of small fields and woodlands, meaning that there's an awful lot going on navigationally in a small area, well that's my excuse ...

Anyway... various potential walking companions cried off for various reasons, but four of us eventually made it to Burwash in East Sussex on a mixed sunny/cloudy morning and set off from the car park by the Bear Inn, heading towards the church and down through the graveyard to the southeast.

This is where I made my first mistake, too busy yakking I missed my footpath going east/southeast towards Grandturzel and we ended up at a dead end near Glebe Farm. Roughly retracing our steps back  and south we eventually found the path we wanted, joining a bridleway going south, passing near Grandturzel and continuing on to Fontridge Lane.

The next leg was more straightforward, heading south on a bridleway past Socknersh Manor and through Mill Wood and OIdhole Wood. Just past Manor Farm we took the footpath southwest to Oxley's Green for our first encounter with stingers, brambles, and dog roses (ouch a lot). At the crossroads at Oxley's Green we took the lane south, past the apparently now-dead Jack Fuller pub, and then picked up the footpath southeast towards Kent Lane, stopping for lunch in a sloping meadow just before we reached the lane.

After lunch another error in nav saw us climbing a fence onto Kent Lane a couple of hundred yards to the west of where we should have joined it, at least I spotted this as we walked up the lane, and half a mile later we easily found our bridleway south through Scaland Wood to cross Darwell Stream (which feeds Darwell Reservoir). This track wiggled a bit through the woods and after a short wander in the wrong direction we righted ourselves and picked up the bridleway again where is crossed over the conveyor track, which runs between  Brightling and Mountfield Gypsum mines.

On the map, the bridleway continuing southwest-ish through Darwell Woods looks obvious, but the wood is crisscrossed with tracks giving ample opportunity to screw up. As we plodded up hill, I thought that we were making more height than we should have been; the sound of cars gave away the direction of the road we were making for and I realised that we had gone more south than southwest. A turn to the west eventually brought us back on course where the bridleway crosses a road about a quarter of a mile southeast of Cackle Street.

Crossing the road, we continued roughly west and then north of west through Prinkle Wood and then Coblye  and Mansbrook Woods where the path was boggy and the air was filled with midges and horse flies that had me for lunch (ow!). We then climbed gradually towards the road east of Brightling Down. After a short hop south on the road we took the footpath northeast-ish towards Brightling Down and into Upper Plantation. Here I screwed up big time, and instead of taking the footpath northwest towards Great Worge, and convinced I was right, I took the bridleway southwest into lower plantation. This was truly the path from hell - a morass, but foolishly I didn't check the compass - distracted by the sunshie and the sound of turtle doves calling in the thick woodland. When we reached the ford at the bottom of Forge Wood it clicked that we were way off course. I worked out where I thought we were and we soon picked up a footpath that tallied with te map. A bit spooked by my cock-up I opted for a short cut along a track, which didn't quite work out, but after climbing a gate we eventually rejoined the footpath just west of Great Worge.

Not wanting to compound my errors further, we stuck to this path to join the bridleway (a concrete track) just east of Little Worge Farm, which we then followed east-ish to join the road by a great big stone obelisk (one of many follies in this area). We followed the road at a good pace heading northwest and past Perch Hill Farm, home of Sarah Raven's Cutting Garden (as seen on Gardeners' World, etc). Here we were back on more familiar territory, taking a bridelway just after (northeast of) Perch Hill Farm, which led roughly north and down hill via Park Farm into the Dudwell Valley to Batemans, erstwhile home of Rudyard Kipling (zzzzz). Here we joined a road which we followed east for a couple of hundred yards, to pick up a footpath north and uphill back to Burwash, emerging utterly knackered into the car park, from where we had stared 6.5 hours before. An epic walk, glovely walking weather, but absolutely piss-poor nav.

So, that leaves three last comments:

1. I'm going back to to get this route right.
2. Next time I won't wear shorts as I got prickled, stung, and bitten to bits.
3. It rained back in Lewes but not in the High Weald (ha ha).
4. Sorry no photos, I was too busy with the map, I'll try again next time.