The Southdowns Way

 I set off at 8am and immediately had a long steady climb up Castle Hill. It was a sunny start but the cloud drew in at 9am. There were some great nice views from the hill, looking down on Lewes.  There were a few other walkers/runners/cyclists on the downs, but nothing too busy. The escarpment had some lovely views across the Ouse Valley.  After dropping down into the valley and crossing the river/railway I came across the Lewes Youth Hostel, which thankfully had a cafe.  I had a 50 minute break, giving me time to eat a breakfast bap and drink two cups of coffee!  After that pick-me-up, there was a stiff climb up Itford Hill, but that gave you views over Newhaven.  After that ascent, there was a lot of walking on undulating downs, but no serious climbs.  The breeze began to pick up and I decided to make haste to Alfriston before the rain arrived.  Alfriston is easily the prettiest village on the South Downs Way.  Due to the forecasted strong...

 I had a rubbish night’s sleep. From about 9pm through to 2am, we had heavy showers. I had earplugs in, but the sound of the rain hammering on the tent was so loud, it kept me awake. Then when I finally did drop off, I dropped off the edge of my inflatable mattress, because the camping field was on a slope!  I was wide awake at 7am, so got up. I had a cooked breakfast in the Youth Hostel, but just as I was finishing that, torrential rain set in for an hour or so.  I set off just before 10am, and had quite a few ups and downs before I reached Devils Dyke.  The views north were pretty spectacular.  Devils Dyke used to be quite a tourist attraction in the late 1800’s with a cable car across the valley, but that has long since gone.  After that it was a gentle descent to Saddlescombe, where I stumbled across a rustic cafe, which was welcome relief just as the heavens opened. I had a cup of coffee and rested my feet for 10 minutes, before a beastly climb up West...

 After a break of 10 weeks, I’ve decided to have another attempt to complete the South Downs Way.  I got up at 5am and after a bus ride and 3 trains, I reached Amberley Station at 9:20 (the place where I abandoned last time).  I immediately set off on the path and had a stiff climb up Rackham Hill (190m climb / 620ft), with views back down to Amberley village.  The first couple of hours walking were very pleasant. There was a gentle breeze and sunny spells. The path ran on a fairly level elevation and was very quiet. I only had the odd cow for company!  However, just after I dropped down to cross the A24 dual carriageway at Washington, I had my first soaking when a heavy shower snuck up on me!  To compensate, I came across a ‘burger van’ with covered seating, so I stopped and had a coffee and burger. It wasn’t top cuisine, but gave me the calories that I needed, to climb the steep hill up to Chanctonbury Ring. I timed it perfectly, because the next heavy sh...

 I woke at the crack of dawn and got up at 5am. I packed up and was out on the trail by 5:45. It was overcast and once again, very humid.  Almost immediately, my feet and shoulders began to ache and I knew I was in for a tough morning.  The SDW took me onto Graffham Down, which was a large woodland nature reserve, interspersed with some lovely wildflower meadows.  I stopped at the edge of the reserve and had a dehydrated cook in the bag pasta bolognaise for breakfast, which was quite disgusting!  After that assault on the tastebuds, the path descended towards the A285 at Littleton Farm before a beastly long climb up onto Sutton Down. There were far reaching views at the top towards the south coast and Worthing. I really began to struggle with the humidity and kept having to stop to rest my feet, which felt like they were on fire! The path was rough flinty gravel, which is quite tough on the feet!  The sweat was pouring out of me faster than I could pour wat...

 I got back to my campsite at 9:45 last night and went straight to bed. I was anticipating falling straight to sleep after all of yesterday’s exertions, but for some reason, my brain was still ‘wired up’. I was buzzing and it felt like I’d drank several strong coffees just before going to bed. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well and I got up at 6:15 totally un-refreshed!  By the time I’d packed away my tent etc, it was 7:30 and I set off to walk up the hill from East Meon, to join up with the SDW.  It was a misty start and incredibly humid, so despite not being that warm, I was a sweaty mess in no time!  After re-joining the path, I headed over to Butser Hill, where there should have been a fantastic view, but due to the mist, I saw nothing! I dropped down to the Queen Elizabeth Country Park, which was really busy with sporty looking people. It transpired that not only was it the location of a Park Run, but there was also an ultra-endurance running event taking plac...

 Welcome to my new blog. As the title suggests, I am walking the South Downs Way ( SDW).  For those of you that don’t know, the SDW is a 100 mile trail through the South Downs National Park, between Winchester and Eastbourne.  People generally walk west to east, because you have the spectacular Chalk Cliffs at Beachy Head to finish the walk!  Therefore, I set off early this morning and travelled by train to Winchester, where I started the official route at 09:15.  Unfortunately, the plaque denoting the start is situated behind iron railings at Winchester Mill, which was closed at that time of morning, so a picture of the nearby bridge will have to suffice!  The path wasn’t particularly well signposted out of the city centre, but I managed to map read my way out and crossed the M3 motorway and was in open countryside quite quickly!  I made good progress and walked the first 7 miles in two hours. I reached Holden Farm, which had a wonderful cafe/campsite...