Day 3

 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 water down my throat. 

It was a case of walk a mile, stop for a rest, walk another mile, stop for a rest and so on. 

Eventually, Amberley Station came into view


, like an oasis and I made my way down to the Riverside Tea Rooms.

By the time I got there (11:00), I was completely shattered. The sun had begun to break through the clouds and the temperature shot up. 

I had a late breakfast and a large coffee. 

I have another 8 miles to walk to the next available campsite. I’m not sure I have another 8 miles left in me, due to the heat & humidity. Tomorrow and Tuesday are supposed to be even hotter! 

Amberley is roughly half way on the SDW and it has a train station.


I have therefore decided to listen to my body and call it quits for the time being. There is no point making myself ill just to complete a challenge. This is supposed to be a pleasurable experience after all! 

I will return to complete the second half, as soon as the weather permits! 

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