The Mud and the Mist

5 am. I’m sitting on the train to Lewes. Although it is cold and there is a drizzle, I decided to walk the next part of my South Downs Way adventure. Today it will take me on a walk of about 20 km from Lewes via Ditchling Beacon, the highest point of the South Downs Way in East Sussex, to Brighton. It is still pitch black outside. I’m in a good mood, but feel a bit nervous, as it is my first major walk after this long winter. Actually, the winter isn’t over yet. I hope the winds on the Downs won’t be too strong, so I will be able to take some good photographs.

5.47 am. One patch of the sky is really beautiful. All clouds, but with a soft, reddish light shining through them. The day might even turn out just fine.

6 am. Arrival at Lewes. My walk starts here. It is a bit of a struggle to find my way out of town, but once I pass the prison, I am out in the open countryside. The path is steadily leading uphill. In some parts the mud is so deep, it almost reaches my knees. I’m on my own. No one is around. Just me, the sheep and the views over a misty valley. There are still some tiny patches of snow along the way which shows that we are really having a harsh winter.

I reach Blackcap, a local nature reserve owned by the National Trust. The views from up here would be spectacular, if there wasn’t the thick mist lying over it. Still, it is quite impressive, somehow dream-like. This area is supposed to be full of wildlife. I read about Blue Tits and Common Chaffinches living in the thickets, grazing Exmoor Ponies and Roe Deer as well as Carrion Crows flying overhead. But, apart from a few rabbits, I don’t see any wildlife.

Time for a little break. I stop at a triangulation point, but the wind is too cold to sit down. So I just take a couple of photos and walk on.

Triangulation point at Blackcap

The mist is getting thicker. Crows are watching me as I make my way along windswept trees further uphill. Ditchling Beacon shouldn’t be too far away now.

What a change! My path is not going through the middle of a field full of bulls. They are fenced in and I walk along the other side of the fence. From this position they seem to be quite friendly animals, but every time I had to walk through a crowd of them before, it was a little bit, well to be honest, quite scary.

Some cyclists ride past me. They don’t get very far. The mud is just too deep and they are giving up, returning to where they came from.

The Sun is trying her best now, but the mist and the bitterly cold wind is preventing her from sending me some much needed warmth. Ditchling Beacon is in sight now. Just a few more minutes and I’m up there.

It’s a shame, that it is absolutely impossible to take a few good shots here. The wind is too strong and the view is not good either. Anyway, Ditchling Beacon is fabulous with a long history reaching back to the Bronze Age when there was a hill fort standing here which was still visible up to the 1940’s when ploughing destroyed it. Today Ditchling Beacon is managed by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and grazing has been re-introduced to the area. This helped restoring and maintaining the chalk grassland which is one of the rarest habitats in Western Europe.

The wind is getting stronger and colder. I’m wearing gloves and a hat. It just doesn’t seem to be enough. This isn’t a good day for photography. It isn’t even a good day for walking. Still, the walk does me good and, whilst walking on, I’m planning my next walks.

I’m leaving the South Downs Way now. The Sussex Border Path will bring me down to Brighton. Accompanied by the sound of sucking mud I walk downhill and suddenly, I’m up for a surprise. What’s standing there in the middle of nowhere? It’s an Indian War Memorial.

The Chattri War Memorial is situated 150m above Brighton and can only be accessed by bridleway. Some Indian soldiers who fought for the British Empire in World War I were cremated here. It is an absolutely exciting place. Despite my frozen fingers I unpack my camera and take many photos of the place. Wow, now the long walk finally turns into a photo walk which it was intended to be in the first place.

The Chattri War Memorial

To avoid walking through the city, I take a path along the main road and get to Stanmer Park which is really nice with the little village of Stanmer located in it. From there I have to walk only a few minutes to get to Falmer Railway Station from where I take my train back to Hastings.

I walked for 7 ½ hours, almost without having a break. After processing the photos, I kept 22 of them. A couple will be up on my websites soon.

All in all I had a nice day although it was very cold. It made me hungry for more and I will continue my walk on the South Downs Way pretty soon.

 

Thanks for reading.