South Downs Way - part II

I've just finished the final leg of the South Downs Way (SDW, 30 th August to 4 th September), five days walking totaling about 100 km or 63 miles. Doug and I met in Amberley (West Sussex) and finished in Eastbourne (East Sussex), the end of the route. If you recall we did the first part from Amberley to Winchester last September. To our amazement we had good weather as last year with only one shower of rain over the whole route.

The first night we stayed at Foxleigh Barn near Amberley directly on the SDW. Amberley is a convenient place to get to with good rail connections to London and the south coast of England. From there we quickly gained the heights of the South Downs to follow the ridge east over grassland and sheep country giving great views to the coast and inland over the Weald. After descending to the A24 road we then climbed again to gain the heights of Chanctonbury Ring Fort (about 238 m). Here we found a Dew Pond to have lunch (where the photo below was taken towards the " Ring"). We came across many Dew Ponds on our route as they are watering hollows made in the chalk landscape to store water for animals. They were traditional lined with clay to keep rainwater from permeating through the chalk fissures but today, the modern equivalents have a sandwich of straw and plastic to hold the water. Some had become disused and full of grass and soil whilst others seemed to be well maintained and used by the sheep and cattle. It was near here that we met some Indian tourists who wanted to see and photo some sheep so we were able to direct them to an adjacent field full of sheep; they'd definitely come to the right place!

View to "Chanctonbury Ring" and Hill Fort from near the a Dew pond, our stop for lunch on 31 st August, our first day of the walk.

An example of one of the many Dew Ponds we came across, this one is Burnt House Dew Pond we passed on the 2nd September.

After this we diverted on the Monarch's Way to the village of Bramber staying at the Castle Inn just before the bridge that crosses the River Adur. One of the locals told us it had been very misty for most of the day and they hadn't seen the biplanes from the Shoreham air display that we'd watched from the Downs for most of the day.

The following morning started fine but soon clouded over and began to drizzle as we climbed back on to the Downs and made our way east to Truleigh Hill (216 m) where we had morning tea outside the Youth Hostel. This year I carried a stove and two cups to make Darjeeling tea as we passed the day, such comforts!

Tea break outside the YHA Truleigh Hill just after a shower of rain, the only rain of the trip. There is a water tap here.

The SDW does have marked water points where you can refill with potable water. We managed to have one about midpoint of each of the first four days.

A welcome water tap on route, these are mentioned in the guide book.

Continuing on the ridge over several minor hills we reached "Devil's Dike" one of the larger combes (sometimes spelt coombe or coomb) of the Downs together with a pub connected by road to the valleys and Brighton (with a frequent bus service!). Here we passed a moment with a refreshment in the pub before heading to find a sheltered spot to eat our sandwiches. The SDW then took us down to Saddlecombe to climb over West Hill (211 m) and then descended towards Pyecombe to find a track north to Clayton and the Jack and Jill pub on the A27 road. This track proved very muddy at the northern end but brought us close to the rear of the Inn and within sight of the Jack and Jill windmills above the village of Clayton. The proprietor promised sandwiches for the morning and a cooked breakfast to set us up for another day on the hills.

The following day was a little misty to start with but soon cleared as we approached "Keymer Post", the boundary between West and East Sussex County. From there it was a short walk to the highest point in Sussex, "Ditchling Beacon" at 248 m altitude. Soon after this we got our first views of the white cliffs on the coast that lead to the "Seven Sisters" and also the river estuaries. We met some friends at "Blackcap" who completed the walk for the day, descending to Housedean Farm and our accommodation nearby at Newmarket Inn near the A27.

First sight of the Chalk Cliffs on 2nd September from "Balmer Down" near "Ditchling Beacon", an agricultural landscape and still with lots of sheep grazing.

 The following day was one of our longer days about 16 miles (26 km)  as we again climbed back up to the Downs around Cold Coombe making tracks to the south-east  to meet the road to the village of Rodmel. We continued to Southease and the River Ouse valley. There is a English Heritage Swing Bridge over the Ouse that has recently been refurbished (2010) costing something like £1.7 m. Here we decided to contemplate the mechanism whilst eating lunch sheltered from the slight wind from the east.

Southease village green on the road to the Swing Bridge over the River Ouse. The village once had a thriving fishing trade. The village church, also next to the green, dates back over a thousand years.

Our guidebook warned us that there was a water point in the vicinity of Itford farm on the other side of the railway. It didn't mention that there was a Youth Hostel and canteen (together with water point!) so we were able to get an ice cream as desert to our lunch and take another break! The Hostel at Itford Farm is relatively new (opened by the Queen in October 2013) and apart from accommodation in the buildings, has some camping pods so worth knowing about for any future visits as there is little accommodation in this area so close to the SDW. Anyway, we still had a fair walk to do and climbed again onto the Downs and passed more Dew Ponds near Itford Hill where we watched a rider exercising their horse on the open down-land.

The next section was a great walk along the ridge of the Downs with the Low Weald to the north and of course views to the coast. At the end of the day, it seemed a long walk to descend into the valley to Alfriston and our Bed and Breakfast accommodation ("Chesnuts Cottages"). This is a quaint village with three pubs (I think, although we only went for a meal in the "Ye Olde Smugglers Inne") with plenty of places to stay and eat.

Cathedral of the "Downs" in Alfriston village on the morning of our last day. The early morning sunshine gave promise of  a great walking day.

We awoke to a bright morning and the prospects of our final day on the trail. This was perhaps our most varied day on the walk as it involved a river side stroll along the Cuckmere river towards the estuary, then a climb through woods on the valley side before a stiff climb over the "Seven Sisters" with views of the Channel (and France on a clearer day!) to reach "Beachy Head" before descending into Eastbourne.  The guidebook said it was 10.5 miles in total but the signs on route indicated it was 13 miles. My GPS confirmed it was nearer 14 miles (22 km), this is 3 miles to Exceat and 11 miles for the rest of the way. I reset my GPS at Exceat and when we reached Eastbourne it indicated a total ascent of  560 m (this excludes the hills before Exceat). So beware, all is not what it seems! Above Exceat we had great views of the valley and the meandering river towards the estuary as we drank our morning tea.

The sea at last as we leave the Cuckmere Estuary to climb the start of the "Seven Sisters" cliffs to Eastbourne.

The walk over the "Seven Sisters" was easy enough with again views in every direction reminding me of the South West Coastal Path. We descended at one point to Birling Gap for a drink at a cafeteria before leaving the car park (again serviced by buses from Eastbourne) to ascend to get views of the lighthouses and the final obstacle before Eastbourne. We stopped at "Beachy Head" to eat our lemon drizzle cake supplied with our sandwiches and chat with a volunteer who was watching for possible suicide attempts; I hope she didn't mistake us for them. Here we heard lots of German voices and teenagers enjoying the sunshine and open air, possibly language students resident in Eastbourne.

Looking back over to part of the "Seven Sisters", the chalk cliffs in East Sussex. In the foreground is " Birling Gap" with tour buses and refreshments. We met lots of German students touring the area.

"Beachy Head" lighthouse in the distance and also our last climb of the walk to "Beachy Head"itself before descending to Eastbourne.

The rest of the way was straight forward, down hill over down-land and through woodland before a steep descent into the town to find our bed for the night at "The Sheldon", very pleasant with a good choice for breakfast before our separate journeys home. We finished our trip with  pleasant curry meal and stroll along the promenade. The pier had recently had a fire and was closed but should be open soon. Judging from the evening stroll, Eastbourne is popular with foreign students and pensioners (not to mention hikers and cyclist, probably also in both age categories!).

Our destination and end of the trek in sight as we approach the beaches of  Eastbourne.

Well to finish, this is a pleasant walk, the first section in the west is less frequented than the east (mainly I suspect because of the poorer road access) and there are places where accommodation is not available, so planning can be important. My favorite days were the last two days because they were the most varied, although as I said, the most populated. Weekends can get busy with cyclists so if you have an aversion to being overtaken at speed, avoid weekends! Having said this, last year on the western section at the same time of year, we only met a handful of people on The Way (as we got to call the route) over five days. Needless to say the route is well marked but an OS Explorer map is needed to find accommodation/campsites and paths to and from The Way and also identify distant features inland and along the coast..