South Downs

I had never been to the South Downs before but by the time I was on the train back home I had begun to wonder what had taken me so long. Less than an hour from London the South Downs extend 70 miles from Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head in the east. It's a massive outcrop of chalk that's popular with walkers and fossil hunters alike.

The initial assent from the village of Hassocks

The plan was to walk the 12 miles or so to the town of Lewes, north of Brighton. This was the best day for being out in the country that we'd had this year with warm sun, a gentle breeze and beautiful, blue skies. We reckoned on there being about 5 hours of actual walking not including stops which turned out to be about right, despite our improvised descent into Lewes.

Cattle drinking from a dew pond

Just when legs were beginning to get tired we found an excellent watering hole and, fully recharged by a tasty pub lunch, the last few miles were soon dealt with. If any Londoners are looking for a quick escape to the country I can highly recommend this particular walk - less than an hour from London, less than £20 train fares and a fairly easy, well signposted walk; it beats another day of traffic and smog.

The view north towards London

Having been frustrated by the recent cloudy weather, it was great to finally get some good shots of the good old English countryside. I'll be putting some shots up on my website and Flickr page in the next few days.