3 Go Wild in Chiddingly

3 intrepid hikers set off on a circuitous route around Chiddingly and East Hoathly. The route out was along the Vanguard Way changing at the half way point onto the Weald way for our route home.

The start point was in the grounds of Chiddingly Church and the millennium garden with its circle of wooden carved figurines. The weather was bright with a chilling wind, the previous day had seen a heavy downpour on already sodden ground.


The early going was very tough as the route was partially submerged  and extremely slippery. The walk was mostly flat with a mix of minor roads and arable farmland with its mix of crops and livestock.
In addition, the woodland paths brought relief underfoot and were carpeted in spring flowers.

The Vanguard way was generally well marked although there was a heavy reliance on the map to chart the least damaging routes across the crop-planted fields

Horses were much a recurrent theme throughout the walk which took in live horses, horse graves and headstones and a large expanse of equestrian 'gallops'.

The walk joined up to last weeks route at Bushberry lane where the Vanguard Way gave way to the Wealdway

The first field of ripening rape seed was found to the south of hawkhurst common as the Wealdway moved south away from all local roads for a leg of 2 1/2 miles across country.
The route was initially well marked but soon gave way to the odd smudge of yellow or a white badge with ww on it.
As we neared 'Great wood we saw a stag with a heard of around 20 deer about 400 metres from us. The stag was the first to take cover followed by the remainder of the herd. Weneeded to negotiate our way through woodland as there were no visible route markers and the woodland had been entirely fenced.

After negotiating the woodland the next 2 miles were through the gallops and superb equestrian estate terminated with the Halland to East Hoathly Road. A trip around East Hoathly churchyard brought us to a series of fields that led to the 'Street' and the entrance into Chiddingly village

The walk of 10 miles had taken us 4 hours and a welcome pint was to be found at the very busy Six Bells pub where we had a chance to rest up, rehydrate and 'swing the lantern' whilst recounting tales of days gone by. The weather had been kind to us for which we were grateful and gave further thanks at the font of real ale.

 

Blackboys, Framfield & Bees

The forecast is remaining steady and although the sun was struggling to break through the mist of morning, there was expectations of another warm day brewing. Without too much hesitation the four of us parked up and equipped our back-packs and set off from a small parking bay in a residential area of Blackboys. The walk had been trodden by a couple of us on several previous occasions but we were soon in good pace down through a plot of almost neglected allotments.
The pace however was interrupted by the muddy track and 'kissing gates' which remained water-logged. We crossed over quiet lanes that saw the occasional tractor and delivery van. Horses were less than interested in our progress through the fields.

The sound of birdsong and rushing water from the overfilled Tickerage Stream were the only background accompaniment to our our conversation. Woodpeckers in a nearby copse were the unmistakable sounds that were heard amidst regular barking dogs which guarded the large houses along the route of the lanes.

The marshy fields were still clearly sodden with the previous month's rainfall and careful routes had to be found to ensure safe passage.

We climbed through the wood which had conveniently positioned boardwalks which prevented us losing grip in the mud. At the other end of the small wooded area, we ascended through another field. It was warming up and layers required removing. A brief exchange with a young lad with fishing rod in hand and Labrador by his side gave an indication as to his intentions for the day. An isolated brace of beehives were seen, which at first were considered to be some elaborate type of high risk horse jump that would land horse and rider into a thicket. The heat was getting to us perhaps?

We arrived onto Sandy Lane on the outskirts of Framfield and found our way to the church opposite the Hare & Hounds Pub. We took a break on the seats beneath the Lynchgate of the church and poured beverages from flasks.

Several paths from the graveyard provided momentary confusion to our next route, but soon identified the path we required. Although at first muddy with a trickle of water running down the centre, the final part of the path turned into a very dry sandy track. After coming out into Pump Lane we walked south east, firstly along the lane, then crossing another stile and into a large field with a path which was virtually undefined. It overlooked a large fishing lake, where several tents lined the edge with fisherman baiting their rods for possible bites.

We crossed the B2192 briefly and then into Bushbury Lane and just after a number of houses, followed the wooden signs into another field marked with the Wealdway. This took some navigating, as again the path on the map suggested we traversed directly across the field, however there was no sign of a path and therefore made our own way along tractor treads to the opposite side of the field.
Down through a small gully where a wooden boardwalk once again assisted our ability to reach the opposite side and then into a field where compass readings were directing us more than signposts.

The sound and sight of traffic guided us into Beechy Rd and then Hollow Lane, where we opted to walk rather that trample more marshy tracks. As we turned the next corner there were a couple peppermint beehives, one of which was actively keeping its buzzing residents busy. An orderly line of bees were entering and exiting the hive as the increasing tree blossom was attracting them to collect pollen.

The Blackboys Inn was in sight after coming through Kiln Wood where the promise of wild boar sculptures didn't materialise. Perhaps they had a limited lifespan given their construction of small branches and twigs.
The sun remained bright and warm on our backs as we arrived back at the car and eased boots from our feet whilst congratulating each other in achieving the 6.5 miles in a little over 3 hours.

Chattri & Windmills

This was a good day to walk and although only 3 of us were able to lace up the boots at Ditchling Beacon car park, we were aiming to achieve a long awaited goal. The Chattri Memorial sits overlooking Brighton and was built to remember the Indian soldiers who were hospitalised during the first world war in the Brighton Pavilion and other locations in the area.

But our walk had some initial terrain to encounter as we walked south through fields and wooded copse towards the A27. The sun and the blue sky was a welcome sight as we continued our trek and watched growing sheep in fields that we walked across. We stopped briefly as we watched one sheep who was continuously sneezing. A sight we agreed was an extreme rarity but one that couldn't be caught on camera. The following field had a herd of cattle who occasionally looked up from their grazing to see us trudging through the mud. 

We arrived on the southern most track and made our way westwards to follow the signs.

All the way, we could see the Chattri memorial on the opposite hill, as our appetite increased for both a break and to get up close to see this white symbol standing out amidst the green fields.

A steady climb back across the Downs led us passed small clumps of gorse bushes that were breaking into yellow bloom. As we stopped to take a closer look, we disturbed a small grouse that appeared to be nesting underneath the bush. It flew low across the field as we claimed our 'shoot beaters' credentials.

It was around an hour and half into our walk as we entered the gate into the grounds of the memorial. We read the stone which commemorated soldiers that had died and where their remains were 'committed to fire'.

We walked around the memorial and soaked up the marvel of the view and the positioning of this unique memorial. There was a growing number of clouds that cast shadows over the dome of the memorial. We sat and decanted our flasks and took on some energy snacks to ensure our continued walking pace would not faulter. A few more photos as the sun shone down and we set off as the grey clouds turned darker but with the hope that it would not start raining. The sun remained to shine on nearby hills, and the tracks were muddy and at times puddled wet.

Our next goal was to reach the Jack & Jill windmills, one of which was within sight as we traversed ourselves through another wet gateway. What was apparent however was that the top white wooden part of the windmill was missing. There were a growing number of walkers as we got close to the South Downs Way footpath and a few brief exchanges were provided. The dismantled windmill was now in full view, but just beyond the second proud windmill stood overlooking an amazing view.

We walked around the car park for a few minutes and then returned along the track where we had just walked. Our options for the remaining 2 miles back to the car park were to walk along a closed track. The track had suffered  serious weather damage on the first few hundred metres but could then see where what appeared to be several loads of rubble and broken up chunks of Tarmac had been tipped along another length of the track. We realised it was unfit to use as a bridle way on horseback, however for us mere walkers the adventure was manageable.

A series of Dew Ponds lined the SouthDowns Way as we walked east. As we looked at one of them we saw drops of rain breaking the surface. It was our cue to step up the pace, not that it had ever relaxed through the previous 3 hours, but as we had not come out with waterproofs and with the sky looking more and more threatening, we thought it best to briskly finish the last half mile.

Our final ascent to the summit of the brow in front of us and the car park was in sight. At just over 8.5 miles it was a particularly rewarding and enjoyable walk that perhaps will need to be repeated with others in the group, and when it's a little drier also.