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.