Through Britain

My train to Brighton from Blackfriars Station was at 9.39.  I was ready to go quite early so I walked alongside the Thames to the station from home.  The main line station straddles the bridge over the Thames.  It's spectacular but still contrives to be a cheerless place.  There's nowhere to sit until one's ticket allows one through the barrier to sit on the platform.  Toilets were closed apart from a few cubicles available to both sexes.  Trains arrived every few minutes mostly heading for the south east.  

It was a day of brilliant sunlight and freezing cold.  I walked from Brighton Station down to Palace Pier so as to start from the coast and from the same spot as Around Britain.  From there I headed north past Brighton Pavilion looking strikingly exotic among more conventional architecture.  I reached a large church with a tower where the main roads turned east and west.  I turned left (west) to pass under a high viaduct carrying the railway.  I'd imagined walking to Hassocks Station but this thought dissolved as I neared the decision point.  In residential streets climbing above the city behind me I crossed the A23 to reach Preston Park Station.  It was a start albeit a modest one.  To reach Hassocks over the Downs near their highest point becomes more manageable now in these short daylight hours.

Distance 2.73 miles.  

I was convinced my train from Victoria Station was at 9.56 a.m. In fact it was 9.46 a.m. so I missed it and had to buy a second ticket for the same journey. The day was cold and cloudy with intermittent sun but no rain was forecast. Relying on this I set off from Preston Park Station with a light pack.

I made a significant error early on. I turned right off the A23 too soon and passed Withdean Hall. Instead of heading north to cross the A27 as intended I went eastwards to reach open land occupied by a golf course. Nearby was Hollingbury Hillfort. Pottery unearthed there suggests occupation between 450 and 250 B.C. I followed the road heading north beside this open land until I reached the A27, crossing it on a bridge to join a minor but still busy road. I ignored the road heading north to Ditchling Beacon and, at a roundabout adjacent to another bridge over the A27, I joined a track heading westwards running parallel to the A27. There was no one else using it apart from a runner who went by just before I left it.

I was looking out for the road shown on my map heading north when I came upon St. Michael's Travellers Site not shown on my old map. My internet search indicated a heavy police presence when Council Officials and the R.S.P.C.A went in to investigate breaches of regulations and poor treatment of animals. The area around this was thickly carpeted with discarded tins, bottles and other rubbish. I reached the road I wanted and the Sussex border path immediately branched off to the left of it. It's clear marking on the map is not replicated on the ground. Only a subtle change in the colour of grass trampled by many feet led me onwards. A distant finger post also helped. I looked towards a white dome supported by columns below the path to my right. This was the Chattri Memorial commemorating 53 Indian soldiers who died in the First World War and were cremated nearby.

I caught glimpses of the Jack and Jill windmills to my left before reaching the South Downs Way. I turned right to find a fingerpost directing me to a steep descent towards Hassocks. This led me to minor road. I turned right then left to reach the B2112. This I crossed to reach Keymer which merges into Hassocks. I turned left to pass through a residential area. When I joined the B2116 I was in the shopping area. Hassocks station was at the far end of the shops. I waited there for my 1702 train back to London.

Distance today 9.69 miles; total 12.42.

A fine Spring day.  I took the train from London Victoria to Hassocks.  I then walked along the B2116 to Ditchling through Keymer.  At Ditchling I sought the Sussex Border Path through back streets.  Once on it, at a path junction, the only Border Path arrow directed me back into Ditchling so I consulted an elderly couple out walking who lived locally.  Their instructions put me onto a path heading north towards Burgess Hill but not for long.  I was soon on the B2112 with possible alternatives hidden in a newish housing estate.

The road had a wide grassy verge with the semblance of a track.  I passed Nottcutts offering Afternoon Tea at £19.95.  The verge narrowed but I was able to escape onto the far side of the roadside hedge through a stile.  This was now pleasant walking on a gentle incline upwards.  At the crest the road that I was soon to take was revealed by its traffic.  The B2112 crossed above a railway and then I made my way over Ditchling Common to join the road I wanted.   

I passed Ditchling Common Industrial Estate and, leaving the road, I took a woodland path which led me back to the Industrial Estate.  I turned round and reached a bridleway leading to Wivelsfield Green.  I actually wanted Wivelsfield but the two are less than a mile apart.  I was now walking through a superb mature woodland, still leafless.  The whole time I was in that wood I saw no one, although I was on a path clearly used.  A couple of simple flat bridges saw me over waterless waterways.  I did sometimes wonder whether I was on course as there were no landmarks to check my progress. 

Then I saw in the distance a roof covered with solar panels and a parked car barely visible through the trees.  I encountered a youngish man walking his dog.  He confirmed that I was approaching Wivelsfield.  I showed him on my map the road I wanted to take me on to Haywards Heath.  He told me it was Slugwash Lane.  Following his directions I found it easily.  The road brought back memories of stays with my grandparents in their house, Earldoms, on Lewes Road on the outskirts of Haywards Heath.  Slugwash Lane joined Lewes Road but of my grandparents house there was no sign.  It had had an enormous garden.  I believe it more than likely that the house was demolished and that the grounds now accommodate a housing estate.

Slugwash Lane was very scenic and not much disturbed by traffic.  On reaching Lewes Road I walked along it towards the Town Centre of Haywards Heath.  An elderly man walking along the same pavement as myself but in the opposite direction said “Thank you” as he passed me.  Rarely has gratitude been so undeserved.  Maybe my appearance led him to fear that I'd push him into the road and he was thanking me for not doing so.  I enjoyed a drinking chocolate in the station cafe and then waited for the train back to London Victoria.   

Distance today 10.63 miles; total 23.05. 

I went wrong immediately upon leaving Haywards Heath Station. From the first I was sceptical that I'd made the right choice. At a roundabout all destinations indicated were to the south. I was able to turn round without losing much time.

The Ardingly road held its pavement until I passed the final dwelling. Then I experienced the usual traffic dodging but there really was no alternative. The road crossed the River Ouse and I went past the Heidelberg plant dispensing asphalt on a Collect and Go basis. I reached Ardingly College, a co-educational public school founded in the mid-nineteenth century by the Reverend Nathaniel Woodard. He also founded Lancing and Hurstpierpoint Colleges. The school enjoyed extensive grounds for all its sporting activities.

In Ardingly I turned towards the church. My intention was to cross the Ardingly reservoir on the road bridge marked on my OS map. I chose what I decided was the correct road from the church. The road deteriorated until it became a track unsuitable for motor vehicles. I felt committed to this route and persevered even when it deteriorated still further to become an earthen path leading down to the reservoir's edge. I consulted another walker about the bridge but he proved to be as unfamiliar with the area as myself. I saw that I was close to a dam which prevented the water from cascading down into a valley were visitors' cars were parked.

After walking over this dam to get round the southern edge of the reservoir, I faced a dilemma. The road bridge would have connected me to back roads heading north. Now I was cut off from those roads by an arm of the reservoir. I decided to make for Balcombe and took a well established path away from the reservoir. On this path I met two groups of teenagers carrying packs. They told me they had come from Haywards Heath that day. This meant that I was headed back to my starting point.

I heard a train and in the distance I could see the high railway viaduct north of Haywards Heath. My map showed a road to Balcombe on my side of the viaduct so I left the path heading westwards. The going was easy with a welcome absence of blocking hedges, water, deep ditches and barbed wire fences. On reaching the Balcombe road I found that it had an intermittent rough track over its grassy verge.

At Balcombe I was briefly tempted by the station but I could see a way back to the intended route so I dismissed such negative thoughts. I left Balcombe on the B2028 heading north. At Kelsey House I took a Public Footpath through a field of sheep and soon joined a stronger path through woodland forming part of the Paddockhurst Estate. Just before reaching the back road, a noticeboard proclaimed that deer might be stalked in the woods at any time by persons carrying rifles. I'd heard no shooting in the woods.

The back road was in an area lightly populated with the occasional farm being the only buildings. I reached the B2110, turned right and soon came to Worth Abbey. This is a Benedictene Monastery. The monks attend six church services a day and are committed to a celibate life. They eat two simple meals a day without expensive food such as meat. They are instructed that they should not spend time talking to each other. The values embedded in the Rule of Benedict focus on Community, Hospitality, Respect, Stewardship and Love of Learning. Its interesting that such a way of life should survive in the modern world. Next door to the Abbey is Worth School which is influenced by the benedictene tradition.

Just beyond the school I came upon the footpath I was seeking. The map led me to believe that the path would take me to a minor road entering Crawley from the east. Instead it veered to the left and arrived at Junction 10A of the M23. I reached a slip road to the motorway but couldn't see a way across. I retraced my steps to find the couple with two energetic labradors I'd passed shortly beforehand. The man kindly showed me to a bridge over the motorway.

I now entered Crawley on the B2036 and, with the help of Google maps, I made it to Three Bridges Station. A train arrived as soon as I reached the platform and bore me back to London Victoria.

Distance today 16.25 miles; total 39.27.