Although the forecast (and signs) were not promising, it proved to be good walking weather, although it was a little too muddy under foot in places.

Quite a collection of animals were seen on the walk, including bulls, cows, chicken, deer, geese, horses, peacocks, and swans, although the promised pack of vicious dogs failed to materialise.

In the morning, we had the chance to see the Observatory Science Centre, a collection of six copper-clad domes used to observe the night sky, located to the south of Herstmonceux Castle.

Lunch was at the Bull’s Head pub in Boreham Street. Apparently the landlord had been a bit grumpy when Brenda had tried to reserved some tables at the pub, but we were served by a cheery lady at the bar; also, the food was excellent and very good value (e.g. £6.95 for a Sunday Roast).

The afternoon walk was shorter but enjoyable, and was enlivened by an episode, in which Dave (with the assistance of Katie) attempted to put a fallen scarecrow back up, but Dave only succeeded in knocking its head off…

All in all, it was an enjoyable walk. Any comments are welcome.

The next walk will be on Sunday (30th March) and will be led by Brenda & Su. It starts at 10:00 am, from Herstmonceux village car park off the A271 (Explorer 124, GR 634 125).

Ramblers and members of the public braved the wet & windy weekend weather to show their support for the creation of the South Downs National Park. They attended the 34th South Downs Walk organised by the Ramblers’ Association and the South Downs Campaign. The walk took place very appropriately in the Western Weald, a beautiful area threatened with exclusion from the future national park.

The walk, which started from Milland included the beauty spots of Older Hill & Woolbeding Common. Even in the unfriendly conditions experienced by the walkers, these areas had their own charm and there were stunning views across the common with the South Downs beyond.

The walk was attended by Keith Roberts, the Campaigns Director of the Ramblers’ Association. He said:

I cannot understand why the Inspector of the Inquiry has suggested that this wonderful area should be excluded from the SDNP. It is at least equal in landscape quality to the rest of the Designated National Park. If it is left out there is a real danger that it will lose its AONB status and the protection that gives. The Ramblers’ Association are pressing for the creation of the SDNP without delay, but the Western Weald must be included.

The leader of the walk added:

We have now had 34 of these walks to highlight areas that should be included in the SDNP and approximately 1000 people have taken part.

There will be another walk in this series on Friday 11th April, which will be attended by Tom Franklin, the Chief Executive of the Ramblers’ Association. The exact venue is to be decided, but will again be within the Western Weald. Further details can be obtained from Owen Plunkett on 023 92254959 or by e mailing owen.plunkett@tiscali.co.uk.

Because of the weather, it was agreed to shorten the walk to just the morning, ending at the Smugglers’ Inn. Although visibility was poor up on the Downs, the weather was generally not as bad as it might be.

Any comments on the walk are welcome.

The next walk will be on Sunday (16th March) and will be led by Eric. It starts at 10:00 am, from the Alfriston long stay car park (Explorer 123, GR 521 035). The car park is pay & display. As mentioned in the previous post, Eric would like to make a prompt start to ensure that we find space at the pub.

Eric, the leader of the next walk (on the 16th March), asked me to pass on the following message:

Unfortunately the pub Ram Inn at Firle is fully booked on 16.3.08. They have space for people in the garden no probs. If we arrive early enough we should have space inside the pub. I hope to arrive about 12 noon (ish).

Assuming reasonable weather, the outside of the Ram Inn is a nice place to eat, so this shouldn’t be a big problem.

Steve’s fear that his walk would be poorly attended proved unfounded, as 15 people turned up. This proved slightly inconvenient at lunch, as the pub only had room for ten people reserved inside, so five of us had to sit outside. Fortunately, it was not too cold.

The conditions were excellent for walking: dry, moderate temperature and enough of a breeze to keep us cool. Some of the walkers found the hill on the second half a little tough, but generally the walk was not too hard. At the start of the walk, Steve had announced that the walk probably wasn’t as long as the 10 miles advertised; it was more likely 8 miles. However, according to Dave’s pedometer, the totally distance walked was actually 13 miles!

The food at the pub, the Ram Inn at Firle, was excellent. All in all it was an enjoyable walk.

Any personal comments on the walk would be welcome.