The next walk is this Sunday (3rd August) and will be led by Steve. It is a moderately difficult walk of 9.5 miles, starting at 10.00 am from Robertsbridge Railway Station – GR TQ734 235 (Explorer map 124). There is a pub stop for lunch.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make today’s walk, led by Isobel. However, if you did, and want to make a comment, please leave it here.

A short stretch of bridleway (part of bridleway no. 809) is to be closed for repairs for two consecutive periods: five days from the 26th July, then five days from the 31st July (i.e. 10 days from 26th July – I don’t know what cackhanded bureaucratic process necessitated doing it this way). This bridleway runs along the section of the disused canal to the west of Loxwood and the stretch closed is north of the crossroads by Barberry Bridge.

Again this is all uncontentious, so I have nothing more to add.

Unfortunately, the weather was not great for this otherwise enjoyable walk. We started from the car park south of Washington village, close to the A24, and made a steep ascent onto the downs. At this point the wind was the main worry, but gradually the rain started too. We decided to bypass Chanctonbury Ring, on account of the weather, and head on to the pub, the Gun Inn, in Findon. The village of Findon is located to the west of the second of the titular rings, Cissbury Ring.

The walks programme had listed the lunch stop as pub/picnic, but clearly the former option was more attractive than the latter in the conditions! The food was very good, and reasonably priced, at £10 for a main course and a dessert.

The second part of the walk was not as long, and we returned to the car park in good time.

The weather notwithstanding, it was an enjoyable walk, and many thanks to Katy for leading it.

As a postscript, Katy mentioned at lunch that there were some legends regarding Chanctonbury Ring: something (she thought) to do with walking three times round it backwards resulting in the appearance of some spirits. For those who are interesting in reading more about the two rings, have a look at the following links:

• Chanctonbury Ring
• Cissbury Ring

On Sunday, Katy will be leading the next walk, Chanctonbury & Cissbury Rings. It will start from the cark park at GR 121 119 (Explorer map 121), and will be 8 miles in length. It is down as a pub/picnic, so I presume that both options will be available. I hope to see you all there!

The first communication I have received in my new role as footpath secretary regards the temporary closure of a public footpath (no. 802) and public bridleway (no. 1351) near Loxwood. The closure is for five days from the 30th June, and is to allow repair work to improve the surface of the bridleway.

The footpath leads east from Drungewick Lane, at the point where it passes Drungewick Hill Farm. It meets the bridleway roughly in the middle. The bridleway runs roughly north-south, from the Loxwood Road to Gibbons Mill.

This all seems very uncontentious, so I don’t really have any more to say on the matter.

I have recently taken on the role of a footpath secretary for the Ramblers’ Association in Sussex. I am taking on two parishes in West Sussex: Loxwood, and Wisborough Green. Broadly speaking, a footpath secretary is responsible for monitoring the footpaths within his or her parishes, from the physical condition of the paths to legal matters relating to them.

While many of the parishes in East and West Sussex have a footpath secretary, some do not, and anyone wishing to volunteer to take on one or more vacant parish is more than welcome. Please look at the vacancies page on the main Sussex Area website for a list of the vacant parishes.