It was beautiful weather (as predicted) for this walk, which was a pleasant stroll up over the South Downs, just to the north of Brighton. As the weather was good, we had a picnic rather than go to the pub; also, we did the shorter version of the walk (the longer one was to take in the pub for lunch).

Many thanks to Steve H (not to be confused with regular member Steve K) for an excellent walk. Any comments from those who attended would be welcome.

Steve has asked me to inform you all of a change to the start point of his walk. It will now begin from a point 300 meters west of the original location (new GR is 301 092). Please look at the walks programme for full details.

The walk took place in excellent weather and was most enjoyable. We started from the Onslow Arms pub in Loxwood, where a steam rally was taking place during the day, providing plenty of colour and sound, especially from the organ. The walk took us along the canal for over a mile, before we turned north through the woods, all the way up to the Sussex Border Path. After travelling a short distance down that to the west, we headed south through the fields, eventually arriving back in Loxwood, where we made our way back to the pub for lunch.

As the pub was busy, we were told to expect a wait of up to an hour for the food, but half the order (the two ham, egg and chips) turned up quickly, while the other (the two cod and chips) didn’t appear at all. When we enquired about this, it turned out that the other half of the order had been lost in their computerised ordering system. The cod and chips were then delivered within ten minutes. Oh well, at least we got free drinks as compensation!

The second half of the walk started eventfully, as we came across a stray dog in the woods. Steve leapt to the rescue by calling the number on the dog’s collar. Fortunately, the owners turned out to live not too far away; apparently, the dog had slipped out of the gate (and this had happened a few time before).

The rest of the walk was a pleasant stroll through Ifold and the woodlands to the west of Loxwood, before we re-emerged next to Loxwood Post Office and Shop. In Ifold, Steve insisted on popping into the shop to buy an ice cream; obviously, his attitude to Ramblers’ who have a dessert with their lunch is mellowing!

The next walk is led…by yours truly! We will be starting at 10:30 am on Sunday from the car park of the Onslow Arms pub in Loxwood (GR 042 312 (Explorer map 134)). There is plenty of parking, although it is preferable to put your car in the second “canal” car park if you are not patronising the pub. The walk will be a pleasant 8-miler around the local area. I hope to see as many of you as possible!