Coldingham Bay and St Abbs Head

St Abbs Lighthouse

The last of our summertime walks and I've only just got around to writing it up!  The main problem with living where we do is that summer lasts all the time and we don't have the clues of weather changing to tell us how much time has elapsed.  Hence me getting round to this some four months after we walked it!  We swapped France for southern Scotland for one of the later weeks of our summer in the UK.  We had fond memories of a holiday in this part of the world a couple of years ago and wanted to explore some more in this area.  This is walk number 13 from the Pathfinder Guide Northumberland and Scottish Borders Walks.  We were joined on this walk by some old friends that we had traveled to this part of the country to be with and this turned out to be our first activity together.

Coldingham Bay

We started our walk at the small grassy car park at Coldingham Bay, which was already pretty packed with day trippers in spite of the relatively poor weather.  As we wandered down to the beach it was pretty clear why it was so popular as it was dog friendly and a place for surfers.  We skirted around the back of the beach alongside some good looking beach huts that were also seeing plenty of use on a gloomy looking day. As we went across the beach something interesting caught my eye - it was a large bin made from pallets that acted as a beach toy exchange.  A pretty good idea if you ask me - must be quite a lot of plastic buckets and spades that are lost which could still be used rather than being binned.

Beach Toy Exchange

We climbed the steps up on to the cliffs and walked along the flat ledge like cliff line to St Abbs, a small fishing village just a mile from our starting point.  Unlike some cliff top walks this one was almost entirely flat with no undulation along the way.  The weather sadly was still pretty gloomy although the early morning rain had eased off.  Sadly it didn't make for particularly good views but when we got to St Abbs village.  Our first contact was with a very handsome looking white house on the clifftop.  We passed down the side of it into the village proper which was hidden behind the headland.  Scotland it may be but the fishing village looked very similar to those that I know so well down in Cornwall.  The buildings are a little different in this part of the world but the layout of the village was very much the same.

Surfing Weather

We found our way to the bottom of the hill and the quayside.  It was quite the hive of activity with diving teams getting ready for trips out and some work going on the local lifeboat.  Unusually this is an independent lifeboat as the RNLI no longer support the boat or station here, having withdrawn their vessel in 2015.  The villagers decided to stump up the necessary funds and have gone it alone, much to the relief of the many dive crews who visit the nearby marine nature reserve.

White House In St Abbs

After loitering on the harbour for a while we headed back up to higher ground and stopped briefly in the visitor centre at the top of the village.  Outside was a sign proclaiming that the village is twinned with New Asgard, a reference to the fact that scenes for the Marvel Studios film Avengers:Endgame were filmed here.  It was certainly significant to my daughters - they loved that the were on set.  Also outside the visitor centre was a small bronze memorial to victims of the so-called Eyemouth Disaster, a windstorm that claimed the lives of 189 people in the surrounding villages of the nearby town of Eyemouth in October 1881.  A much bigger memorial is placed on the seafront there, illustrating the relative death toll in the various places affected.  This disaster quite simply sucked the life out of these villages since most of the victims were fishermen at sea, leaving scores of widows and children behind as depicted in the sculptures.

St Abbs Terrace

We left the village behind and resumed our route along the clifftops.  This time we had a little climbing to do although considering how wild the coast looked it wasn't quite as tough going as we might have expected.  As we got to the top of Bell Hill we had a pretty decent view of St Abbs behind.  Of perhaps more interest though were the colonies of seabirds perched on the  cliffs below us.  The cacophony of noise was quite something too.  With the sound of seagulls screeching in our ears we dropped down into a valley below where we stopped at the beach of Horsecastle Bay.  We lingered here for a bit and enjoyed the sea at level for the last time on this walk before starting the climb up on to St Abbs Head.

Lifeboat Station

As we got to the top we had a brief appearance of sunshine which was quite a treat  St Abbs Lighthouse soon greeted us.  This lighthouse was built in 1862 and was automated in 1993.  As with so many other lighthouses it is possible to stay in holiday accommodation here.  Indeed we almost did but opted for a more convenient one in Eyemouth instead.  Having climbed up here our accompanying kids were tired and so we sat and enjoyed the view for some time before moving on. We watched the relative peace and quiet of watching the passing container ships finding their way through the sea fret like conditions offshore.

Twinning

Further on and it definitely wasn't peaceful as we came across another seabird colony.  Apparently this one is 60,000 strong and it certainly sounded like it.  Mostly they were kittiwakes although we could also see fulmars and herring gulls.  Supposedly puffins are here too but we didn't manage to see any on this occasion.  How the kittiwakes manage to cling to the cliff side is beyond me.  It cannot be a very comfortable existence although I suppose the eggs are mostly safe from predators.

Eyemouth Disaster Memorial

As we rounded the head we got the most magnificent view along a cloud shrouded coastline.  The Berwickshire coast must surely be up there with the most heralded coastlines in Britain and yet somehow you never seem to hear about it.  I was certainly glad that we had made the effort to come and look for ourselves.  The path wasn't very distinct here but luckily we could see where we were going to go by virtue of the large loch in the valley.  We scrambled down the steep path and headed for the corner where we found the path that headed parallel with the shore, albeit higher up.  Ironically because of the tree cover it wasn't actually very easy to see the water most of the time.

Looking Back to St Abbs

The way back was generally a lot less interesting than the way out which is sadly often true with coastal walks that are circular.  However there were a couple of interesting features as we crossed the fields - a memorial woodland that had now actually grown to the size it was intended.  It looks natural enough showing some vision on the part of the planters.  We also saw a huge number of butterflies, mostly red admirals and painted ladies.  Apparently there was a glut of both during the summer, particularly the latter.

St Abbs Head Seabird Colony

Before returning to the village of St Abbs we managed to find a teashop in a National Trust for Scotland visitor centre.  There were some craft workshops here too and it made for a good pitstop before tackling the last mile of the walk.  We went through the top of the village once again and along the Creel Road, an  ancient trackway that was used by fishermen to transport lobsters (creel is another word for lobster).  It was an alternative route to the clifftop path we had used earlier and we landed up in the car park almost without noticing.

Mire Loch

This was a path that deserved a better day than it got but there was something to be said about its moodiness.  As coastal walks go it wasn't especially challenging and as said before it does suffer a bit from having to complete a loop via an inland route.  The teashop towards the end was a welcome relief and the dockside activities at St Abbs definitely appealed to my children.  A pleasing walk that I think could be unforgettable in the right weather conditions.

Painted Ladies

Rouen Country Walk

St Catherine's Viewpoint

This 11km walk is also available from the tourism office in Rouen and allows you to escape from the city centre into the surrounding countryside and overlook the Seine at the end.  Much like the other Rouen walk that we did this one starts at the Cathedral/ Tourist Office.  I walked down the Rue St Romain and past the Joan of Arc museum and across the road and past the Saint Maclou Church.  I was lucky enough to have picked an excellent day to do the walk - we were really lucky with plenty of sunshine during our week's stay.  I chose a time late in the afternoon to go out and as I passed by the market and restaurants and cafes there were plenty of people about, either packing up the stalls for the day or sitting outside on the pavement.  In fact it was surprising how busy the cafes were considering it was relatively early in the week.  I couldn't imagine scenes like this in Britain.

St MacLou Church

As I headed away from the main churches the historic centre petered out and I walked along a street that was far more modern in character.  At the far end of the street I turned left and crossed the road where I walked briefly along a disused looking railway line that appeared to serve the port.  Judging by the shiny rails it still gets used so I assume that it sees the odd working?  The trains must look pretty big in this environment though - the line was almost like a tramway through the streets.  As the line diverged to the right I kept ahead through the grounds of the local hospital and then under the bridge of a busy main road.  I turned right past the fire station and found myself in the grounds of a sports stadium.  This wasn't the nicest stretch of walk it has to be said but bear with me - the last quarter of a mile or so was necessary for positioning.  The onward stretch was far more enjoyable and rather surprising.

Baseball

I looped around the sports complex, where unusually baseball seemed to be a popular sport.  I had no idea that the French played baseball but it certainly seemed popular at this club.  As I looped around the sports pitches I came upon a narrow waterway that I took to be some form of canal.  I learned later that it was more of an industrial river constructed to drive the machinery in the mills, mostly to manufacture food products and textiles.  It is also possible to walk the entire length of the waterway although it is only about 3km in length.  This section probably covers the highlights of the route.  I was soon high above a community garden that looked well cared for although the produce in the plots was still some way from being ready for harvest.  The path alongside the waterway was pretty busy with runners and cyclists and its leafy nature certainly lent itself to this kind of activity even on a hot sunny day.

Petite Eaux De Robec

As with so many of these kinds of waterways there is a corridor of countryside that follows them that seems insulated by the surroundings.  Even though it was still hemmed in by urban housing the tranquility of the towpath was very much like this.  The only interruption was when a train clattered over the bridge that I soon passed under.  Above me looked like a fairly complex railway between lines heading to Paris, Amiens and the local docks line that I had seen earlier.  Not far beyond was a relic of the former industrial times, Le Moulins Des Dames De St Amand (The mill of the two ladies of St Amand).  This former mill still has a working water wheel that is used for demonstrations of grinding corn.  The rest of the building looks like it has been turned into upscale apartments.

Former Mill

I really enjoyed this section of walk - it was easy to follow and the restoration of all the buildings had been done sensitively by keeping all the historic details even where in some cases the nature of the building's use had changed significantly.  It was not just the mill I saw before but others further on.  There was even a second with a water wheel although I am not sure it was still working in this instance.  For a while the waterway took on the appearance of an industrial canal of more modern vintage as we passed by a rather concrete slab of a building.  It wasn't industrial in this case although it resembled one - it was rather surprisingly a boxing gym.

Water Wheel

The next mill has become a museum open mostly at weekends.  There weren't any  visitors when I passed by but there were a few blokes tinkering around and there was quite a lot of random stuff including a miniature steam locomotive parked in the front yard of the mill.  I got a birds eye view of it courtesy of the height differential between mill and waterway path.  I also had to switch sides here, crossing a small bridge and continuing on past some more vintage industrial buildings that looked as if they were still in use.  I lost the waterway here as it disappeared behind another waterwheel never to be seen again.  I continued along the road and turned right at the next junction where I was confronted with a rather unusual church, St Pierre in Carville.  This church has two separate parts - a Gothic tower and another part that was built slightly away from the tower following a fire in 1562 during the Wars of Religion.  Sadly the whole church is now closed due to the roof  not being watertight.  It looks rather sorry for itself - hopefully one day it might be restored.

Moulin St Gilles

I crossed a very busy main road and headed through the village-like suburb of Carville.  I suspect that it was once a separate settlement that has now been swallowed by greater Rouen.  I passed underneath another railway viaduct and crossed over to leave the road briefly and walk up through some woods where I was to skirt around Chateau De Waddington.  I have not been able to find out more about this place - I imagine it had something to do with the celebrated Waddington Family, Victorian industrialists who were born in France but educated in England and with English family.  William Waddington won the boat race for Cambridge and in later life briefly became Prime Minister of France.  I suspect this place was associated with his brother Richard, also a French parliamentarian, as a nearby street is named after him. The view of the castle was pretty fleeting, almost as mysterious as its history.

St Pierre Church in Carville

I was soon back on the road and was now starting the climb to the viewpoint I would get later on.  It was gentle at first but when I got to the top of the road and left the pavement it got steeper.  It wasn't easy to find the onward path but eventually I located it between houses.  Soon I was back in woodland and this continued right to the top of the hill.  It wasn't that easy to navigate through the woods but essentially up here I was expected to stick to the edge of the housing estate where it met the woodland.  In theory that went pretty well until I left the housing estate and had to cross the last stretch through the woods without the houses as my guide.  I took a few wrong turns here, not helped by the fact that there had been quite a lot of clearance work up here and some paths I didn't recognise had appeared through what presumably was once just bushes.  After a few wrong turns in the maze of paths I eventually found the right one that led me to the viewpoint of St Catherine which overlooks the ancient city of Rouen and the River Seine running through it.

Chateau De Waddington

The viewpoint is surprisingly good considering the modest height of it.  I sound found as I approached the main viewing area that it is a very popular place for picnics, with many families up here.  I have to say though that I looked like the only one that had come on foot - everyone else looked a lot less sweaty and tired than me.  I felt pretty satisfied that I had come on fot though - somehow a view is always better for the effort you put into it.

Entering The Woods

I dropped down the hill via what seemed a short zig-zag path past a large cemetery that I would rather have liked a closer look at.  When I got to the bottom of the hill I passed underneath the main road and entered the city centre.  For reasons that escaped me the map suggested I went via a housing estate that didn't seem to have much merit other than a look at a very small garden in the corner.  I'm not sure whether it was worth the detour.  The map was pretty unclear though and the instructions were non-existent so there maybe something here that I was supposed to pay attention to.  I retraced my steps back to the cathedral which wasn't far distant.

Sweep Of The Seine

As a walk this was a bit of a mixed bag.  Some sections were absolutely delightful - I really enjoyed the waterside section leading out of the city.  The climb into the woods was quite satisfying as a physical challenge and the viewpoint was excellent.  However there were quite a few navigational challenges that could have benefited from a few more instructions and some road sections that perhaps could have been rerouted.  Nevertheless it is well worth doing to get a wider context of the city. 

Gothic Detail

Rouen City Walk

Rouen Cathedral - Summer Light Show

When visiting any new city it is worth seeking out the tourist information centre to see if there is a published walk that will take you all around the major sights or points of interest.  We have been to Rouen a number of times but not for many years so we wanted to pack a lot into our time here.  The tourist information office in Rouen is directly opposite the Gothic cathedral.  The cathedral is surely the centrepiece of this remarkable mediaeval city and has survived Viking invasion and World War II.  The first occasion it was destroyed entirely and rebuilt, while on the second it sustained a lot of damage but you wouldn't know such is the fantastic restoration.  The frontage is full of the most exquisite detail that no camera can properly capture its majesty.  We spent a lot of time admiring the frontage before going inside.  It is as grand inside as it is out and a few interesting features to point out are the tombs of Richard the Lionheart and Rollo, founder of the Duchy of Normandy in 911.  There is also an interesting set of photos detailing the damage sustained by the cathedral in the War and how it was restored.

Grand Clock

Before moving on it is worth looking at the building that the tourist office is in.  This was once the House of the Exchequer and it was from here that Claude Monet painted his series of Cathedral scenes in the 1890s.  We used the route as a guide rather than following it religiously partly because it seems to be two loops from the starting point of the cathedral.  Thus we followed the next part back to front and headed down through the pedestrianised streets towards the Great Clock for which Rouen is so famous.  On the way we detoured one block to take a look at the huge Palais De Justice, a large edifice that no doubt has played an important part in a good many lives in this area even if a lot of people don't wholly know what goes on there.  

Spy

Over the course of the week we stayed in the city we probably passed the Great Clock at least half a dozen times and it looks just as good at night lit up as it does gleaming in the sunlight during the day.  The clock itself is a slightly strange mix of Gothic belfry, Renaissance archway and clockface and an 18th Century fountain.  It seems to sit so well among the surrounding buildings in this busy street.  We continued down through the pavement cafes between all the people gossiping and drinking coffee and wine before crossing the appropriately named Rue Jeanne D'Arc, by far the most person associated with the city.  Jeanne D'Arc is better known as Joan of Arc, a slightly mythical and unlikely heroine who led the French Army to victory over the English during the Hundred Years War.  She was subsequently captured by the Burgundian Army, allied with the English, and handed over as a prisoner.  Rouen was still under English control at that point in the war and it was here that she was brought, declared guilty of witchcraft and burned at the stake.

Historic Quarter

We took a short detour down a beautiful and quiet street full of atmosphere and lined on either side with half timbered buildings which characterise much of the historic quarter of Rouen.  We wandered round to find the Hotel De Bourgtheroulde.  Apparently this old building hosts two sculptures representing the Triumph of Petrarch and the other the episode from the Field of the Cloth of Gold that relates the diplomatic meeting of Henry VIII of England and Francois I of France in 1515.  Sadly the sculptures weren't visible from the street although we did enjoy the intricate detail of the building, which now serves as a luxury hotel.

Flags

The square where Joan of Arc was burned was just around the corner and it was here that we headed next.  The market square is now dominated by a modern church designed in a shape that is meant to evoke the flames that consumed her.  It is a very effective if slightly gruesome design.  Inside are some stained glass windows that were moved here from a nearby church that was largely destroyed during World War II.  Luckily the glass had been removed from the church ahead of hostilities and was thus spared the destruction of the original church.  Around the church were a number of market stalls and cafes but strangely it was quite quiet when we passed by.  I have a feeling that a weekend day would have been a lot busier.

St Joan of Arc Church

Our route now took as through a meandering look at the tight knit streets in the historic quarter.  We were already needing some refreshment though and we soon came upon a rather quirky little cat cafe.  These establishments have become quite popular recently but I have to confess it was the first time I have ever been in one.  The premise is that people call in for their cuppa and share the experience with a number of cats that are only too willing to offer their devotion.  At least that is the theory - in this particular establishment the cats kept us more entertained by staying out of our way high up on the various pieces that had been put there to keep them entertained.  Various perches, walkways and cushions kept them just out of reach as they looked down us disdainfully...

Walking Street

We meandered through the city streets enjoying the ambience of the old half timbered buildings and the eclectic shop windows.  Some of the stuff on offer was quite surprising with junk shops in particular catching our eye.  without really realising it we were slowly looping back towards the cathedral and the other part of the loop that leads around the eastern half of the old quarter..  We passed by the Palais de Justice and the Parliament of Normandy.  It has served as the latter since the 1500s and is beautifully decorated but it is perhaps the very obvious damage from World War II shells that are the most surprising feature of the building not least because of the sheer number of them.

Cat Cafe

The route took us down the north side of the cathedral through perhaps the most delightful of all the streets in the city.  The cafes and bars here are particularly inviting and we took note of a couple that we revisited later in the week.  The prices are a bit steep though so be warned!  Also along this street is the museum devoted to Joan of Arc telling the remarkable story of her short life.  The exhibition recounts her trial through its fascinating twists and turns.  The outcome was never in doubt but getting to the verdict was more problematic than you might expect principally because of the way that Joan conducted herself.  It is a very interesting way of handling her life rather than the more traditional types of exhibition.

St Maclou

Behind the cathedral and across another main road is another incredibly ornate and beautiful church, this time the church of St Maclou, a flamboyant edifice that was started in 1436 but not completed for almost 100 years.  Although the structure has lasted remarkably well history hasn't been completely kind to this church.  It suffered significant damage in World War II, had many of its statues inside removed during the French Revolution and lost much of its internal furniture during World War II.  Nevertheless it is worth pausing to enjoy the intricate stonework of the frontage as we did before moving on.

Bunting

We took a route along a street that had a stream running though it in a culvert.  It was tastefully done and the water was clean and fast moving which seemed to provide a completely different ambience from any old pedestrianised street.  The buildings were still half timbered but we were clearly moving away from the historic quarter now because they were interspersed with the odd more modern one presumably replacements for ones destroyed in the war.  We looped around at the far end so that we could enter the gardens at the rear of L'hotel De Ville.  This beautiful little oasis was worth lingering over with some interesting statues and planting arrangements.  Of particular note is a stone that was placed here in 1911 to celebrate 1000 years since the founding of the Duchy of Normandy by Viking settlers.

Window Shopping

The church next to the gardens is astonishing in scale - this is the Church of St Ouen, built as an abbey church for a long lost Benedictine Order.  It is similar in scale to the nearby cathedral and in any other city would surely be the centrepiece rather than a supporting act in ecclesiastical terms.  The main tower is rather reminiscent of the one you can see at Ely Cathedral in England.  It took a long time to complete, finally being finished in the 15th Century.  The west facade wasn't completed though until the 19th Century and looks rather grubby compared with the cleaner lines of the rest of the church.  Next door at the front is the grand looking Hotel De Ville, with an eyecatching statue of Napoleon astride a horse rearing up.  He certainly looks the all conquering hero in this pose.

Hotel De Ville Gardens

The last part of our walk took a loop around the neighbourhood that starts climbing the hill that forms the side of the Seine valley.  The main reason for following this route is to take visitors to the Natural History Museum and the Museum of Antiquities but we were out of luck because both were closed as was the Rouen Dungeon housed in the only part of Rouen Castle that still exists.  Not on the official walk but worth a mention as it is across the road is the rather fine looking Rouen Rive-Droite Railway station which was completed in 1928 and is a magnificent monument to railway travel.

St Ouen Church

We headed back down the hill from here back to the Cathedral stopping briefly in the garden at the front of the museum.  A lot of care and attention had gone into this particular garden - it is obviously one of the jewels for the city authorities.  The museum at the back looked interesting as well but sadly we managed to find it closed on the day we visited.  Do you spot a theme?  A lot of places are closed in August that's for sure but you also have to pay attention to the days that places are closed - a lot of museums close at least one day per week and it's usually a weekday rather than a weekend one. 

Rouen Rive Droite Station

No matter that so many places were closed - you would be hard pressed to include most of them on this walk.  The Joan of Arc Museum is a must as is a visit to view inside the cathedral but other than that you would probably need several days to do the place justice.  Rouen is certainly a fascinating city that is worth lingering in - this walk will help you see most of the main places worth seeing.  Make sure to allow cafe time too - watching the world go by with a cold beer or a coffee is fascinating too!

Hotel De Ville and Napoleon

Cuckmere River and Norton Top from Alfriston

Alfriston High Street

One of the longest walks in volume 67 of the Pathfinder Guides East Sussex and the South Downs (number 26) but can't really be described as difficult even though it appears in the challenging section of the book.    Given that we were staying in Alfriston it would have been rude not to do the walk before we left.  I was accompanied on this particular walk by my wife. We had a later appointment in the day and so we decided that it would be an early morning so that we could complete it before lunchtime.  The day started out bright and sunny but there was a lot of wispy cloud around and we weren't sure whether it would last very long.  It was a joy going out early in the morning - there is something very special about the atmosphere of an English summer morning.  It's hard to define but there is a peace and tranquility that you can't quite put your finger on.  Whatever it is this morning was a great example of it.

Alfriston Church

We left Alfriston via the Tye and crossed the Cuckmere River.  The narrowness of the river is perhaps the main reason why this valley hasn't developed in quite the same way as the Ouse to the west or even the Adur  and Arun in West Sussex.  In Alfriston it is already so narrow that it is almost possible to jump across - bear in mind that we are less than five miles from the sea at this point.  I suspect in the past though there must have been some boat traffic otherwise why was the canalisation allowed further downstream at Exceat?  We crossed the river via the rather handsome bridge near the Tye and immediately turned right to head along the riverbank.  This was a nice steady introduction to  the walk with no hills or issues  with navigation to worry about.  We got to see wide ranging views of Lullington Heath to the east and plenty of swans preening and enjoying the early morning sunshine along the riverbank itself.

Swanning Around

We meandered along  for a couple of miles deep in conversation and before leaving the river behind to climb up the hill of High and Over.  Some  of my earliest memories are of this hill for we often used to have outings here when I was a child.  Later it would be the predominant view that we enjoyed at Whitsun Scout Camp  for it would be right opposite the field that we used.  I still have a special affinity for it even though I rarely visit these days - it's one of my favourites of all the hills in the South Downs.  From our approach the most distinctive feature of the hill is the white horse emblazoned on the northern slope.  This figure is not of as great antiquity as you might expect - it was cut less than 100 years ago in 1924 but it did replace a earlier one that first appeared in 1830.  Strangely the horse can only be viewed from this angle.  When we used to be at camp below the hill it was almost invisible.  We used to see a scar in the hill that we called the 'ghost' - more of an amorphous shape really but we convinced ourselves that it looked like the symbol of the Ghostbusters film.  I'm happy to report that it is still there too 😀.

White Horse

Having left the riverbank we made the slow climb to the top of High and Over.  It wasn't quite the slog of going up the side of the chalky scarp slope of the South Downs but it wasn't far off.  I was relieved to see that the path didn't go up the side of the road as suggested by the map but instead tracked alongside on the right side of the adjoining fence.  As we got to the top we headed slightly away from the road through a section of scrubland that hid the view from sight.  I was aware that this is one of the most famous views in Sussex so made a special effort to go down to the viewpoint, a spot I remember well as a kid.  It was a lot more overgrown than I remember and was pleased when eventually we got to the end and the view finally emerged.  To the south and you can see Cuckmere Haven way off in the distance complete with the ox bow lakes and canal cut that I discussed in the last blog entry.  To the south east is the expanse of Friston Forest, not looking nearly so big from up here as it feels when you walk through it.  The famous view though is to the north where you can see the meander of the Cuckmere that looks like it is undercutting the hill itself.  I have seen this view on calendars and in guidebooks galore and it is easy to see why - it is probably the highlight of the whole walk.

High and Over View

We retraced our steps along the path to the car park that most people use to get here.  It was empty today, being early morning on a weekday, but at the weekend it can get extremely busy.  We crossed the road and went slightly back down the hill on the other side of the road, crossing a stile and then heading left along a field boundary.  By now the cloud had thickened and what had been a nice sunny day had turned into an overcast one pretty quickly.  Our view had changed significantly as we headed along this field edge high above one of the dry valleys that the South Downs is famous for.  On the facing slope was the straight lines of the vines in the Rathfinny Farm Estate.  This has grown considerably since I last came by this area - I was really surprised at how extensive this vineyard had become.  Between the rows were lots of toiling workers tending the crops ahead of the autumn harvest in a few weeks time.  Judging by the size of the operation I imagine quite a few people are needed to keep things pruned and pests at bay.

Rathfinny Farm

What was to come was a slow almost imperceptible climb to the top of the South Downs that was almost a quarter circle in shape.  As with so many paths on the Downs it followed the contours of the hills perfectly and for much of its length it was enclosed by large hedgerows that were full of flowers and butterflies.  We  had noticed the plethora of butterflies this summer but along this path it wasn't painted ladies that we saw but adonis blues, peacocks and gatekeepers.  They mostly proved elusive to the camera, especially the adonis blues but there was an obliging gatekeeper and peacock.  Out to the right of us once we escaped the enclosed hedgerows was a view out across the ripening barley fields to the sight of the ferry leaving Newhaven for its four hour crossing to Dieppe.  This is a crossing we know well and in fact would be our destination a few days after we completed this walk.

Gatekeeper

Eventually we reached the top of the Downs at Bo Peep and our walk was to change character once again.  We stopped to admire the view but in truth it wasn't nearly as nice as it had been a few nights before when we had driven up here to do the same thing.  The clouds had really taken hold by this time and the outlook across the Weald before us was rather gloomier than either of us would have wanted.  That said it is a magnificent view - with a sweep of countryside from Uckfield in the north west to Hastings on the horizon in the east.  It is a spot you can spend ages at trying to pick out various landmarks from including even an observatory at Herstmonceux (see a previous walk for my visit there).

Morning Departure

We headed down the lane that leads up to Bo Peep - it's a quiet road and we saw no traffic for the short descent to the point where we could leave the tarmac and take a footpath down to the small spring-line village of Alciston.  Visitors to the South Downs may have noticed that most of the villages are at the foot of the Downs and not on top of the hills.  The practical reason for this is that chalk is permeable and therefore retains almost no water in its landscape.  Underneath the chalk is a layer of clay which is completely impermeable and the groundwater is forced out via springs all along the foot of the scarp slope.  For ancient settlers this meant that it was better for them to live where they had a regular fresh supply rather than go miles to find it.  Alciston is a small village but very typical of its type -  number of traditional styles including thatched cottages.  Sadly one feature it has lost is its village pub.  I always loved this pub and had been here many times but no more.  It has succumbed like so many others due to changing habits and not enough people coming to use it.

Moggy Minor

We pushed on around the church and headed over the fields to the next village of Berwick.  Shockingly this village also lost its pub only a few weeks ago too - two of the best pubs in this part of Sussex both gone and probably never to return.  It also means that this walk now has no pubs along its length and if you do it you'll need to plan accordingly.  The views along the fields between the villages are of the line of the Downs seemingly receding into the distance and the spire of Berwick Church further on.  We soon approached the church and found a conservation group tackling some of the overgrowth outside.  The church has recently been awarded a National Lottery grant to restore the paintings inside, which were commissioned by Bishop Bell from the so-called Bloomsbury Set of Quentin Bell, Vanessa Bell and Duncan Bell.  The church is currently closed as a result of these restorations.

Erstwhile Pub

We lingered briefly in the churchyard before moving on once again.  The character of the walk changed once again as we turned into the Cuckmere Valley once again to head across the ripening barley fields to complete the loop to Alfriston.  It wasn't long before we met the country lane that heads into the village, whhich was a lot busier than we expected.  Along the way was an unexpected sight - that of a crucifix.  While this is common to see in France and other European countries it is quite rare in Britain.  This one has just celebrated its centenary - it was erected in April 1919.  How the world has changed since then!

Heading On To Berwick

This is a longer walk than most from the Pathfinder Guides but not particularly challenging.  I wished I had tried it earlier because the lack of a church visit at Berwick or pubs en route have definitely diminished its appeal.  The views from High and Over and Bo Peep are both special but much of the rest of the walk feels more like filler - not a classic like the last hike from this general area of Sussex.  Maybe I'm being a little hard - on a day with sunshine and/ or more interesting clouds would probably transform it.

Crucifix