Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 18 | Lewes & Kingston

Day 18 - Kingston Ridge Drizzle & Sunday Roast

A lazy Sunday morning is always perfect. But when you add the sweetness of a loving, playful dog like Molly and the freshness of the rolling green hills, it exceeds its perfection!

We went to see Bob in the morning in Kingston which is just the other side of the highway from Lewes. His dog, Molly greeted me with a jump and a lick at the door. Guess she was excited to see a brown person matching the colour of her patches! After having a proper cafe-style coffee and some chit chat, we left with Molly for a walk up the Kingston ridge.

💖

A short walk through the neighbourhood lanes takes you right into the Downs here. It climbs up steep to the top and then you can basically walk and run wherever you want, much like Molly. We continued along the ridge with valleys on either side up to a paved road where the farmers’ tractor could drive up. Just as we got to this road, a vibrant yellow carpet in the distance caught our eyes. It was a rapeseed field that hadn’t yet gone off the colour ! So bright and beautiful ! We tried to capture it with our phone cameras but it is just not possible to do justice with a lens !

The yellow strip of rapeseed field

We walked around the valley and the ridge and then climbed back to the other side of the hill. This was where I had had my (in)famous fall on a frosty day years back. Obviously, such things never get forgotten. So yes, I did get laughed at, yet again ! We climbed down this slope, through the woods and then walked along a little church and across a park back to the house.

Molly was a darling. She ran around with her tongue hanging out and lips spread into a broad smile. Amidst the crazy runs, sometimes she paused to observe things, sometimes rolled over on me just to get some good strokes, and sometimes licked the sunscreen off my arms. When we got to the end of the walk, she laid on the ground still and couldn’t be moved. She decided it wasn’t really the time to go. I agreed.

Joy!

We had booked a table in the pub - ‘The Swan’ for a Sunday roastie. It was the same pub I visited on my second day here. But hey, I am a creature of habit and I love visiting places that I adore, again and again. So, there we were, sitting in the pub garden, enjoying the most delicious Sunday chicken roast with mash and vegetables and Yorkshire pudding and gravy. The inside of my mouth is a rolling tsunami of saliva right now as I am thinking about it ! We finished off with a superb blueberry and lemon cheesecake with raspberry compote on top. Ahh ! 

A 10/10 Sunday Roast!

It was the last day of my vacation and the animosity with ever-flowing Time had never felt so real. The next day was when I would leave this fairyland and fly back home to reality. We didn’t say goodbyes but the air in the room felt stuffy. We spent a lazy evening, laughing at silly jokes, eating chocolate biscuits, listening to music and then when we had to, we went to bed with a heavy heart.

To live another day on the Downs…a wistful adieu.

And a 10/10 Dessert!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 17 | Eastbourne

Day 17 - Seven Sisters, Sandwiches & Cream Tea

Why do most hikes start with a steep uphill? It’s like a quick attempt to gain some altitude. Most of the time, you do get rewarded with refreshing views as well, so it's worth the effort. Also, sometimes, it doesn’t feel as steep as it looks and sometimes, it is a pretty deceiving sight! Thankfully, in our case, it was the former as we climbed up the steep slope of Beachy Head.

View of the old lighthouse from Belle Tout

Beachy Head is the highest point on the ridge and from here, you can see most of the route ahead with the white cliffs playing peek-a-boo at a few twists and turns of the path. We did the classic Seven Sisters Walk. So basically, we were walking on top of the seven white cliff peaks that we saw earlier when walking from Seaford to Cuckmere Haven. Just that this time, we were approaching Cuckmere Haven from the opposite side of the coast i.e. east. It can also be done in reverse though i.e. from Exceat or Cuckmere Haven towards east up to Eastbourne. But as per my friend, philosopher and guide advice, ours was more strategic!

Blue flowers (name not sure) lining up the coastal ridge

I couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was crisp and sunny and the moment we got to the top of the Downs, it wrapped us up in its cosy green blanket. There was a war memorial at the top of Beachy Head, towards Whitbread Hollow. We took a good look at that and then continued our walk. Some blue flowers on long stalks lined up the coastal edge at this part. Suddenly, we saw a few fighter planes doing drills up in the sky. They were heading west along the coast. We followed their manoeuvre as far as we could and then they vanished from our sight.

Aircraft drill

Always after a steep climb, comes a descent. At this part, it was a gradual descent down to the next sister, Beachy head being the 1st or the 7th however you count it! We then climbed up the next sister which came with Belle tout i.e. the lighthouse. DD decided that this lighthouse looked really ugly from the structural aesthetics point of view. I could almost see his point. But there is the engineering feat to trolley this lighthouse inland whenever the coastal erosion threatens it, which makes it quite marvellous. Although, we engineers are always doubtful about the working mechanics of anything engineered!

Belle tout in the distance - view from Beachy Head

We took a little break and sat down on the grass near a shaded wall of the belle tout tower. We were not really very tired but we wanted to have snickers and wanted to remember it by a memory that said - having snickers by Belle tout. So we did. We then again climbed down and up to the next one which is Birling Gap. This is the only point on the route which has a big car park and toilets and ice cream vans. Needless to say, it was very crowded. I queued for about 10 minutes to go to the toilet and then we hurried over to the next sister again.

Coastal Chalk formation

This entire SDW route over the seven sisters is a series of undulations like a wave or a ripple of green meadow along the coast. You go up and down the entire ridge, some of the undulation being steeper than the other. Going from Beachy Head to Birling Gap, it was more of a gentle slope up and slightly steeper in comparison going down. But the next few undulations required a bit more calf and quad strength, nothing too alarming though unless you are sprinting!

Birling Gap - with the white chalk backdrop

On the second last sister, we had our packed lunch which was a peanut butter sandwich. Peanut butter is anyway yum but I cannot stress enough how delicious food tastes when you are out in the open and have done some adrenaline work. We watched a couple of people running up the slope. The surface is very grassy and soft but It was quite steep for a run. So we wonder how their legs might be feeling the next day!

Can you make out the descent?

Finally, we got to the last sister and down to Cuckmere Haven. We took a path to the right and followed the meandering river valley. There were swans in the river and a few sailors too, all sailing together in harmony! We made our way to the Exceat bus stop and hopped on to a bus that took the scenic route back to Eastbourne.

Cuckmere Haven in view from the last peak

I can’t say we were massively hungry when we got back to Eastbourne and were wandering around in the town. But I did have cream tea on my checklist and my tummy instantly agreed with a rumble! So, we got back to the car and drove off towards Alfriston to a cutesy village called Litlington and walked into a cafe called Litlington cream tea cafe - named with very obvious purpose and precision. I love cream teas! More than the food, it's the ritual of having it that appeals to me a lot. Quite old school. I ordered a Sussex cream tea and a lemon drizzle cake. It was the best! I gave them full marks on their culinary expertise. It is quite funny though after having the cream tea, more hunger kicked in! After we got back home, I made my pretty popular coriander chicken (I am only ever complimented on this dish but I will take that!) and peas rice for dinner.

Sussex Cream Tea and Lemon Drizzle cake

The Eastbourne to Exceat Seven Sisters hike was the longest in this trip so far. It was about 14 hilly miles. But it was definitely one of the best hikes! Even though we spent a long day walking, I felt superb. I am not saying I could go out for a run after that hike but mentally, I was very fresh.

The emotion I reckon with every time on a hike is freedom and what a sweet one this was!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 16 | Saltdean

Day 16 - SaltDean to Hove & The Heavy E-Bike

So, today was all about cycling again. If you have been following me so far, you know we had a big technology failure a few days back when we attempted cycling from Saltdean. But this time, we came prepared. We unlocked a bike from the lock like a pro. And I sat on it with a proud smile only to realise it was an e-bike and not the normal stuff.

Now with e-bikes, there are a few pros and cons. Pro being, if you are riding with a bunch of extremely efficient, semi-pro cyclists then it gives you that additional pedal power which you do not possess. In my case, this couldn’t be more true! Con being, it is extremely heavy and if you have the wind behind, you end up not working at all and your legs on the pedals feel like jelly! In my case, this happened too! 

But nonetheless, I did do some cycling on the beautiful undercliff path from Saltdean all the way to Brighton Hove and back. It was way more civil today with zero crowd. I was very keen to cycle all the way out to Shoreham and have one of those orange cakes again but I was not allowed! Going to Shoreham would mean coming off the cycle path and I was accused of being too novice and inexperienced to be riding on the road. Anyway, we did cycle in the Brighton arms though, dodging the waves splashing and spraying all over us. Whilst coming off the arm, I hit the bike in front as I was too slow to realise he had put his brake on but it was a minor incident and not to be fussed about.

I love cycling. I wish I could do it more!

It was some 4-5 hours of cycling and the heavy e-bike metre shot up to some ~50£! We ended our cruise and relished the end of the day with some buttery crumpets, a short walk around the town and fresh-out-of-the-oven chimichangas for dinner!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 15 | Eastbourne

Day 15 - Eastbourne Tennis & Strawberry ‘n’ Cream

Wimbledon is Wimbledon. There is nothing more to say about that. But what’s the next best thing? Eastbourne Rothesay International Tennis has been celebrating its grass court for 50 years now and I was on Cloud Nine when I arrived at this event !

Rothesay International Lawn Tennis Centre

What a beautiful surprise this was ! I love surprises but lately they have not been very pleasant. But this one surprise made everything okay and beyond ! I did not know where we were going even in the morning when we got to the station. I was kept in the dark, tickets were bought in an extremely secretive manner. The guessing game was on anyway. But, I could have never guessed it and I could not believe it straight away either even when I was told ! 

Also, I saw two llamas in a farm from the train window as it rolled down the track to Eastbourne. Totally unrelated fact but it’s worth my memory!

Enjoying Pimm's, Strawberries and the Sun

The whole experience in Rothesay was amazing. Right from outside the train station, there was a tennis-festive vibe. There were lots of big adverts and flags. People in their big sun hats were walking down to the arena. We followed the crowd and arrived at the venue.

In between the matches

Location was impeccable, the tournament was held at the lovely Devonshire Park in Eastbourne. On one side, a charming old church peeked into the view. The weather was just right with lots of sun and a pleasant coastal breeze.

British duo in action...

We watched 3 matches and saw some big names playing in the court like Raducanu, Tayor Fritz, Harriet Dart. We saw 21 years’ old Leylah Fernandez playing Dart with extreme agility and immediately took a liking to her. Kader Nouni, the French umpire was officiating this game and entertained everyone with his ‘luxurious’ voice and commentary style ! I have become his fan ever since.

Leylah Fernandez serving..

I felt extremely pampered and blessed when I was handed over a big box of strawberry and cream that was carefully packed and brought over for the day along with my favourite avocado and roast chicken sandwich ! 

Strawberry & Cream !

And just like that, we spent the day watching tennis, walking around the arena, sniffing around the shops and counting my blessings…

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 12 | Shoreham & Burgess Hill

Day 12 - More Patisserie & Some Swim

I love food. I eat a lot. And I have insane cravings. But I do not regret any of this. I feel pretty blessed that I have the culinary sense that enables me to appreciate the nuances of different kinds of food. In other words, last week when I visited the French patisserie in Shoreham, I had a huge conflict of interest between a moist orange cake and a creamy custard Danish pastry. The cake did win that day but the Danish pastry had been haunting my taste buds ever since!

I just realised I have got no photo from this day that can be posted in this blog! Hence, a Danish custard pic from the internet. Mine looked better !

So, the first trip of the day was to Shoreham patisserie shop by the beach. It was a lazy start today. There had been quite a lot of walking and travelling with more plans to do the same for the next few days. So, today was meant to be slow.

I got myself a huge apricot danish pastry filled with custard and sat on the beach, enjoying the same. Another sunny, clear day today with sparkling blue sea and a few windsurfers. Also, a cat walked into the beach! It was the first time ever I saw a cat on a beach, not sure if it was the first time for a cat too!

Afterwards, we drove to the Burgess hill Triangle for a swim. It was a pleasure being back in this pool, doing glides and trial-summersaults. The day ended with a visit to the local shop, having a hearty meal of spaghetti bolognese for dinner, watching laid back movies and gearing up for a trip the next morning. Till then..zzz.

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 11 | Saltdean

Day 11 - Saltdean Stroll & Fishy Pie

Technology fails and that’s not really the problem. The problem is we are so damn dependent on it that even a tiny failure gets to your nerves! In other words, the cycle booking app did not work when we arrived at Saltdean today for our Tour De Seafront! C’est la vie! When all technology in this world fails, the only thing you can do is stand up on your own pair of feet! So that’s what we did. We walked.

Saltdean Undercliff Road

Saltdean is a nice little coastal village just outside of Lewes. The first thing that you notice when you go to Saltdean is the vibrant blue sea in contrast to the bright white cliff walls and a nice, wide undercliff path that runs all along the sea right into the town of Brighton. This undercliff road is very popular amongst walkers, cyclists and beginner cyclists all alike.

This picture is from years back!

As you walk along this path, you can see the overhanging cliff walls with numerous little pigeon nests. You would also find some areas of those overhangs have nets around them - a protection net for loose rocks and pebbles coming off the cliffs at regular intervals. On the other side of the walk, the turquoise blue sea meets the horizon. On a windy day, you would get sprayed on by the waves lashing against the bottom of the path. As a matter of fact, as per the Brighton & Hove City Council documentation, Saltdean is believed to be named after the salt-spray that covered the grass after storms!

A huge splash in Saltdean, picture from a very windy day

A very cosy little cafe used to sell carrot cakes on this undercliff road. I have had numerous coffees and cakes here. But now, it has been replaced by a posh looking cafe that seems to be selling cafe latte and cappuccino as opposed to just coffee and tea sold in the earlier one. I twitched my obnoxious nose at it and passed on.

We went around the Brighton marina (it is the biggest man made marina in Europe!), admired the extremely patient anglers there, checked out the boats a couple of which were steaming out into the sea and then made our way into the touristy town of Brighton. When you approach Brighton from this side of the Marina, you get on to the nude beach first and then the town pier. However, there were no nude people like the first time I was here. This end of the town was now way busier than the otherwise quietness that I remembered from my early visits. A new walking path has been laid out right on the pebble beach here, making it very easy to walk. This probably explains why this part of the seafront is not so quiet anymore, which in turn probably explains why all the peace-seeking sun-soaking nude people are gone too!

Stretching all the way to Brighton

Anyway, I found Mr.Whippy ice cream truck. So I was happy having my vanilla ice cream with a chocolate stick. In my defence, not that I need to defend, it was quite hot. And quite strangely, when it gets hot, the heat in Sussex gets hotter than the heat in Kolkata, at least, to my skin, anyway!

I checked out my first rented place right on the seafront and then also had a look at the travelodge hotel where I had stayed my very first few days in England. But by now as we got to the Brighton pier, I was quite hot. A perfect nostalgia stroll started taking a toll due to the heat and also, not to forget the crowd ! Holy cow ! Looked like the entire English community was in Brighton this weekend. I know, it does sound odd coming from someone born and brought up in the crowded city of Kolkata, but I do not want heat and I do not want crowds when I am on holidays ! I get that everyday, don’t I ! We realised it was the weekend and we had made a rookie mistake of choosing the wrong day for this visit. Brighton over the weekends gets extremely touristy.

The only decent picture could be captured given the crowd and the heat!

So, again, I twitched my nose like a local, pah-ed at the crowd and walked aimlessly in the Brighton lanes, spotting the old hangout spots, restaurants from the past, wondered about the new shops and then as the legs started giving up, hoped in a bus back to Saltdean where our car was parked.

All's well that ends well. And this evening ended with one of my most favourite experimented dishes ever i.e. a baked salmon & broccoli pie. Oh yes! If you have never tried it, you must. Here is the recipe that we broadly follow but of course with our own convenient tweaks -  Italian Broccoli & Salmon Bake. I do enjoy cooking when it is not absolutely essential and I have the right company! We were extremely hungry and tired after that long walk in the heat and crowd. So, the fishy pie was hoovered up in seconds and we called it a night!

P.S. Nothing beats the smell of a freshly baked pie…mmm.

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 9 & 10 | Lewes & Burgess Hill

Day 9 - Back on the GMT Line

It’s a rest day on Tour De Sussex’ 2024. A four hours drive from Long Eaton back to Lewes, followed by a relaxing lie down in front of the tele and re-energising the inner gut with loads of veggie pasta and garlic bread pretty much sums up the report. See you then after the earth completes its rotation for the day!

Day 10 - Back in the old Home Town

Back in Burgess hill this morning. Again. Yes! I know I am the only one to be excited about this place but you would be too if you had all the weird and wonderful things happening to you in this town. But what was more exciting than being back here, was to be back on the rolling hills on the way to this town.

Way to Wolstonbury

Tracing the old path again, I walked up to the top of the Wolstonbury hill. The same old hill, the same old path, the same old valley view and the same old excitement every time! At the top of Wolstonbury, we sat down and shared some Sainsbury donuts, bought the day before. We fought a little as I complained I didn’t get an equal share of donuts and also the garlic bread the night before! Innocence was pleaded and I demanded compensation. So that was settled! An organised walking group climbed up and once the crowd passed, we said goodbye to the wolfy (the tree, in case you didn’t read the post or the book where the history behind the name is well documented !) made our way into the rabbit valley. Again, there is no such thing called the rabbit valley but that’s what I call this particular valley since my encounter with a large number of frolicking rabbits years ago! It has the most distinct curvy bowl shape, nicely nestled between the Wolstonbury hill on one side and a wild garlic forestry land on the other.

Rabbit Valley

A nice walk results in a nice appetite. We walked back to my old apartment, examined my old balcony from a distance for a bit too long which might have appeared slightly suspicious. That is precisely when we walked up to the main street along the railway station, into the town and barged into my old friend - Susan’s house, exactly at lunch time, demanding lunch, obviously! It was a nice little reunion as a few other old faces joined in along with a couple of new ones i.e. my friends’ kids!

Pyramidal orchid on the hill

After a lovely lunch (bagara rice and butter paneer, courtesy my fancy chef friends!) and a good laugh, we walked into my second most frequented (first, being the farm) place in Burgess hill i.e. the church ! My interest has never been in Virgin Mary though, it was in one of the headstones that belonged to a certain Mr. Walter Waterfall ! There is something about his lyrical name that never fails to amuse us ! And he was still there ! Unlike our Mr. Careless in Bramber who had simply disappeared ! What a relief and a joy !

Near the duck pond at the back of my old flat

The old sycamore tree was there too, with its funny old moss growing in the helicopter seeds. The cemetery looked quite unkempt though, perhaps because of the sudden summer growth spurt. I have had many office lunches in the cosy bushes of blackberry here but now it looked way too bushy to be comfortable !

Dandelions and Daisies everywhere!

Burgess hill has a nice green park, right beside the Amex office. We crossed the church and walked into this park. Local clubs were playing a cricket match. The other end of the park used to have a little cafe which if I remember correctly (the probability of which is pretty low!) was called, cafe by the park. They used to make lovely cakes, but my regular order here was scrambled eggs on toast and a pot of tea. There was something very simple and comforting about it ! That cafe was gone now, replaced by some other shop.

In front of the Bachelor's Farm Gate

My next stop in Burgess hill was none other than the Bachelor’s Farm ! Right behind my old apartment, a narrow trail takes you to this farm. Oh, so many mornings and afternoons and dusks had been spent here! Every day of my week, when I was in the town, I would see at least an hour of me on this farm. I would walk up and down the farm, chat with the horses, check out the Clayton windmills on the distant hill top, sit under the water tower, watch the trains passing underneath the bridge that joins two pieces of the farmland, lie in the grass, read my books, make new dog friends and so much more !

Re-living the old days!

The bachelors farm hasn’t changed. Except for one bit, where it now seemed to have planted some new fruit trees and put a fence around it. I sat there, in the farm for a while. The same old serenity prevailed here. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with a strange emotion !

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 5 | Chanctonbury

Day 5 - Plummy Carats Ring & Three Wild Deer

The legs complained. Last four days had been quite an endurance test albeit it's only zone-2 for them. So, today we started with a belly exercise instead. We sat down with a big plate of cooked English breakfast in the Carats cafe at the Shoreham harbour and let the gut do its digestion work!

Carat's English Breakfast

The view was just perfect. We had a table right in the front facing the blue sea. Today the sea was calm. The starlings here were quite bold. They flew right inside the café, taking their pick from the leftovers. A couple at our next table tried feeding a slice of carrot to one of the birds. It twitched its snobbish beak and flew to the next table for some free chicken.

Sparkling Blue...

Walking seems quite a task when you have a tummy full of bacon and hash browns. But it was a beautiful day that demanded to be enjoyed. So, we took a closer look at the wind turbines at the harbour, pottered around the lock gate for a while and then headed to the Chanctonbury Ring. The history of this place goes back to the 1700s of which I mentioned in my book and won’t go into the details here again. But just that this hill is very unique and iconic with its clump of trees at the top planted in the 18th century.

Can you see the wind farm in the horizon?

Climbing up along the arrays of poppy and long grass, we had an incredible view of the Brighton wind farms on the seafront behind us and the neatly farmed, tiled lands on our either side. We stopped to moo at a cow which was gushing out excretory products from his back side with a tremendous force whilst putting on the most oblivious face!

The path lined up with Poppies

Suddenly a movement caught our eyes. We looked up and just in the next section of the valley, three deer appeared ! They were out in the field, free and perky. They checked out their surroundings with swift neck and head swings, their ears alert to catch any suspicious sounds. We watched them breathless as they wandered around in their most natural setting. They seemed to have a little meeting amongst themselves and decided to head towards the path. Then, they ran up to the path, paused, checked left, checked right and then ran at top speed into the next field for their further rendezvous.

From where we saw the deer!

We climbed up to the big mound with a crop of trees on the top. As we walked amongst the tall trees planted some hundreds of years back, I tried to create a spooky vibe but failed. I was sure there used to be a special tree here with gnarly roots but couldn't find it. Of course, I was laughed at and accused of being hallucinated. I shrugged it off and stretched my legs in the long grass. We stayed there eating juicy plums and doing absolutely nothing. What a luxury!

View from the Top

Next, we visited Bramber church and wished to say hello to Mr. Careless. Well, there was a particular headstone in the Bramber churchyard belonging to a person named - Careless. Now, I am not hallucinated as this was a very celebrated find of ours, years back. But sadly and very shockingly, that headstone was nowhere to be found now! Yep, we checked, quite a few times to be sure but Mr. Careless (or, Mr. Couldn't Careless as we used to refer) was gone! Very disappointed, we walked around the old stone walled motte and bailey castle of Bramber and appreciated the fact that those castle ruins still stood erect, unlike the headstone!

To call it a night, we had spicy and yummy veggie noodles for dinner and checked out lots of Jamie Brown dance moves! More to follow the next day. Get up now..!

Reporting from the Downs Again- Day 4 | SDW

Day 4 - Home Hike & Hasty Hare

Sometimes in our life, we end up doing things quite casually. They are often without any set intention and quite uneventful. These might be very short lived and might be very simple stuff lacking any grandeur. Like for example, the morning tea with the family or Sunday lunches or the friendly nod to a fellow jogger. And yet they turn out to be most special. For me, the hike from Hassocks to Lewes along the South Downs Way is one such special walk that I will treasure forever.

Just past the Wolstonbury Hill

Why? Is it because it is so beautiful? Yes. Is it because it is one of my most frequented hikes when I lived there? Perhaps. Is it because it gave me my immense love for freedom and hiking? Maybe! Whatever it is or it was, I was back once again in what I call my ‘Home Route’.

The start of the South Downs Walk

From Burgess Hill to Lewes, it is approx. 12 miles along the beautiful Downs Way, trailing along the hilly roads, amidst widespread green meadows carpeted with wild flowers, lovely windmills, beautiful valleys and what more do you want!

I got off at Hassocks station and by old habit, I skipped down the steps but this wasn’t my familiar Hassocks! Has it changed so drastically then! My friend had a good bout of laughter as I realised I was standing on the opposite platform!

View from top of the Clayton. Check out the cloud!

We started the walk. My feet had an extra bounce when the narrow path from the Hassocks station opened up to the field right in front of the Clayton windmills. I trotted my way up to the Wolstonbury hill past the Danny house and the horse grazing field. The horses did not graze anymore in this field and it was turned into a vineyard! Apparently, many areas in Sussex are now growing grapes, getting more into the wine making business. Probably, the rising temperature in the countryside is now favouring this production. Finally, a good byproduct of global warming!

Danny house ; on the way up to the Wolstonbury Hill

We met the old wolf still pouncing at its prey (i.e. a tree bent by the force of the wind in its strange wolf looking shape) and were also greeted by a herd of cows at one of the kissing gates along the ridge down to the Claytons. We crossed the road here and climbed up to the Clayton windmills. The Jill of the Jack and Jill windmills were open for tourists. But I am not a tourist, I am a local! So, I denied the invite and sat outside facing the valley. And then what followed was a deep analysis on British crows! 

Can you spot the wolf?

There are the pitch black ones which are called the Carrion crows, then there are the smaller variety of greyish colour with pale eyes and a small patch of black on the top of their heads which are called the Jackdaws; and then the most gorgeous shiny black ones of slightly bigger size and a sharp wooden looking bill called the Rooks. I decided that the last kind was my favourite!

Jill Mill

We continued our walk along the downs, passed by the thick gorse bushes, spotted the Brighton eye which still looked like a donut going up and down a long pole, crossed the little pond where the same two tiny trees had been slanting (due to the wind) in the same angle for years now and arrived at the Ditchling beacon.

View of Ditchling beacon from the other side

The top of the Ditchling beacon had more than its usual hustle and bustle. It was the London to Brighton bike racing day. Lots of riders came up to the top and enjoyed an ice cream or a snack. We watched them for a bit and treated ourselves to our homemade sandwiches. Still a few more kilometres to go till we reached our destination.

London to Brighton bike race!

The walk continued. The white sheep with black socks kept grazing the field in the distance. The sea kept appearing in the view, lining up the far horizon. The singing starlings kept company. The daisies kept dancing and the poppies kept popping up here and there. It was getting quite meditative.

And then suddenly a hare jumped out of nowhere right in front of us! A big brown hare with long ears sticking up in a high alert mode, leaped up and down as it sped it way down the path and vanished into the field ! All of this happened just in a rush within a few minutes ! I have never seen a hare before and that too in the wild. I giggled in excitement as the hare faded away into the green horizon. Few fleeting moments of sheer joy!

Just another classic Downs pic!

We were still in a haze of wonder when a mad cyclist whooshed past us, his bike almost jumping a few inches above the ground as it speeded down the trail. The walk on the ‘Home Route’ continued further up along the Black Cap to the Lewes racecourse from where it dropped down to the Lewes prison and finally into the town.

I have done this hike so many times that every plant, every bush, every water pod seemed to say they missed me terribly, just as I missed them. Nostalgia is indeed a funny thing. It makes you so happy and sad all at the same time!

My fav dew pond!

A ‘home hike’ deserves a ‘home meal’. And by home, I mean peace and comfort. And what is more comfortable than a home cooked hearty meal? So, there you go. I had a lavish amount of peas-rice and pepper chicken (all spices sautéed in advance - very important) and then hit the bed with beautiful memories of past and present playing a beautiful harmony.