Beachy Head Lighthouse Challenge 2023.

This walk is organised by The Rotary Club. There is a cost of £8.50 with money going to different charities, including the RNLI and also towards the upkeep of the lighthouse’s famous red and white stripes.

There are very few days when it is possible to walk around the lighthouse as it must be during spring tides and when it is light enough.

The meeting point was at the foot of the Downs by St. Bede’s school in Eastbourne. We then proceeded up the lane for approximately half a mile to Whitbread Hollow where we checked in. Once checked-in, we set off across the Downs to Cow Gap, down the steps to the beach and over the rocks, boulders, sand and slippery seaweed to the lighthouse.

It was a fairly strenuous walk; the beach part the hardest. You could go right up to the lighthouse and climb the steps up onto the base. Stewards were there counting people on and off, ten at a time. Stewards were also strategically placed along the route, as were paramedics and the RNLI shoreside.

Beachy Head is a notorious suicide spot in the South Coast and the sad part of the walk as we came closer to the lighthouse along the cliff base was the rusted remnants of car parts caught in the rocks. We had a silent moment of contemplation for those who had been driven to such drastic measures.

On return, all participants received a certificate to authenticate that we were one of the few people who have undertaken the “Lighthouse Challenge”.

It was a beautiful still and sunny evening for this unusual walk in a beautiful part of the South Coast.

Community Choir Joy.

Last night I went to listen to one of our local Community Choirs sing at the underground Grove Theatre, one of Eastbourne’s more intimate theatres.

They were an absolute joy. There is something uplifting and joyous in a group of people, all ages, getting together to sing. Songs we all knew and some we didn’t. You don’t have to be pitch perfect, just enjoy singing; sing loud and proud. It was a pleasure!

Groombridge. East Sussex.

Had a spring walk around the quintessential English village of Groombridge in East Sussex on Easter Sunday.

Groombridge is a village of about 1,600 people, straddling the borders of the counties of Kent and East Sussex in England.

I had been working in the village school during the week and wanted explore this beautiful area more. It was a stunning Easter Sunday morning and we had a great, if muddy, ramble of about five miles.

A Little Lane, the brook runs close beside
And spangles in the sunshine while the fish glide swiftly by
And hedges leafing with the green spring tide
From out their greenery the old birds fly

John Clare (1793-1864)

Devil’s Dyke. Brighton.

Devil’s Dyke is a 100 metre deep V-shaped dry valley on the South Downs in Sussex in southern England, 5 miles north-west of Brighton. It is managed by the National Trust, and is also part of the Beeding Hill to Newtimber Hill Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Wikipedia.

Steep but beautiful. With the gradient I felt like I had walked 10 miles! In fact it was 4.5.

Included was a stop off in the lovely little village of Poynings for a pint at the pub.

Firle Country Estate.

Last weekend we took a walk on the Firle Country Estate near Lewes in East Sussex. Firle Place is a privately owned country house in Sussex that dates from the time of Henry VIII. Incorporating several villages and farms spread over rolling hills, the Firle Estate, is in the heart of the magnificent South Downs National Park.

https://firle.com/

The Estate incorporates the Old Coach Road, which dates from over 1000 years ago and is the original road running from the Beddingham to Newhaven Road at the Lay, just south of Beddingham Church, to Firle.

The Old Coach running through Firle.

It was a fabulous walk over sweeping downland. We are right in the cusp of the shooting season so there were pheasants and partridge a plenty. We finished the walk of with a pint of cider in Village pub.

A perfect autumn Sunday!

Herstmonceux Castle Estate.

A beautiful sunny, warm autumn morning saw us heading out to the stunning 15th century moated Herstmonceux Castle, set in a beautiful estate featuring woodland trails, lakes, meadows and themed and formal gardens, including a magic garden with definite echos of Francis Hodgson Burnett (The Secret Garden).

Built as a luxurious fortified home in the mid 15th century by Sir Roger Fiennes, who had fought at Agincourt with Henry V, it is now owned by Queen’s University in Canada and is their UK campus as well as a visitor centre.

It’s is a magical location and well worth the £8 entrance fee