After all the sorting out following our trip to the alps, and Bertie
coming out from his "all inclusive" holiday, I wanted to get out for a couple
of hours, and see if blowing the cobwebs would chase the chill away. I settles
on a trip up to the south downs below Storrington, however rather than the
usual car park at Kithurst, I chose the one at the end of Chantry lane.
Getting there proved a challenge because of the landslip in Pulborough, adding
traffic to the back roads.
Climbing up the single lane road up to the South Downs ridge we arrived at the
car park shrouded in cloud/ mist.
We started off heading across the fields following a path with no vision of what
lay beyond it.
We continued to follow the path as it climbed up, traversing Blackpatch Hill
Past the hilltop the path converted into a lane that dropped down past
Longfurlong farm - a horse stabling - to meet the road leading to Myrtle Grove
Farm - another large horse place, along with other services. The lane started
off as a green lane then as we met the farm fields it turned into a chalk
quagmire cloggin up and sticking to my boots.
Beyond the farm buildings we had to negotiate an number of well worn paddocks,
dropping down and rising up the other side into open pasture.
The pasture track led to a road, which we had to leave when the path separated
to go around Harrow Hill. This tie the field had been ploughed and while not as
bad as the path past Longfurlong farm it was very cloggy.
The ploughed field led to pasture as we curved around Harrow Hill, and then down
to the farthest barn of Lee Farm. We had been here last year on a walk from
Amberley.
Zigzagging past Lee Farm, and up the lane going north into the cloud over the
South Downs ridge. We passed a kite nesting wood with a pair flying around.
A jink to the left and the track deteriorated to a dirk track and then a
footpath up the side of a field. Crossing a fence and we were back into the
pasture spreading down from thee top of the ridge.
The pasture led to the South Downs Way, which we followed along the ridge top
back towards Chantry Post. Bertie paused for a drink at the dew pond below
Kithurst Hill.
The car park emerged out of the wind and soon sat out of the dew from the cloud cover and time to drive home.
