The forecast was for cloud cover all day, but generally dry, allied with a
requirement to visit Midhurst, I planned a walk on the Downs starting at the
car park above Cocking, dropping back down through the village before climbing
back up and over the other side of the A 286 road. Snaking through the
plantations on the south side, before re-crossing the road and traversing
north of West Dean. Back up to the ridge through West Dean woods and dropping
down towards Bepton, before returning to the car park.
Driving up to Cocking from Midhurst we could see that the tops of the Downs were
in cloud, and arriving at the car park everything was shrouded in mist. Leaving
the two other camper vans who had spent the night there we walked towards
Hilltop farm, and thence down the byway dropping off the ridge.
The byway came out above a disused railway tunnel - now fenced off to protect
the bats. We kept on the old railway over a bridge before dropping down onto a
farm driveway towards Cocking village.
In the village we crossed the A286 and cut over to the church down a narrow lane
that met a back road. Shortly after this we climbed into a grazing field and
back into the mist.
The path then ascended sun combe between a ploughed field and the woods getting
ever more foggy.
Above the woods and onto Manorfarm Down we were fully enclosed in the clouds -
the GPS kept us on track to the gate onto the SDW.
Across the SDW and into Charlton Forest - eerie in the clouds, until we dropped
out the bottom onto North lane.
We followed the lane slightly downhill to a junction beside a barn where we
turned off towards Levin Down. The original idea was to curve around this to
Broadham house, however something nudged me to go through the gate into the
nature reserve and climb up the hill.
We soon left the trees behind and entered the misty world on the hillside
above.
At the southern end of the reserve we turned west and continued on a GPS bearing
crossing the Lipchis way on the hillside before picking up the path through
Collick's copse.
This brought us down to the driveway going back up to Broadham house and closing
the diversion back onto the original track.
Taking the lane from Broadham house we climbed gently into Singleton forest.
Another diversion came to mind here as the map showed an "Oil Well" in a forest
clearing, so we took a roundabout way (because the direct route had overgrown)
using the forest firebreaks deeper into the forest.
The Oil Well was in a compound fenced off from the trees and shrouded in the
mist, but we could make out the nodding donkeys bouncing slowly, through the
chain-link fencing.
Conscious of all the CCTV cameras around we quickly worked around the fence and
headed away down another firebreak - overgrown and little used but angled
towards our original route. This joined up with the path where it crossed the
site access road and back down to the A286.
Unmarked on the map we crossed over and continued on the path which led up
through the woods and re-crossed the dismantled railway. This led away from our
original plan and into Littlewood plantation, however it saved several hundred
yards walking down the edge of a busy road.
At the edge of the plantation we cut down the side of a field and followed a
farm track down to our original route just beyond Littlewood farm. This was not
really a path, but we were hidden in the mist! Back on route we followed the
path alongside Wellhanger Copse, passing middle barn.
From Downley cottage we followed the driveway and joined up to a back road that
led through Colworth farm and mutated into a bridleway continuing to Westdean
woods. This bit we had been on previously but looked different in the mist.
Still following our previous route the only difference was that the log stacks
had been removed. Over Stapleash down towards the farm of the same name.
Dropping down the other side to pick up a path heading north into Westdean
woods.
The bridleway up through Westdean woods was flanked by fencing on one side and
multiple notices to "keep out - Private" on the other. Although there we a
number of dilapidated chalk balls to the side of the path. These are the legacy
of Andy Goldsworthy's trail from Cocking Down to West Dean college, but impacted
by the frost.
Leaving Westdean woods things opened up (as well as more paths and no signs),
until we crossed into the open grassland on the top of the ridge.
We crossed over the SDW and back in the denser cloud navigated across to the
path dropping through Bepton down by GPS once again. We paused in the wood for a
short drink and snack on a fallen tree.
At the bottom of the slope we turned onto Henley Lane - a chalk track angled
slightly uphill, before it merged onto a bridleway beside Stead Combe. This was
sunken and enclosed with hedges each side, and we followed it down to Crypt farm.
A bit of a wiggle around the farm and path before we re-joined our outgoing route, and climbed up to Hilltop farm. Bertie gave his usual support as I struggled up this final climb. It only remained to avoid the café at the farm and head back to the van in the car park and lunch.
