Blustery. Not storming, but good enough to help justify in my mind the amount we paid last night to stay inside. Not to say the Inn wasn’t nice—it was. We got to have supper with Bear and Sassy which we haven’t gotten to on this trail. It was just overpriced, but I’m a 70s man living in a 20s world. The most redemptive aspect of the Inn was that the village owns it. I’d much rather contribute to a small hamlet trying to survive than to a corporate owned place with no local interest.
I would have preferred storms and hail overnight, like we experienced on the way into town. Blustery is partially redemptive. On the bright side, it started to rain before we left this morning. We were all forced to wear our raincoats almost the entire day, just because the wind was so strong. It was very similar to hiking on the AT, except the hills weren’t nearly as steep, the track was much better maintained, the views were expansive, and the rain was not an all day affair. The only thing really like the AT was that we hiked with Bear and Sassy in the rain most of the day. When we met them, they promised us many rainy days of hiking. They have kept up their end of the bargain—and then some.
We spent most of the morning in the Downs which should be called the Ups. I don’t think we’ve gone over 800’ yet, but the terrain is so dramatic. The towns all sit down between 200’ and 400’ above sea level. There is a cost to dropping down to towns and that’s the climb back out. Bunny’s new hip is doing fantastic. She doesn’t have the miserable pain like previous years, but she’s realizing how much she had favored her left side. It’s going to take her a while to build her left leg up to equal strength with her right leg. When she does, I’m toast.
This ridge was highly used in the Bronze Age and Iron Age. There are several archaeological sites along the way every day. We’ve passed so many burial mounds that it’s like land measles. They were smart enough to cremate their dead, so they won’t end up in a museum like the current, and past few generations will. Our embalming methods will be too tempting to not dig up in the future when a cemetery is stumbled upon.
Only one thing kept me going this morning through the blusteryness, Cadence Cafe. I knew they would be open at a road crossing about 5 miles in for us. Sure enough, they were there and waiting. They had even erected a covered dining area out of canvas for us to use. The wind was blowing so strong, we thought it might take off. A few of the roof supports were bent, but it held for us.
One highlight we had planned for today was to visit a Roman Villa from the 3rd century. In the 19th century, a farmer was plowing his field and discovered a nearly intact floor mosaic. That was the start of the discovery. I remembered thinking back to being a little kid and seeing the “founded in 1868” signs and thinking that entire towns set in the wilderness waiting to be discovered. I didn’t understand that it meant someone started building the place. My childhood misconception proved to be closer to the truth in this case.
We got to walk down an old Roman Road (not the first time for Bunny and me). We had to walk about a mile and a half off trail to only discover that Tuesday and Wednesday is the traditional Roman weekend—they were closed. Like any town visit , we had to pay the price of steep elevation loss and gain. When Bunny’s climbing, every ascent is like climbing Mt Everest…step, step, rest, breathe.
Our true mileage today was closer to 14. I don’t count the side trails or the trips into town and back. As long as we walk more than the prescribed trail miles, I’m fine with it. This is Bunny’s longest day on her new hip. No complaints other than muscle stiffness which is to be expected.
Since we stayed in an Inn last night, we were most definitely camping tonight unless a hurricane made landfall. I was prepared to wild camp after Amberly, but we found an article listing the five best camping locations on the South Downs Way and Foxleigh came up number 1. Better still, it’s directly on the trail…no extra mileage required.
Bunny and I split up from Bear and Sassy just 0.2 miles from here. The plan was to meet up in the middle for supper tonight, but the two best places to eat in town are right by where we’re staying or the pub they’re staying in. Neither one of us wanted to walk an extra 2 miles just for a meal. We’ll meet up in the middle of the village in the morning.
Foxleigh is very well maintained and nice. It has everything hikers want: a kitchen, picnic tables, level spots, friendly hosts, showers, and toilets. We’re over a week in England and I haven’t filtered water or dug a hole yet. I’m not sure if what we’re doing is considered backpacking.
EFG
I am soooooo jealous.
You two have nothing but time…get on over here