After our supper at the Bridge Inn last night, we came back to our sheltered tent spot. We had chosen a strategic spot, near the back hedge, behind a sitting pavilion, for extra wind protection. We didn’t check the spot well because it was quite slanted.
Throughout the night, the bed slid down my side of the tent. Bunny insisted on keeping her share of the bed even though mine was sliding up the side of the tent. I couldn’t move without facing Bunny wrath. I awoke at 5a to the sound of baaing sheep 5’ from us (on the other side of the hedge). I had a mesh pattern on my cheek from my face being pressed into the tent screen. It was not a good night’s sleep.
Since we didn’t meet Bear and Sassy for supper, we agreed to meet in the village and walk out together. We have heard that Amberly is the prettiest village in the Downs, so we wanted to see for ourselves. We thought we might stop by the Tea Shop to have a pastry and tea while we waited for our genteel friends to finish up their daily massages after their breakfasts.
The gate in front of the Tea Shop was closed with a bit of a snarky sign saying “if you can read this sign, we are closed.” We checked the hours, and their approximate opening time on Thursdays is 10:30. There is a shop in town, so we headed across the village to it. It was half way across the business district, meaning 2 buildings down. Their hours said open at 9 and it was only 8:45, but they were open!
We went in and bought lunches. After we checked out, I asked if they had a microwave we could use to heat up a sausage roll. Even better yet, they also sell coffee and tea. I ordered a second breakfast for me and we sat out front watching the store’s local robin maraud the place. When the cashier brought out my roll and coffee, she told me if the robin doesn’t get his morning sunflower seed, he’ll come in the store looking for it. While I was sitting on the bench, he did just that. He saw there wasn’t seed out and he walked right in the store.
We decided to walk around and check out the houses. The walled streets are very cozy. I love the idea of an enclosed courtyard and the privacy you get. We were very surprised to see so many thatched roofs this far south and close to the ocean.
When Bear and Sassy came into town, we were already up and moving in the direction we needed to go. It was a quick walk out of town until we hit the climb and Bunny began her Everest ascent routine. Today is a walking day only…no major highlights, and no chance for a cafe along the way. There is only one thing we can look forward to…the halfway mark.
We were at what is considered the halfway point—Amberly. But the actual halfway point is a car park just 3 miles east of town. Once we got to that point, I dropped my pack declaring Bunny needed a break. Two elderly gentlemen from the town below started kidding us about taking a break so soon in the day. We talked with Pete and John (there’s always a good natured Pete wherever we go) for about a half hour until John started getting antsy for a drink.
There was an overgrown World War II bunker just off the trail. We couldn’t find its exact use, but we surmised it might have been a listening station for early warning of bombing raids. We are close to the southern shore of England. We are not far from Brighton and just across from France. It’s also conceivable it may have been an anti aircraft fortification. We took a lunch spot not too far after to think about it.
It was a perfect day for hiking (in my book). I’m not a big fan of the sun beating on me. I overheat quickly when it does. Today was 98% cloud cover and just about 58F. In spite of that, I spent a lot of the morning walking in full sun. I always happened to be walking under the cloud break. Anyone else would have liked that.
After lunch, we came upon another Iron Age hill-fort. In 1780, a farmer decided it would be nice to have a Beech Grove on the site, so he planted one. This gave cover and rise to the local witches (or as republicans in the US refer to them—women) to come out perform Druid rituals and magic.
To check this out, we walked around the perimeter to activate the magic. It worked! A huge Royal tent was erected in the field below. It appears England is going to war. We quickly reversed our steps and the battle tents were revised to celebratory tents for the Queens Jubilee. Crisis averted due to Bear’s quick thinking of sacrificing a bunny in the middle of the grove.
The crossing of the River Adur, marked another change for us. Bear and Sassy had to leave the trail to head to their B&B for the night. I had to convince my Bunny that she could make in another mile and a half uphill. I had tried to call to see if we could get a couple of beds, but we were told they couldn’t help us because it was not far enough advance booking. We would just have to go to the hostel and take our chances.
Worst case, there is camping allowed in the field across from the hostel. This would work, but we needed showers and laundry. I can smell myself. I’m afraid to get too close to people. We haven’t done laundry since we got to London over a week ago. We are ripe.
Bunny went in while I talked with a man from Hastings we’ve been bumping into on the trail for the last few days. When I got in, Bunny had already gotten us a room. When I asked about a washing machine and got a positive response, I was in Heaven. Hiking makes you appreciate the simple things.
EFG
Thank you….
It’s always good to have a Pete around. You can still recover a bit and come back for Portugal again.
I thought about doing Portugal after the Via but I had nothing left. It was a brute. Start the Cotwolds end of July. So reading your stuff is great.