Devil’s Work? - The South Downs Way Walk
With Beeding Hill, Truleigh Hill, Edburton Hill, Fulking Hill, Newtimber Hill and Devil’s Dyke only just out of my legs, I’m sitting here thinking how strange the latest leg of our South Downs Way walk was!
Perhaps it was all fitting for a walk involving work of the Devil himself (See Devil’s Dyke further down). It was definitely hot enough for the Devil to have been involved and some odd things did happen.
We headed out from Upper Beeding with only an eight mile walk to Pyecombe ahead of us. We started early, but already the sun combined with Truleigh Hill had me sweating less than 10 minutes after we set out.
Devil’s Work?
At the top of the hill we found a filly that had somehow manage to break out of its
paddock. At the same time my mobile rang from my daypack. Before I had managed to get the phone out of my bag, I had missed the call. The call was from my sister, who is currently holidaying in Turkey. With all the bombs in Turkey lately, I thought I’d better call her back.
So there I am on the South Downs Way calling my sister on holiday in Turkey while a filly is having the time of its life outside its paddock. But it gets even weirder.
As I’m calling Turkey, two girls turn up to try to get the filly back in the paddock, only the filly has to walk past us, which it is not keen to do, but it doesn’t want to walk past the two girls either. So it starts running back and forth between the two girls and us.
In the meantime I have managed to get my sister on the phone, who tells me that they are all fine, but that her friend’s son would like some help with some English vocabulary for a school assignment. So again there I am on the South Downs Way in the blasting sun spelling English words down a phoneline to a 16-year-old in Turkey, while a filly is running back and forth as were it possessed. Devil’s work? You tell me.
When we finally start walking again we soon get to enjoy fantastic views of Lancing College and the sea to one side and the undulating landscape of The Downs to the other. Walking up Edburton and Fulking hills I soon forget about the strange situation earlier in the day.
Autumn on its way
Even though the sun is out and it is getting hotter and hotter as we approach midday, it is beginning to feel like autumn. The red berries on the trees and the light slightly less intense give it away, autumn is around the corner.
Devil’s Dyke
Even Devil’s Dyke, which at the height of the summer is heaving with people, seemed relatively empty when we climbed it. The valley was created by the Devil himself so that the area would flood and the churches would be destroyed, or so the story goes.
Big, black poodle on the loose
Maybe the Devil was dancing on the hill that day, because soon after Devil’s Dyke we were
greeted by another strange sight. Behind a metal gate stood this giant, black poodle completely still all by itself, no owner in sight. The dog just stood there as if it was waiting for someone to open the gate. We decided not to open the gate as we weren’t sure if it had run away from its owner. At least behind the gate the owner would then stand a chance of catching up with the big poodle. Unfortunately a couple that came walking towards us decided otherwise. “It’s huge”, the woman shouted followed by a laugh and then she opened the gate for the poodle.
Jack & Jill
Just before we crossed the A23 we passed a riding school which was hosting some event. 
We passed horse trailer after horse trailer before we crossed the road and walked through Pyecombe village. We had to watch out for flying golf balls as we walked along Pyecombe golf course on the final stretch of the day, before we reached the Jack & Jill Windmills and our car.
A lonely chicken walking around the beer garden at the Jack & Jill Inn made sure we ended the walk on yet another odd note, while we enjoyed a late lunch.
Next stage
You can read about our next walk from Pyecombe to Southease here: Crossing the Greenwich Meridian.
Related articles
You can read about all the stages of our South Downs Way walk in these articles:
Sweltering South Downs Way Walks
Crossing the Greenwich Meridian
Eastbourne never looked sweeter
Technorati Tags: South Downs Way, walking, hiking, Devil’s Dyke, Pyecombe, Jack and Jill
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