Crossing the Greenwich Meridian - The South Downs Way Walk

He looked like he was hiding something. With his back to us facing the boot of his car, he was using his right arm to cover his left arm with his coat. I wasn’t afraid as I had just seen a group of hikers walk away from his car, and I assumed that he was just getting ready to join them.

He turned just as we walked past him and on his arm was what he had been hiding with his coat - a falcon. “It’s a hawk”, just spurted out of my mouth, “I mean it’s a falcon!”, as if everyone else hadn’t figured that out already. The falcon’s head was covered with a hood which reminded me of an executioner’s hood. The making of falconry hoods is an art in itself, I’ve learned after a quick search on falconry.

We watched this impressive bird take off and fly about for a while, before we went on our way on the third to last leg of our South Downs Way walk.

The sight of the falcon greeted us towards the end of our 14-mile walk, which took us from Pyecombe to Southease. We started the day at the Jack & Jill Windmills and headed out in sunny weather, which given the time of year was another pleasant surprise, albeit not as big a surprise as seeing a falcon.

Soon after the windmills we crossed from West Sussex into East Sussex, as we were catching up on news from the five weeks that had passed since our last walk. We reached Ditchling Beacon in no time and were rewarded with a fantastic view of the rolling hills.

Being half way through November I had expected this part of the South Downs Way to be very muddy and grey. But it was still very green and with the sunny weather I had to stop quite a few times just to enjoy the panoramic view, as we were making our way to the A27 crossing.

We got to the A27 crossing in record time, for us that is, and I made a comment about the ease of the walk that I would soon be made to regret.

Immediately after crossing the A27, as we were climbing to the ridge of Cold Coombes, my feet started burning. A burning that I now know was the first signs of my very first South Downs Way blisters. I put the burning sensation down to the hard work of the ongoing climb and was more concerned about my legs, which were feeling very heavy.

I tried to forget the pain and enjoy the view towards Lewes as we were walking along Jugg’s Road, which is an ancient route previously used to carry fish in pottery jugs to Lewes Market. But clouds were gathering, the wind was picking up and my feet were not feeling any better. I felt very much like I was being punished for my remark about the ease of the walk.

We were all starting to feel the walk in our legs by now and I for one was beginning to look forward to seeing the river Ouze which would mark the end of our walk.

Struggling across the Greenwich Meridian we forgot to celebrate passing into the eastern hemisphere, and I think we all enjoyed the breather that watching the falcon provided us.

The last half an hour of the walk seemed the longest, but we finally made it across the Ouze and to our car. When I took my boots off, I was greeted with bloody socks that were covering four blisters and various cuts on my feet.
I hardly ever get blisters and as these were my first South Downs Way blisters, I put them down to the socks I was wearing.

We drove back to the Jack & Jill windmills to pick up the second car and finished the day with half a pint in the Jack & Jill Inn.

Next stage

You can read about our final two walks from Southease to Alfriston and Alfriston to Eastbourne here: Eastbourne never looked sweeter - The South Downs Way Walk

Related articles

You can read about all the stages of our South Downs Way walk in these articles:

Sweltering South Downs Way Walks

Lost on the Milky Way

The Walk of Changes

For the Love of Sheep

Devil’s Work?

Crossing the Greenwich Meridian

Eastbourne never looked sweeter

Technorati Tags: South Downs Way, Greenwich Meridian, Falcon, Southease, Pyecombe, river Ouze

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