Wednesday, September 26, 2007
30th August. Ditchling Beacon.
After our pleasant lunch and stroll in the village of Ditchling we drove in the car to the top of Ditchling Beacon.
It is a popular place for people to stop and admire the view. There is a car park and normally an ice cream van. Bill quite surprised me when he decided to buy an ice cream, which he enjoyed as we set off on our walk.
Sometimes we walk to the west - towards the windmills known locally as Jack and Jill; but this time we went eastwards for a mile or so.
Looking to the north we can look across The Weald (where Crawley is) towards The North Downs.
Below us is the village of Ditchling.
Now we are looking south eastwards to the valley of The Ouse and its little tributary Glynde Reach to another range of South Downs.
It is on those hills that my family's camp was set up each summer.
Bill poses for a photograph on the path. If we had carried on walking in that direction we would have dropped down to the town of Lewes.
Bill again. We keep some walking poles in the car and then usually forget to take them out with us. After all, our walks are neither very long nor very hard.
But they are useful to me on uneven and sloping ground.
Look above Bill's head and you will see Seaford Head far in the distance - white chalk cliffs.
This view shows the Eastern end of Brighton and the sea. The Marina is at sea level to the left of the picture - you can't see it though.
Bill propped his camera on a gate post for this picture.
It is a popular place for people to stop and admire the view. There is a car park and normally an ice cream van. Bill quite surprised me when he decided to buy an ice cream, which he enjoyed as we set off on our walk.
Sometimes we walk to the west - towards the windmills known locally as Jack and Jill; but this time we went eastwards for a mile or so.
Looking to the north we can look across The Weald (where Crawley is) towards The North Downs.
Below us is the village of Ditchling.
Now we are looking south eastwards to the valley of The Ouse and its little tributary Glynde Reach to another range of South Downs.
It is on those hills that my family's camp was set up each summer.
Bill poses for a photograph on the path. If we had carried on walking in that direction we would have dropped down to the town of Lewes.
Bill again. We keep some walking poles in the car and then usually forget to take them out with us. After all, our walks are neither very long nor very hard.
But they are useful to me on uneven and sloping ground.
Look above Bill's head and you will see Seaford Head far in the distance - white chalk cliffs.
This view shows the Eastern end of Brighton and the sea. The Marina is at sea level to the left of the picture - you can't see it though.
Harebells. These pale blue delicate flowers grow well on the chalk. My real favourites are the other pale blue chalkland flowers - scabious, but they were all gone at this stage of August.
Bill propped his camera on a gate post for this picture.
I asked Bill to pose for me - and he did. At first I was a bit cross that he should look so silly. But once I had seen the picture I loved it. It captures the essence of Bill!
