Vicquilter: Blowing A GALE

South Downs Way Day 7

Poynings to Lewes

12 miles/ 19 kms

And no rain!

But WOW it was windy.

How windy was it?

At the top of the Downs where it is most exposed, we were constantly being blown off balance.

At times it was a tail wind but most of the day it was a crosswind.

Being that we have walked 6 days and have 3 to go, this is perfect.

Winchester 67 miles = done

Eastbourne 33 miles = to do

Our one and only stile of the day.

Following the ridge of the Downs.

Pyecombe Church

Was most welcoming

A kitchen where walkers are invited to make themselves a cuppa.

...but most important ... A WC ... Very few a far between on the SDW (& so are trees).

There are 2 windmills affectionately called Jack and Jill.

This one is Jill.

It is fully restored and is used to grind the flour used in their bakeshop.

The wind blows these smaller sails which then turns the entire windmill to the most advantageous direction.

Chutes: labelled bran, coarse flour and fine flour.

Beautiful scenery.

These clouds were flying across the sky.

Mom just emailed me to say that her Great Aunt Lou ( my gr gpa Albert Macy' s sister) and Uncle Dusty lived here near Burgess Hill at Jacob's Post. I believe the above photo looks out in that direction.

Tom and Gary, do you remember Gramma Eva talking about her Aunt Lou? I sure do. She mentioned her often and with great affection.

I love how bakers were typically nicknamed Dusty.

Awww

I loved the colours of the fields...

a golden yellow and a complementary green.

The wind was making beautiful patterns of the crops. Unfortunately it does not transfer well to still photography.

Being Saturday, it was very busy on the path. Besides the regular weekday traffic (us, a few other walkers and a few bikers), there were

well behaved hordes of children,

a group of 350 walkers going the opposite direction which luckily we only met on the final 20 minutes,

much weekend traffic, both walkers, many with dogs

and weekend cyclers

And

300 RUNNERS set out from Winchester this morning, they have 28 hours to finish the 100 mile course. There are many farm gates along the route that the runners have to stop for ... not an easy run! We did not see the runners but did see many folks setting up their check stations and placing directional signs.

Back to the well behaved hordes of children.

The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip) many years set up a program that encourages youth to get outside and create healthy lifestyle choices. The children were carrying maps, following the Way, some are camping. They were in small groups of about 10. Most of them greeted oncoming walkers with a bright and cheerful good morning, they were respectful of their peers and interested in their surroundings. What a pleasure to see!

We ended our windy day at a pub, we had arranged for a taxi to take us to our B & B. The same driver, Skully will take us back in the morning.

We are at Aleberry B&B in the quaint and historic town of Lewes.

There is a castle here which was built shortly after 1066 (we are not far from Hastings)

Also this is where Henry VIII stashed his bride Anne of Cleves when that marriage quickly failed.