Today was a circular route from the Royal Oak with a distance of 12.9K. The route did not provide the natural sights that the previous days' had, but it was more civilized and provided the opportunity for stops for refreshments. More on that later.
The walk started by retracing the last part of the previous day's route including the stretch through the sheep pastures where we had to walk carefully to avoid the droppings.
One thing we've noticed as we've walked here is the predominance of chalk. It really shows in this crater we passed which might be an old bomb crater?
Eventually, we made our way to West Dean where we made a stop for coffee.
Upon leaving West Dean, we came upon St. Andrew's Church with its historic cemetery. Many of the grave stones were worn too much to read. The oldest one we could read was dated 1722 - a mere 300 years old!
The architecture in the area was interesting, with many of the buildings reflecting the stonework of the beautiful walls surrounding the West Dean Estate.
The next stretch of the walk was probably the most unpleasant so far as we walked for about a mile along a busy road. At least there was a sidewalk. The reward was arriving in Singleton where the pub awaited us for lunch. But first, we had to be silly with a couple of signs that we passed.
And then, finally, The Partridge Inn for beer and a vegan sharing board.
One of the charms of The Partridge Inn was seeing the locals at the bar. Pardon the reference for those of you who might not be familiar with the old TV show Cheers, but we definitely identified Norm, Cliff, and Sam in the photo. And we knew which one was Norm when he ordered his third pint of the day!
Leaving Singleton, we soon began the only climb of the day - a steep ascent up to St. Roche's Hill and The Trundle. The weather cooperated by providing fairly clear skies and the views from the top were great.
Now, for The Trundle, the hilltop was the site of a fort constructed around 500BC. All that remains today are a couple of pits.
After the hill, it was a gradual descent and an easy walk back to the inn. We haven't seen much wildlife on our walks - mostly birds. We did get a good pheasant sighting today.
We did not feel as exhausted at the end of today's walk probably due to 2 factors. First, there wasn't as much up and down. Second, and maybe more significant, were the 2 civilized stops for food and drink. Tomorrow we walk to our next inn - the Millstream Hotel in Bosham. That will bring us down to sea level and the walks will be very different. The weather forecast has been calling for some rain but the latest says that the worst will be over in the morning before we leave. Fingers crossed!
Peace and blessings,
Linda and Larry
