Tuesday 11 June 2013

SNOWS OF YESTERYEAR

 Sussex Border Path Leg 8

It's hard to imagine now, or at least it was a couple of days ago when the sun was shining and I was lounging in the garden with a chilled Pinot Grigio, that when we walked leg 8 it was still distinctly  winter.  This was the view that greeted us at the start - a sea of brownness with not a leaf in sight.


  

But the cottage we passed was rather lovely.

 

Where we passed under the railway there was a sad memorial to someone who had died on the track.


The bridge under the railway was more gaily decorated.


The other side of the embankment we followed a stream which flowed into the Medway.



Here we joined the National Cycle Network with its curious Royal Bank of Scotland way markers.


A short stretch of road here looked as though it was subject to flooding.
 


Gun emplacements crossed the fields.  It's sobering that this line of defence was so far from the coast.


A more attractive building - an oast just about converted to a home.


And then we were back into the spectacular rolling Weald countryside.


There was long section of hollow ways here, which still had snow in them.


Here we turned off, taking our lives in our hands to cross the main A26.


But it was just about worth the risk to reach here . . .


After lunch, we headed back off into open country, passing the  Bowles Outdoor Centre ski slope


and climbing rocks.


You can see here where the ancient path still runs through a hollow way.


At the bottom of this section, we passed through a deer fence into a plantation,


seeing few deer however.  Maybe they couldn't cross this sleeper bridge.


And then, back in civilisation, we passed through Pococks Gate Farm

and down the main road to Wadhurst station (which was where we started leg 9  that I posted earlier).


4 comments:

  1. Some rather interesting sights to be seen along this section. I really like the cottage in the second shot, but I'd be a little concerned about the chimney falling through the roof in high winds!! Those RBS waymarkers have a rather odd design, but I think that makes them interesting. I have to say that the idea of living in a house that's a converted Oasthouse really appeals to me :-)) was the Ham, Egg & Chips test applied to the Boar's Head Inn?

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    1. I should have mentioned the HEC test - I believe the Boars Head didn't do too well.

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  2. Good photos Neil,, Brings it all back

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  3. Very interesting as always Neil ~ I'm just catching up on a few blogs after my recent, er, lay-off.

    We've got some of the RBS waymarkers in Derbyshire too. I think they were blue.

    The raised path beside the road liable to flooding appealed to me.

    I must have a look at leg 9.

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