SEASON OF MISTS AND FRUITLESSNESS Part 1

Sussex Border Path Leg 5a

OK, I'm supposed to be taking the rubbish to the tip, ready for our trip up north.  And I haven't started packing yet.  so I can't be long.  But here are some pics from our further walk along the Sussex Border Path.

I love this month.  Autumn is in the air, and there is a definite chill in the early morning, yet the days can be sunny and warm.  The greens of summer are beginning to be tinged with reds and yellows, and the hedgerows are full of delectable treats.  But, no.  This year the fruit just hasn't materialised.  The year has been so dry and then so wet in quite the wrong order and magnitude, that apple trees are often barren and blackberries taste dusty and tart. But the rest was definitely true yesterday.

We began our journey from the Sir Roger Tichborne at Alfold.

 

From here, we were soon onto a woodland path.  One with a seemingly unnecessary notice.

 

The path led through the grounds of the Rikkyo Japanese school, where students were learning javelin techniques.  Perhaps synchronised throwing is to be a new Olympic sport.

 

A nearby house looked rather ranch-like.

But the woodland looked pretty in the autumn sunshine.

 

On the hills we saw what might be red kites, now quite a long way from where they were introduced to the country though.  I need Fabi to identify this.

 

The path followed a ridge through farmland, now harvested, with wide views both north and south.

 

And fairly quickly to Rudgwick, the only village on the walk, and where we therefore had to succumb to an early lunch.  This is that unusual animal, an Italian pub.  Maybe should be called la Testa del Re.

Even more unusual, lunch was an escalope followed by ice cream or coffee for £5.  If only Rudgwick was somewhere other than the middle of nowhere, it would be worth returning for the excellent-sounding Italian menu (and excellent prices!).