South Downs Waywards

It's been a while since Strictly Lady Lloyd and I have undertaken a walk. Given the busyness of everyone's lives, we booked one in several weeks ago for this weekend, but hadn't made a firm plan about where to head.   'Where shall we go?' she asked. 'It's been a while since we've been up on the Downs,' I said. 'I've missed it.' It turns out that so had SLL, and so we found ourselves at a Cadence Cafe first thing in the morning. I say 'found ourselves at' very casually, as though we just set the coordinates on our tardis and arrived there, which fails to do justice to the catalogue of conversations and events which enabled it to happen. Firstly, it's worth reminding that the Cadence Cafe at Upwaltham was the scene of a near-divorce situation the first time round, due to some miscommunication and the tiny detail that there are not just one, but two so-named establishments close to the route, (although situated a significant dis...

 In Geneva for the Lionesses' semi-final on Tuesday evening (which is a whole other story for a different kind of blog), Strictly Lady Lloyd and I continued our European trip with a train ride to Annecy. The 40km circuit of Lake Annecy seemed a bit much of a hike for our 48 hours here, so we investigated bike hire. To be fair, we're not the first people to have thought of this. Apparently, up to 7000 people a day choose to cycle the lake in summer, and nearly a million every year. The first place we approached had no bikes left, but Veloc'annecy came up trumps. Not only did they have bikes available but, crucially, bikes with baskets (for our rustic French picnic). We headed off just after midday this afternoon. On the advice of the helpful staff in the cycle shop, we opted for the anti-clockwise, 'classic' route:  Annecy → Sevrier → Saint-Jorioz → Duingt → Talloires → Menthon-Saint-Bernard → Annecy-le-Vieux. A smooth, gradual tour until the end. (But more of that ...

The Waywards strayed a long way from the South Downs at the weekend, undertaking an organised walk - the Jurassic Coast Mighty Hike half-marathon - for the first time. I realise that makes it sound as if all previous walks have been 'disorganised'. I'm saying nothing. The other difference on this occasion was the addition of a third member for the experience, creating a trio of 'Sole Sisters'.  We were resplendent in our Macmillan Green, though missed the memo about glitter and deely-boppers. I was, however, sporting a shiny new titanium hip, as yet untried on rugged terrain and over distance. We gathered at the starting line at Norden Farm, having taken the chain link from Sandbanks to Swanage.  A small delay ensued due to some dithering over which footwear to select: trainers or hiking boots (went for the latter, thankfully), which socks to wear (I'd forgotten my hiking socks, so begged, borrowed and then bought), and whether or not to take walking poles (did...

Since we last traversed the Downs, the Waywards have had an aborted attempt to complete Stage 2 of the Literary Walk. A route which requires revisiting. In the meantime, a mild and bright October half term offered an inviting opportunity for a local walk.  In the absence of chauffeurs, Strictly Lady Lloyd selected a circular walk beginning at The George pub in Burpham. We parked up and crossed the road, heading through the churchyard and around the church. Once we reached downland, we were greeted by the majestic flight of a large dark coloured bird with the distinctive forked tail of a red kite. I'm not entirely convinced it was a red kite, because the tail was a bright yellowy-orange, but it was certainly that shape. I'm not sure what else it could have been. It was close to us when it took flight, and we watched it for a few minutes before it disappeared into the distance. From open tracts we could look back and just about make out the outline of Arundel Castle against the s...