South Downs Waywards

This walk, on Sunday 19th February 2023, was spectacular.  And quite uncharacteristically bench-filled.  It was a ‘shoutier’ walk than some of the other South Downs Way stages we have covered so far. This was partly because of more wonderful weather (clear skies meant we could see for miles) combined with rapidly-changing scenery: the familiar chalk path cut across fields and farmland, wended through woodland, veered via villages, spanned roads, crossed river and road bridges; all the while incorporating sight of the Jack and Jill windmills in the distance and panoramic views of the sea.  But the main reason it seemed more arresting and spectacular than some other stretches of the walk was because it was crowned by the dramatic vista of Devil’s Dyke. It began and ended with graves: the landmark family memorial to Walter and Mollie Langmead positioned on the spot of their favourite view, and ending with the Commonwealth war graves at Pyecombe’s 12 th century Church. Markers of mortalit