Stage 9: Alfriston to Eastbourne
This was it: the finale. Friday 1st September 2023. The culmination of three years of covid-interrupted walking and planning. The last, spectacular stage of the South Downs Way. The cunning plan was for us to be dropped in Alfriston, then Strictly Lord Lloyd would travel on to deposit our bags at a seafront hotel in Eastbourne ready for our triumphant descent. Perhaps there would be bunting and fanfares... Except that driving to Alfriston took place in near-monsoon conditions. The pace of the windscreenwipers on Lord Lloyd's car was a disturbing indication of what was to come. Marti Pellow sang in a band that best describes how we felt during the first couple of hours. It was 'light rain', true enough, but the drenching kind of light rain that quickly soaks one utterly. A thing that looked good in the wet There was navigating of puddles to be done. Conquering of cows. A longish stop at the Cadence Cafe in Litlington a mere mile or so into the walk in order to see if it migh