Blustery Downs Walk from Upwaltham to Amberley - 4th October 2025

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 distance apart). Secondly, Chauffeur Gooda not only has to work on a Saturday himself, but also has to drive our daughter to work in the opposite direction. Thirdly, there are dogs to be walked before any driving is done. So, there was some muttering and the task fell to Strictly Lord Lloyd who, it has to be said, embraced the mission with greater enthusiasm.

Of course, the Cadence Cafe turned out to already be closed for the winter. We don't have much luck with them, it seems!

Much better luck when we began instead at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Upwaltham, a slight deviation from the South Downs Way itself, and somewhere we had attempted to visit on our first walk this way, but were put off by the busy road. 

Not so this time. It was well worth the detour. An early 12th century Norman church, tiny, and Grade 1 listed, that has stood largely unchanged for the best part of 900 years. It has a distinctive appearance, whitewashed with a curved end, the result of the apsidal, semi-circular chancel, a shape that is rare in Sussex; there are only a handful of them still standing. It is sometimes described as the 'church in the field', was originally a drovers’ church and features in William Cobbett’s Rural Rides.

Stained glass window depicting birds and flora from the South Downs

There was a sombre moment as we saw that the church commemorates two WWII tragedies on a plaque inside. In February 1944, a Lancaster bomber crashed into a nearby hill killing all eight on board. Then in 1945, tragedy struck again when an American Dakota also crashed nearby killing all seven on board.

 

In remembrance of fifteen airmen

Back outside, we were blessed with beautiful blue skies for the first part of the walk proper, as we climbed up Burton Hill. There were pheasants everywhere, but they were very reluctant to have their photo taken. They seemed to get very spooked when I tried to take my (black) phone out and point it in their direction. Can't think why.

Camera-shy pheasants

It wasn't only good weather that made the walk glorious, but an unexpected proliferation of benches! It's more than two years since we completed the South Downs Way for the first time and perhaps someone's been reading the blog posts, because this time around there were new places to sit on this leg of the way. The first bench, carved from a tree trunk, presented itself a couple of miles into the walk, at a picturesque stile on the edge of the Slindon Estate with views towards the sea, just at the point where a short sit down and a granola bar was required. 

Iconic SDW fingerposts; 5 miles to Amberley

Unfortunately, Strictly Lady Lloyd failed on the granola bar provision - for the first time ever in our walking history, it has to be said! We had to make do with a vastly inferior flapjack but, not one to let a little detail like that get in the way of a good day's walking, it was quickly glossed over. Lest said, soonest mended, and all that.

SLL and HM enjoy glorious sunshine

The views were as stunning as ever, we put the world to rights as we walked, and everywhere was still lush and green. Autumn doesn't yet seem to have the downs in its grasp. It was windy, though, in the aftermath of Storm Amy. Shadows played over the downs as the clouds were blown across the sky.

Shadows play across the downs on a blustery day

We soon reached the crossing point on the A29 where the track begins to head down into Amberley. This has to be, from the road, one of my favourite views in Sussex. It's a place that I drive past regularly and always have to be careful to concentrate on the road because the vista is so stunning.

View towards Amberley from the A29

Much more time to enjoy it as one is on foot. We continued our descent towards the village and began to feel a little peckish. Lo and behold, another new bench appeared at exactly the right moment! What a difference it makes to the day to be able to rest here and there, pause for a while and enjoy the surroundings. This bench looked hardly weathered at all, so it can't have been there long. As early adopters, it was thoroughly appreciated.

Hearth Mother enjoys one of the new benches

Not only was it in the perfect spot, it was also embellished with a carving, part of a project by the Friends of the South Downs. Wildlife carvings by different chainsaw sculptors feature on the benches, depicting creatures or plant native to the Downs. Aside from this one, there are also a hare, an owl, a skylark, a fox, a robin, a butterfly and a thistle to look out for. Some have been chosen by the landowners and the National Trust Rangers involved in the project, and some by sponsors of the benches. It turns out that we weren't the only people to have complained about the lack of anywhere to rest or eat  lunch along the South Downs Way. All the benches have a rustic style and are made of locally sourced oak, carefully designed and sited to blend in with the surroundings. We're certainly very grateful!

Carving on new bench at Amberley

To finish the walk there were Shetland ponies grazing contentedly in the fields as we neared Amberley. They were a little less camera-shy then than the pheasants at the start.

Contented little ponies

And we discussed and dissected the whole thing - 8 miles and 20,000 steps - with our customary pint at the end in a pub. This time, it was the Bridge Inn. Cheers!

Cheers!