South Downs Waywards

Saturday 26th November 2022 began with a teeny-tiny mishap. An innocent little error that anyone could have made. Who was to know that there was more than one 'Cadence Cafe' nestling along the South Downs Way? Not us. A wrong postcode was given. Some intrigued conversations about the strange route took place. Sat nav duly pronounced our arrival. We sat for a moment, bemused, not recognising our surroundings from where we left off a month ago. 'Upwaltham' instead of 'Cocking'. It's an easy mistake. There were furious observations from Chauffeur Gooda, who 'didn't have time for this' and needed to 'get to work, not gad about country lanes.' There may have been some swearing. There were certainly dark mutterings about taxis. We felt it best not to say very much.  Instead, we did what we should have done from the start, and resorted to the tried and tested method of navigating by the stars pubs. We discovered that we were about fifteen minut...

Life has somewhat got in the way of the South Downs Way of late, but on Saturday 29th October 2022 we finally resumed our walk and headed off from Queen Elizabeth Country Park at around 8am. It was a stunning autumnal outing and we were treated to wonderful skies once the clouds cleared, and rich seasonal colours. Before the clouds lifted Our destination was Cocking, and we covered fifteen miles, of what felt mostly like incline but can't have been, across the stunning Harting Down and beyond. View from Harting Down We had a nice, unexpected treat near the start of the walk, when we came upon a bunting-clad trolley offering slices of homecooked flapjack for £1. It was heartening to see an honesty box still in use, and we made the most of an early morning snack. Flapjack sustenance As ever, the signage was confusing at times, but we have learned that it isn't a South Downs Way walk without a moment of directional hesitation here and there. My favourite signs are the ones which g...

 And we're back! The Waywards Return After multiple aborted attempts we finally made our return to Exton to continue our walk last Sunday, the 25th April; nearly five months after the first leg. (The less said about our last minute realisation at the beginning of April - that even though we could walk together under the two households rule, we couldn't actually travel in a car together - the better. Who needs to know that we were unceremoniously dumped at the side of the road a mile from home?)   Pounding the chalk paths once more   This time it was all smiles. There was the Shoe Inn, and the stream and all the lovely cottages of Exton that we remembered, and now bathed in warm spring sunshine. It was all worth the wait: we had picked the perfect day to carry on pounding the chalk paths of the South Downs Way. Who cares that we weren't entirely sure which way out of Exton we should head?  View of Old Winchester Hill And this walk really was spectacular. I had no idea...