IT'S MAD RACQUET DAY! DEVIL'S DYKE TO WASHINGTON

3rd May 2011:  Team Mad Racquets set off from Devil's Dyke, with some logistical delay(!), at around 11am and eventually three of us arrived at Washington at 5.30 pm. A beautiful day with great friends, lots of chivvying and support.  It has been a very long and tiring day, so I will finish this tomorrow, with photos. BUT, I HAVE DONE 50 MILES! HALF WAY THERE!

Here I am on 4th May, before 7 am, to do this, otherwise I will have two blogs to do tonight!

What an amazing and beautiful day we had, with Dolly, Liz and me walking all the way from Devil's Dyke to Washington, but Marie and June joining us there to walk as far as Upper Beeding, where June had left her car. We picked June up on route from Washington, where we left the first car! Marie met us at Devil's Dyke. Hence the logistical delays, and the later start! Once we got going, though, the pace was good, as it was a welcome downhill at first from DD. In our rush to get going, we forgot the first photocall, but on route, still up near DD, a kind walker took our photo.

We were all enthused by the magical scenery, the sea sparkling on the horizon, and the weald on the other panorama, with the North Downs on that horizon. It has certainly encouraged some of my friends to walk the Downs again.

At Upper Beeding, we were met by our other Mad Racquet friends, Helen and Harry, who could not, unfortunately, walk with us. They were a welcoming committee coming slowly up the trail from the River Adur to greet us walking down. There was no comfortable area for us to sit and lunch by the river,  and no wcs so we were driven into the town to find public conveniences, then went to Bramber Castle grounds where we enjoyed a delicious picnic of smoked salmon sandwiches and Buck's Fizz that H+ H kindly brought with them for us to toast the Half Way point of my walk (would be 50 miles by the end of the day)!

After our little, but delightful break, Liz, Dolly and me continued on our way, climbing up out of the valley, with the view of the River Adur and Upper Beeding below us. This was not an easy part of the day at all - the hill seemed to go on for a long time, and I had to stop to stretch the backs of my legs quite a few times!

We had a beautiful walk, past sheep, cattle, and panaromic views again of the sea on one side, the south downs, the weald and the north downs! Incredible land of ours! Before we got to Chanctonbury Rings, we walked gently up to a crest above Steyning, where we found a little lamb stranded on the wrong side of a barbed wire fence to its mother. They were both bleating, but we could not help, because the lamb kept running away, and the mother kept running towards it, but could not get it to come back. We even opened a gate, but it ran away again. We had to walk on, but did find a chap in a range rover in another field we walked through, and he said he would tell the farmer. Relief, as it was so pathetic.

Arrival at River |Adur - Marie, June, Dolly Liz and me

Half way to Washington - Dolly, me and Liz

My feet feel like this broken sign!

Almost there

Made it - 50 miles!

At Devil's Dyke to start - Liz, Dolly, me, Marie and June

The walk was quite arduous from then on, until we had gone over the lastcrest hill and realised it was downhill from there into Washington. However, that trail ran out by the A24 because it was too dangerous to cross, and we had to find another path through the woods, parallel with the minor road leading into the village. Eventually we reached the Frankland Arms, where we had left Dolly's car. I had a welcome cold lager and lime, whilst Dolly and Liz opted for a pot of tea - how very British! We toasted the 50 miles with tea and lager! Then Dolly drove us back to my car at Devil's Dyke, through the minor roads, as by now it was rush hour. Apart from our lunch break, we had walked for 5 and a half hours and done 11.5 miles!


Tomorrow, I meet Tina and Pam, my ex-midwife colleagues and friends, at Whiteways cafe on A29 at 9.30, to drive to Washington, where we start the walk back to Whiteways - 10 miles.