Sussex
Scrapbook ~ Wildlife walks throughout the year
Saturday 5th March 2011
Pyecombe - Wolstonbury Hill - Newtimber - Poynings - Devil's Dyke - Saddlescombe
- Pyecombe
7 miles
Before setting off for our walk from Pyecombe we took the opportunity to stand around like a couple of lemons getting frozen to the bone waiting for some Waxwings to come and eat from an apple tree at our local shops. Over 30 of them did finally arrive and well worth the frostbite it was too. Eventually the cold saw us off (we still had a motorbike journey to make) and at the same time the flock was disturbed by a Sparrowhawk.
Waxwings at Southgate shops.
Pyecombe is squeezed in tightly between the noisy A23 and the quieter A273, but the
total noise of the roads
diminishes as you climb up on to Wolstonbury Hill. From there all you can see is
downland views with the added sight of the two old windmills above Clayton
village. The rest of the walk is fairly quiet and peaceful except for the area
around Devil's Dyke where day-trippers galore amass. Today the mad throng was
joined by a group of kids riding motorbikes down the dyke itself. That's
completely against the law of course and we're pretty sure the police were there
to meet them when they reached Poynings.
We obviously love motorbikes,
but there's a time and a place for everything.
Pyecombe church.
Looking back from the foot of Wolstonbury Hill back towards Clayton.
Apparently the black windmill, which is named Jack, is up for sale.
Hang on one cotton-pickin'
minute...That's not a sheep! It's a bloomin' Llama!
A pair of
Skylarks. It's spring and everything
seems to be pairing up.
The Lark ascending - Vaughan Williams.
A pair of perched-up
Buzzards.
Daffs & 'drops.
Newtimber Church
Newtimber is now worth £8. I'll give you a tenner!
Poynings Church of The Holy Trinity.
There used to be a funicular railway between the top of the downs at Devil's
Dyke down to Poynings.
All of the churches we visited today had
very similar 17th Century carved pulpits. Maybe they were all carved
by the same craftsman.
Sheep may safely graze - from Cantata No.208 by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Download
Spotify - it's great!
Devil's Dyke, where today two idiots on mini-motos were riding! We think they
got grabbed by the fuzz though.
Another view of the dyke - Sussex's version of the Grand Canyon.
There's a tap for South Downs Way users at Saddlescombe. There's also a food
van that closes at 4pm.
They should make an absolute fortune in the summer.
Take the time to read
the
countryside code for yourself and please stick to it at all times.