Sussex Scrapbook
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Nature walks throughout the year
Saturday 7th March 2009
Storrington - Sullington - Sullington Hill - Harrow Hill - Chantry Hill -
Storrington
9 miles
A really bad cold last
weekend, followed by a strained hip this week, had left me sitting at home going
stir crazy. After 2 days off of work my hip was feeling a bit better and so we
thought we would attempt a small walk. Kill or cure perhaps, but the sun was
shining and we just had to get out.
After taking an age flapping around at home, we finally arrived at Storrington
church at 11:30 anxious about a walk that would take in three hills (at least).
Our first stop, the hamlet of Sullington, seems to consist of just one farm with
its own attached church and graveyard and is a beautiful, quiet spot at the foot
of it's own hill. After climbing said hill with no ill affects, the next one to
come into view was
Harrow Hill, which we needed to circumvent today. This hill, like Cissbury
Ring, was a very busy place in the Neolithic age as it was the scene of a major
flint mine. Stone age man had found very soon that flint found on the surface
was not of such good quality as flint found underground. As flint tools were
very important to them, they set about digging large, bell shaped mines with
narrow entrances into the top of Harrow Hill. Today the hill was busy with
Common Buzzards and we watched five of them circling the summit most of the
afternoon. Actually we spotted very few species today, a few Kestrels, lots of
Skylarks and of course thousands of corvids and Wood Pigeons.
It was only going downhill that really hurt my hip and so the drop down from
Chantry Hill at the end was the most uncomfortable point. I wonder how it will
feel tomorrow morning though?
St Mary's Storrington
Gill jotting
This ancient old yew at Sullington church showed signs of having been patched up
with plaster, cement and bricks in the past.
WHY?
The 11thC church of St Mary, Sullington.
The font lid had metalwork with an art nouveau feel
Harrow Hill
The rusty patina on this gate looked amazing.
One day our bike will look
like this.
The promontory of Chanctonbury Ring in the distance, seen from Chantry Hill
Horses at the end of a bridleway. We found an old, thrown horseshoe and
kept it for luck.
We got two numbers on the lottery that evening. That's better than normal!
Back to our start point before dark for a change. It must be spring!