Sussex
Scrapbook ~ Wildlife walks throughout the year
Saturday 25th June 2011
Seaford - Cuckmere Haven - Alfriston - Norton - Bishopstone.
11 miles or so.
This walk over Seaford
Head and beyond gives you the famous view of the cliff face of the Seven
Sisters, or at least it usually does if you aren't walking in low cloud like we
were. The rest of the country was sweating in the baking hot sun but we were
protected by a solid wall of mist that stayed with us all day long.
The main thing I wanted to discover today was, is the tiny hamlet of Norton the secret
home of the British motorcycle industry? The answer is a resounding NO! It's just a
small farm in the middle of nowhere.
The start point -
St. Leonard's, Seaford. Right near the train station and handily opposite
the toilets.
Seaford, pronounced Sea Ford (like the car); so the native inhabitants are
always keen
to tell us.
Splash Point.
Kittywakes (lots of them) nesting at Splash Point.
The path goes along the
cliffs and through the
Seaford Head Nature Reserve. Please keep all dogs on leads and take all the
smelly stuff with you.
Also, take great care along the crumbly cliff edge.
A striking ichneumon wasp of as yet unknown identity.
He (think it's a male: no ovipositor) was about 4cm long and flew off
immediately of course!
Linnet.
A caterpillar of the 6-Spot Burnet Moth.
The misty view across Hope Bottom and on
to the barely-discernable cliffs of the Seven Sisters.
Fog and mushrooms - it's more like Autumn!
Sweating our way up a steep incline amidst lush vegetation and mist.
Our tired imaginations threw us straight into a tropical rainforest, with the calls of Howler Monkeys replacing those of the woodpeckers and the midges buzzing around our heads exchanged for exotic humming birds. Gill was all for making a nest and living like gorillas until the winter but I reminded her that we'd got some Glasto taped at home and toast and peanut butter waiting for us instead of ivy leaves. That broke the spell and got her moving again!
Low cloud and the fading light gave a very "Tales
of the unexpected" feel to
St. Andrew's at Bishopstone.
Bishopstone's art deco station and our portal back to the afore-mentioned
toast.
Take the time to read
the
countryside code for yourself and please stick to it at all times.