About us and our site.
This scrapbook acts as
a repository for the mementos of the walks we go on throughout the year. This is
because we've got the most appalling memories imaginable and would probably forget
everything in a week without a good scrapbook to put everything in. We've
already got loads of the old-fashioned, paper ones but they
take up far too much room: the website also creates far less dust.
The site also acts as a vehicle for showing off our beautiful county of Sussex to the world, with
suggested walks.
We've taken it upon ourselves to combine West
and East Sussex into one large shire and our hope is that our site will encourage
you to take advantage of its fantastic network of footpaths for yourself
and discover the many hidden treasures that our county has to offer.
Happy exploring.
Andy started
hiking
at the age of 12 when he was forced to walk up and down
mountains in Wales on a camping trip with the school. This was back in the days
when the school was allowed to kill you in any imaginable way they could think
of, without being sued. Despite the sadistic teachers, continuous downpours and
howling wind, the wild beauty of the mountains and the intense feeling of
freedom awoke in him a real love for stomping around in the countryside.
Subsequent training in the
Scouts supplied the knowledge and experience to continue the hobby and in 1978
at the age of 16 he walked the 300 miles of the
Pennine Way with a
school friend. It took over three weeks of wading through
knee-deep mud, over some of the harshest environments in Britain to reach the
end, and it literally
nearly killed them. Andy doesn't have much recollection of
what they lived on, but it was most likely
tea,
biscuits and jam sandwiches.
Since then he's continued hiking, but has taken a bit more trouble about doing
it well. Enjoyment, relaxation and exercise are the main reasons for doing it,
so safety and comfort are of paramount importance. His philosophy is to
leave no trace
and to avoid all loud noises and bright colours. This is vastly different to the
philosophy he uses on the rare occasions that he goes for a drink.
In recent years Andy has stuck to exploring much of his beloved
Sussex, with
his beloved Gill,
especially around the South Downs but they can also be found wandering aimlessly almost
anywhere in Britain.
Dr Andy PhD is now also the Scoutmaster of 1st Crawley Scouts, a
collection of young lads who are getting the benefit of his considerable
experience to slowly become expert hikers themselves.
On teaming up with Andy
in the first year of the new millennium, Gill was immediately squad marched
along the treacherous
coastal path on the Isle of
Man, dragged kicking and
screaming along the
South Downs
Way and even forced up
Snowden by the evil maniac.
Finally, after being pulled from her comfortable warm bed and tortured in this
way for months on end, she finally had to confess that she'd come to love it
too (Andy says its called
Stockholm Syndrome). Since then she's gone on to become a highly
experienced hiker in her own right and can now get out of bed on a Saturday
morning herself, without being pulled out by the ankle.
Together they could quite happily walk to the ends of the Earth, as long as
there was tea and cake halfway and a beer at the end.
Andy & Gill
XX
"Star shine"
by Diane Ibbotson
Oil on canvas
"If you pick 'em up, O Lord, I'll put 'em
down"
Prayer of the tired walker.