A pleasant return to normality this week, after a couple of slightly more unusual adventures. Sunday just gone, we decided to head out to one of our most familiar routes, Etchingham to Devil’s leap circular, a walk we would be completing for the third time (discounting the first attempt, when we got to the car park and it was peeing it down, so went to the pub instead).
We would also like to welcome the return of our most favourite Pathfinder guests, Pumpkin! The observant readers amongst you may have noticed her moonlighting as ‘the Hermit’s faithful hound’ in ‘The Bowl, the Orb and the Hermit a couple of weeks ago, but she is now back very much as herself, for another adventure of her own. Previously, we had discovered two things about this very good girl. Firstly, that she doesn’t sleep through the night, and secondly, that long, challenging walks do tend to knacker her out! Well, having had her for four nights on this occasion and not had any 3am trips to the garden during the most recent two, hopefully we have a handle on that one. With regards to the second problem, the day’s walk was very much chosen with Pumpkin in mind. Whilst it is a similar length to her last one, it is also significantly flatter, so the hope was that she would not be so tired by the time we were back at the car.
On the last two occasions we had managed to get parked outside the church, but this being Easter Sunday, space was unsurprisingly unavailable. We instead parked at the train station, which really made no difference as it is a matter of yards further along the road and set off at about half-eleven, into what was at this point, a grey, lukewarm day.
About a minute later, just after we had entered the graveyard, Pumpkin did her first poop of the day – fortunately we had just passed a bin, so it was good timing really. Exiting out of the back of the church grounds onto the road leading out of the village, she then had a nice, gentle encounter with a golden retriever.
A couple of minutes on, and a footpath through the hedge led us out into the countryside. Despite the sunny spells we have been experiencing, it had certainly not yet been enough to dry up all of the mud, and so we sploshed through the first field, before entering the second. By now, the sun itself had made an appearance, and so we quickly removed coats (including Pumpkin’s) and set off into what now looked to be a perfect spring day. It was in this field that we discovered something else to add to the list of things our guest is scared of. As well as feathers, she is not very fond of large round bales of hay, one of which we passed closely, and she eyed it with great suspicion.
Next up was a muddy track through a patch of woodland. As we paused so that Pumpkin could have a sniff and Beth could catch up, I noticed a great deal of movement through the trees ahead running in our direction, and for a stupid second my brain told me a pack of wolves was somehow roaming the East Sussex countryside (I don’t know). A heartbeat later I concluded that they must actually be very large German Shepard-type dogs, and was just preparing to scoop Pumpkin up and out the way, when I realised what I was actually looking at. A small herd of large deer were bounding urgently through the forest, and ended up running right past us, no more than twenty feet away. Very unusual behaviour for deer, however the cause revealed itself a few moments later, as a spaniel came charging through the woods in pursuit. Quickly as it had begun, all sounds of the chase had disappeared, and we did not see the dog return.
The path soon leads you back out onto a quiet country road, along which is a sign warning of deer (no kidding!). It is maybe a five-minute walk along here before you turn off, and just as we did we found a small bunch of white flowers which had fallen from a tree. Pumpkin was delighted to find these promptly stuck into her collar (she looked such a pretty girl). The footpath then takes you past what is, in my opinion, quite an eyesore. You know those large houses that were clearly built in the late 90’s/early 00s with overly modern, grand-designy architecture to look futuristic and techy, but have almost immediately looked incredibly dated? Yeah, one of those. Tech geeks may love it, but I am not a fan – give me an old English cottage any day!
Anyhow, once you are past the eyesore, the walk then gives up one of my favourite stretches of footpath in the whole of the Southeast; a gentle downhill slope through a small woods, and the place where I first realised how much I liked finding wild garlic on our adventures (and here, the plant thrives). We started to think we had perhaps arrived a week or so too early, however as we looked closely we were able to spot a couple of wild garlic flowers in bloom, as well as a few early-rising bluebells, amongst a scattering of other colourful spring flowers. As the sun shone through the still-bare branches, I got my first waft of the wild garlic on a gentle, warm woodland breeze. The birds were all in song as three Blue Tits came tumbling out of the sky right in front of us, squabbling over some scrap of food or nesting material. Not only this, but as we made our way through the trees, we were lucky enough to spot through a gap in the woods, a small herd of large deer, staring in our direction. Were they the same deer as earlier? Of course, we can’t know for sure, but they were headed in this direction and were a similar size and colour – this time, fortunately, no dog in pursuit. No more than a couple of hundred yards long, this stretch of dappled woodland has so much to offer.
Out of the trees, across a stream and into sunny farmland beyond, and Pumpkin began to look as though she might want another poo. To distract her from this, I decided to run with her across the field, much to her delight. She skipped and pranced her way along at the end of the lead with great joy, as I tested my now 30-year-old cardiovascular system. We made it across and waited by the gate for our companion, both breathing a little heavily, but crucially poopless – totally worth it.
Pausing a couple of minutes later for one of our water breaks by a clump of yellow flowers, we then made our way down a short driveway and through a large metal gate into a field which we knew held sheep, although on this particular day they were far up the other end. This didn’t matter, as Pumpkin decided that this would be the perfect time to be particularly entertaining. First, she tried nibbling at some plant on the way through the gate, and we don’t know what it was, but we do know that she didn’t like it, as she began to shake her head and try and spit it out. After we helped remove whatever it was and gave her a biscuit to mask the taste, Pumpkin was obviously pleased with proceedings, and became very excitable, particularly when she saw a large puddle of standing water. She bounded over and began to splash about with her paws, without a care in the world.
After this excitement, lunch called, so we settled down beneath a tree next to some blossom, careful to avoid the sheep droppings. Pumpkin lay down quite nicely as we ate, watching a pair of butterflies dancing together in the sunshine, although she was very interested in Beth’s cheese string. Break over, I carried her over a stile into the next, uphill slopping field, and just as we got going, Pumpkin squatted and the foretold poop arrived. Small, but not solid, Pumpkin was again most pleased with herself, leaping about with excitement at her achievement as I grimaced, all of which left Beth struggling to breathe for laughter. Poop scooped, and we carried on up the hill, Pumpkin still throwing her paws in the air with happiness (we are glad she had such a good time!).
Once at the top of the hill, you arrive at a barn, and face a choice. The route home lies straight ahead, however there is also an optional path to the left, which takes you to ‘The Devil’s Leap’, a small woodland waterfall, which, there and back, adds 20-30 minutes to your day. We have always chosen to do so, but is it worth it? Of course it is, even if only for the extra walking opportunity (after all, why are we here?). However, this little addition adds lots to the day. The trail initially takes you downhill for a minute to cross a small stream, before turning left through a picture-perfect woodland to follow the stream’s edge, which slowly falls away into a valley as your path rises through a scene of glowing mosses and bluebells. If heaven on earth exits, to me, this is pretty close.
However, on this occasion, we had a small incident concerning Pumpkin. As we drew near the leap, we encountered a family playing on a swing, whose four dogs spotted her and came bounding over. Pumpkin was unsure what to do, as was I, particularly as one looked quite large and boisterous. When their owner attempted to recall them and they promptly ignored him, my instinct was to scoop her up and out of harm’s way, as they came clattering into her, and walked her a little further along before putting her down. In hindsight, I am not sure whether this was the right thing to do or not. I might play it differently next time, but on this occasion I felt the need to protect Pumpkin – especially as she is not actually our dog!
Anyhow, it was a learning experience, and the Devil’s Leap now lay just ahead. In dryer weather, the waterfall is little more than a trickle, and I suppose is somewhat underwhelming as a destination (but remember of course, it is all about the journey). Today however, it was flowing quite nicely and we got a rare combination of a splashing waterfall and a sunny day. I carefully made my way down to stand behind it and feel the water, whilst Beth and Pumpkin waited back up on the track (the route down was a little too slippery).
Waterfall reached, and we turned and retraced our steps through the woods, where Pumpkin was very excited to say hello to a family walking in the other direction (obviously not put off by her earlier experience). A short while later we were back on track and heading in the right direction. This last couple of miles are a simple series of fields crisscrossing a stream, during which time Beth finally admitted she was hot enough to remove her jumper and Pumpkin started to look a little tired too. Passing by a few ponies, a herd of cows and a large heron, we made our way contentedly back toward the approaching Etchingham station, satisfied that we had done a good days walking. One final (and very challenging) stile awaited us, over which Pumpkin was lifted (she never complains about this – such a good girl) and we were back to the road, before finally reaching the comfort of the car.
Last time, Pumpkin was almost asleep on her paws by now, even turning down biscuits in favour of a nap. Fortunately on this occasion, she was happy to snuffle up a treat and slurp some water, before settling herself down in the backseat. This, we feel, is a mark of success, and we were glad that we had found a more Pumpkin-appropriate walk, which she had clearly loved. We jumped in the car to join her, heading off to the Chequers for a couple of post-walk pints in a sunny garden.
Of all the times we have walked this route, this one ended up being our favourite. Whether it was Pumpkin’s presence, the sunshine or the springing of spring, or perhaps all three, we can’t say, but we can say with absolute certainty that this was the perfect end, to what had been a perfect March!
The original route was published by, err, I can’t remember, as it has since been removed and we forgot to save it (sorry). Therefore, full instructions are not currently available although we have mapped out the route below…
Matthew G. Huggins 