A second, somewhat unexpected adventure to the South Downs National Park for this one, for which we were up and on the road just gone 7am, a full day’s schedule ahead of us. We arrived at our starting point for the day’s walk, parking up just outside The Fox Goes Free pub in the quiet village of Charlton, and set off just after 9 o’clock. The day started off unusually cool, with the first chunk of the walk taking us through the village itself, which was very pretty with plenty of summer blooms still on display as we passed the stone cottages. This first mile did also include a brief interlude along the edge of a large cow field, who thankfully kept themselves to themselves, unlike the paddock’s other residents, a very active colony of martins who swooped about us as we walked.
Crossing a busy road to begin climbing uphill as we made our way out into the countryside, it wasn’t long before the ascent began to take away the morning’s chill. In fact, by the time the path levelled out a little about halfway up, we were back to the season’s normal running temperature, glad we decided against bringing jumper as the sun began to burn through the clouds overhead. We continued to climb slowly uphill through a mixture of farmland and woodland, past another enormous herd of cows below us, before eventually finding ourselves at the top and looking out across the South Downs from our high vantage point.
The route then began to descend once again, mainly through woodland, in which we saw a deer flash past us. At the bottom of the slope we crossed the A286, before continuing with the woodland path after a single crop field. Shortly after entering, we came across an area which contained more baby pheasants (I think!) than we could possibly count, disturbed somewhat by our unexpected appearance. Less than a minute further on, and a hare suddenly exploded from its hiding place amongst tree roots, bounding away through the woods, and soon disappearing to find a more peaceful spot. This was very cool, particularly for Beth who had never seen one before! The path continued to rise and fall amongst the pleasant shade of the trees for a while longer, before eventually emerging back into the day’s growing heat, where we were surprised to find ourselves walking alongside a field containing two impressive bulls, happily grazing side by side, quietly enjoying each other’s presence. The last portion of the walk involved a final quick ascent before leading us to an easy, slowly descending, stony track all the way back down to Charlton, where the car loyally waited for our return as ever, a little before half eleven.
This was certainly one of our shorter and simpler walks, but was no less enjoyable for it (although Beth did note that the world had begun to have that ‘end-of-summer’ feel, and what had been green for so many glorious months was beginning to look a little tired). In its short circuit, we got plenty of elevation, variation and an impressive range of beasties to admire. However, you may be wondering why we travelled so far and left so uncharacteristically early, for such a quick walk. The answer to the riddle lies in the nearby Goodwood House, who were due to be having their annual Road Racing Club member’s picnic event that afternoon. So, after changing boots and my sweaty top, we jumped into the car and rather than enjoying the local pub (which looked lovely and I am sure would make a great finale to the walk on any other day), pulled up at ‘The Kennels’ a few minutes later, where we enjoyed a quick, refreshing drink in the sunshine, courtesy of Beth’s membership.
Here we met up with Beth’s parents before heading to the house itself, on the way to which I was treated to riding shotgun in my father-in-law-to-be’s Jaguar F-Type – an awesome experience. After a two-minute blast down the lanes, we entered the house grounds in a queue of cars amongst which Aston Martins and Ferraris were commonplace, and I did my best to look nonchalant and as though I did this all the time. Once all parked up, we threw down a blanket, got out the chairs and enjoyed a couple hours of eating, drinking and having a good look at the various exotic, rare and usual cars on display – not a bad day at all!
Full route available at https://explore.osmaps.com/route/3135376/charlton-nt-drovers-estate-n5m?lat=50.920395&lon=-0.762708&zoom=13.5260&style=Standard&type=2d
Matthew G. Huggins 