Took the boys up to Chanctonbury today, it's a big hill (700ft asl) that is part of the South Downs National Park, there are two ways up, the steep side and it is incredibly steep or the path that traces the contours, we always go up via the contour path and come down the steep side, normally on our backsides - serious fun though, even for a big kid like me.
This is where we are heading for, doesn't look very steep does it, speak to anyone who knows though and they will tell you it is extremely steep
Passing the farm, mystified as to there is an old tram there though as there have never been trams round here
the bonus of taking the gentle path up is we get to go past the swinging ropes, there have been set up here for generations, i used to use the ropes here when i was a lad and so did my dad when he was a lad and he is 75 now, and no for the smart alecs out there, they are not the same ropes my dad and i used as kids.
anyway now it's the boys turn to use them, ok i had a few goes as well
one of the Beech trees that the ropes are suspended from show new growth, only thing is it's an Ash Tree that's growing out of the crook in the tree
oh yes, the adjoining Beech had a Dog Rose growing from it
some of the undercut roots, other wise known as the Hobbits hole
time to move on from the ropes, passing one of the beech trees that fell some time ago, but where the Estate has cut it sensibly and made a simple seat out of the trunk, even though this is the easy path up, it still makes you puff and pant by the time you get to the top.
Knackered before we start
Dead Beech tree, when this falls it will come right over the path we are on, still the estate are great and will have it cleared in next to no time, hopefully it will fall in such a way that more seats can be cut.
at the top of the path now and walking along the ridge towards the ring
for those that don't know, the ring is actually the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort, one of many around here, the pathway we are walking on has been dated via finds to the Neolithic.
Looking out over the Weald
The Dew Pond on top of the hill (more info on dew ponds here)
Rooting around some of the chalk debris on the top of the hill produced this Oyster shell, so what is an Oyster shell doing 700ft asl on top of the Downs?, well only two ways it could have got here, one was as a fossil from when the hills were laid down Millions of years ago - doubtful or it has been bought here by human hand, be that in the last millennia or tens of millennia ago, only scientific dating will tell us now, not that im going to find out, i left the shell there as the entire area is an archaeological site and i don't have permission to remove artefacts or indeed possible artefacts.
after a walk around up on top we descended into the trees
where after some tree climbing it was time for lunch, only sarnies this time out, i had pure local honey and fresh beech leaves - lovely
before long we decided it was time to head down the hill, all 700ft of it and by this i mean we went straight down, sometimes sliding on our feet but mostly on our backsides, great fun, then it was back to the ropes for some late afternoon fun before heading back home.
This is where we are heading for, doesn't look very steep does it, speak to anyone who knows though and they will tell you it is extremely steep
Passing the farm, mystified as to there is an old tram there though as there have never been trams round here
the bonus of taking the gentle path up is we get to go past the swinging ropes, there have been set up here for generations, i used to use the ropes here when i was a lad and so did my dad when he was a lad and he is 75 now, and no for the smart alecs out there, they are not the same ropes my dad and i used as kids.
anyway now it's the boys turn to use them, ok i had a few goes as well
one of the Beech trees that the ropes are suspended from show new growth, only thing is it's an Ash Tree that's growing out of the crook in the tree
oh yes, the adjoining Beech had a Dog Rose growing from it
some of the undercut roots, other wise known as the Hobbits hole
time to move on from the ropes, passing one of the beech trees that fell some time ago, but where the Estate has cut it sensibly and made a simple seat out of the trunk, even though this is the easy path up, it still makes you puff and pant by the time you get to the top.
Knackered before we start
Dead Beech tree, when this falls it will come right over the path we are on, still the estate are great and will have it cleared in next to no time, hopefully it will fall in such a way that more seats can be cut.
at the top of the path now and walking along the ridge towards the ring
for those that don't know, the ring is actually the site of an Iron Age Hill Fort, one of many around here, the pathway we are walking on has been dated via finds to the Neolithic.
Looking out over the Weald
The Dew Pond on top of the hill (more info on dew ponds here)
Rooting around some of the chalk debris on the top of the hill produced this Oyster shell, so what is an Oyster shell doing 700ft asl on top of the Downs?, well only two ways it could have got here, one was as a fossil from when the hills were laid down Millions of years ago - doubtful or it has been bought here by human hand, be that in the last millennia or tens of millennia ago, only scientific dating will tell us now, not that im going to find out, i left the shell there as the entire area is an archaeological site and i don't have permission to remove artefacts or indeed possible artefacts.
after a walk around up on top we descended into the trees
where after some tree climbing it was time for lunch, only sarnies this time out, i had pure local honey and fresh beech leaves - lovely
before long we decided it was time to head down the hill, all 700ft of it and by this i mean we went straight down, sometimes sliding on our feet but mostly on our backsides, great fun, then it was back to the ropes for some late afternoon fun before heading back home.
