This was a bit of a spur of the moment walk, but suddenly all the stars seemed to be in alignment and after nearly 7 months of not having a "proper" country walk, this morning I decided the time was right once again to head to the South Downs.
After some brief mulling over of possible destinations I settled on Hassocks - in my opinion the best station for accessing the South Downs in a hurry from London. It's only an hour and 25 minutes, which includes a change, from my nearest station. So at a pinch I can get from my door to being within sight of the South Downs in an hour and a half.
Like last July, that first view of the downs from the train was a surprisingly emotional moment.
I had decided en route that I wanted to revisit Wolstonbury Hill, where I'd been in August 2019. So after leaving Hassocks station I followed the familiar path alongside the railway tracks, but for the first time turned off before I reached Clayton, to follow a footpath which crossed the railway and headed roughly west, cutting off the corner a bit to head to Wolstonbury Hill.
Various items of floral interest punctuated the approach to Wolstonbury Hill including what I believe to be sweet violet (though may be something else) and a wooded area carpeted with bluebells.
Then the ascent of Wolstonbury Hill. I must have come up a different path to my previous visit, as it didn't seem familiar today - perhaps also the fact that it was a different time of year. I'd hoped to see a few more flowers strewn across the hill side - the Devil's Bit Scabious last time had been particularly lovely - but presumably spring flowers tend to like the shelter of the woodland, and in an exposed spot like this a little more warmth is needed before that colourful display emerges.
Still, even without the floral carpet it was glorious to be up here. I got quite warm climbing up the hill, but was glad of my jacket when I got to the top as the wind made it quite chilly.
Great views from the top, where there are also tumuli / earthworks about which little is known apparently. It is rather a special spot, slightly off the beaten track - quite literally, as the South Downs Way passes just to the south east of here. Although I was surprised to see a handful of people up here today - last time it felt like I had the whole hill to myself.
I sat for a while on the top to enjoy the views and have a snack. I did eventually find some flowers on the hill - in a little hollow twixt the tumuli - is that possibly cuckoo flower?
From the top of Wolstonbury Hill I decided to head over to the neighbouring hill to see the Jack and Jill windmills. I followed a pleasant chalky track, lined with cowslips and lambs just over a fence.
Then down the hill a bit, through a farm / riding stables, regrettably a short section walking alongside the A273 (not very pleasant) and then up the appropriately named Mill Lane to the windmills.
I didn't linger too long around the Jack and Jill windmills, just a few moments to take in the views from there, as my thoughts were turning to the pub of the same name.
I thought it perhaps a little optimistic to just show up at a popular pub on a pleasant spring Saturday at 1pm without a reservation in the current circumstances, but as it turned out the Jack and Jill seems to have a huge garden (oddly I'd only ever sat inside before) and it didn't seem to be a problem. I'm not sure now why I'd never thought to sit outside here before - there are nice views of the eponymous windmills to be had, and I sat in the shade of a lovely blossoming tree. It was great to have a pint of Harvey's once again!
After lunch, the now familiar walk back to Hassocks, following the railway tracks.
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