HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing some beautiful British country side
BUMMER OF THE DAY: Can’t think of a single thing
WORD OF THE DAY: Sunday Roast rocks on a Sunday
Today was sadly my last day in Brighton Paradise. I was going on a jet plane tomorrow to meet up with Sharon and then our 10 days doing a tour of Scotland, which I was looking forward to and then finally and desperately into Africa and Zeme’s arms once again.
We were catching up with Mike, who was on a portion of our South America trip from Santiago to Rio with the 3 of us and then Mike (affectionately also known as Pops) and I travelled together from Rio to Caracas in Venezuela. He was due to arrive in on a 11.10am train and then we were going to head to a pub for lunch and then have a look at a place called Devil’s Dyke. After Paul had collected Mike from the station and a cup of tea and some catch up we all piled into Paul’s car for the 30 minute drive to a small village town called Faulking. Once we left the main roads the village roads were wide enough for one car comfortably and when there was an on-coming car there was just enough room to pass if both vehicles verged off. It got a bit trickier when there were cars parked in the lanes and then it was a first in best served unofficial agreement of who stopped and who went. To make things even trickier there were a lot of bends and you just never knew literally what was coming around the corner. I am just glad that I wasn’t driving and was in the capable hands of Paul.
Our pub of choice for the Sunday roast was called the Shepherd and the Dog and it was perfect timing as we pulled into the parking lot it had started to drizzle so we were able to get an inside table with a bay window and watch the world pass us by as we talked about our trip, gossiped about people and talk of the future and of trips coming up for us all. I chose the roast pork for my roast and for the very first time I tried a Yorkshire pudding. The jury is still out on whether I actually liked it or not. Yorkshire pudding is cooked by pouring a batter made from milk (or water), flour and eggs into oiled then preheated baking pans, ramekins or muffin tins (in the case of Mini puddings). I ate it all so it couldn’t have been too bad. It was lovely to wile the early afternoon away with a wine, good food and company I am so lucky to be in the position I find myself in and I am so thankful every day that I can meet up with people from past tours and know I have made friends for life, that is to me the most rewarding part of my travel journey. Friendship-this is a BIG deal for me and it something that you just cannot put a price on no matter what. I have always said that you could offer me a million dollars for my friendship with Michelle, my best friend, and I would not even have to think about taking it, 2 million? No thanks. 3 million? You could offer me a trillion dollars and the answer would still be a flat no.
When we had finished lunch the sun had started to poke its head out of the clouds so it was time to make the most of the window of opportunity and head to Devils Dyke for a look at some beautiful British scenery and I was not to be disappointed. Devil's Dyke is a 100m deep V-shaped valley on the South Downs Way near Brighton and Hove. Devil's Dyke was a major local tourist attraction in the late 19th and early 20th century. The 300-foot-deep valley was carved by tremendous amounts of water running off the Downs during the last Ice Age when large amounts of snow thawed and the frozen chalk prevented any further absorption; erosion was aided by the freeze-thaw cycle and the valley was deepened by the 'sludging' of the saturated chalk.". More than fourteen thousand years ago, the area experienced an intensely cold climate (but not glacial conditions). When the Ice Age ended, the snowfields covering the South Downs melted, and rivers formed across Sussex. The Devil's Dyke valley was completed by one such river.
After parking the car there was a marvelous view of the surrounding hills and as usual there were plenty of people also making the most of the sunshine and there were groups and couples all spaced out on the mass of green hill to soak up the view and what a view it was. The hills surrounding the valley offer views of the South Downs, The Weald, and – on a clear day – the Isle of Wight. It is the site of ramparts, all that remain of an Iron Age hill fort, and a pub. The pub was busy so thankfully we had eaten lunch beforehand so instead we all bought an ice-cream and then decided to walk a small 1km track that would loop us back to the car park also getting a view of the Devils Dyke. It is a popular local beauty spot for the Brighton and Hove area up here and I can see why. Local folklore explains the valley as the work of the devil. The legend holds that the devil was digging a trench to allow the sea to flood the many churches in the Weald of Sussex. The digging disturbed an old woman who lit a candle, or angered a rooster causing it to crow, making the devil believe that the morning was fast approaching. The devil then fled, leaving his trench unfinished. The last shovel of earth he threw over his shoulder fell into the sea, forming the Isle of Wight. Either way it was a beautiful patch of land and we had a bird’s eye view at the top. You could walk the whole track that would eventually lead you back to the pub where we had lunch, but it was a pretty steep gradient, so we just walked a ridge and looped back to the car.
We headed back into town for a beer and a small rest before doing something totally Brighton and we packed a disposable BBQ, some meat, some veggie sausages and patties, a bottle of wine and made our way down to Brighton Beach to have a good old fashioned BBQ. You have to wait till after 6pm to set them up on the beach, so there becomes a small rush of people around this time and the smell of 10 BBQ’s around you as you sit and wait for your meat (or non-meat) to cook is a mouth- watering experience. The sun had disappeared briefly when we first arrived to finally get a sudden burst of light to warm us up and give us an amazing light show where I was able to get some great photos of our surrounds. I eternally made our mark by getting us all to select a stone each and I wrote all our names on the pebbles and put them back on the beach. I wonder if anyone will ever see these rocks and wonder the history behind them which is a memento of new friends made in one continent and then being lucky enough to be able to catch up with them again in another one. As we ate our burgers we did keep a beady eye on the flying seagulls but they didn’t seem as ballsy as the ones from the pier and they seemed to keep their distance from us the whole time. Maybe the pier birds told the beach birds that we had already been ‘seagull swooped’ and to pick on someone else but needless to say we were watching our feather friends like hawks.
Mike was on an 8.20pm train, so we packed up at 7.55pm, walked the 2 minutes back to the apartment building and called a taxi for Mike to take him to the station. He really was looking well and it was great that we were able to see him again. He has been invited to the wedding, so we may see each other again in December, but thanks for making the trip Pops, take care and I hope to see you at Christmas.
We finished our evening with strawberry and cream for dessert, a wine and an 80’s movie The Secret to My Success’ starring Michael J Fox and what a blast from the past that movie was. It was hilarious to watch and to think in 1986 I was 12 years old and living in that decade with the BIG hair, the BIG shoulder pads and the BIG frill dresses.
So that completes my 4 days in Brighton and what an incredible 4 days they were. Liz and Paul were amazing hosts and it was so good to be able to see them again and know that the friendship we had on tour was still there in the ‘normal’ world. So from the bottom of my heart thank you guys for having me and I can’t wait to see you both in December and share in your special day, it’s going to be amazing.
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