Ditchling Beacon 29 May 2017

Up relatively early on a Sunday morning, knowing I had to drive back on the M23/M25/M4 - you could hardly get a more challenging set highways if you tried - I persuaded Dayne to come for a walk with me.

At 248 metres, Ditchling Beacon is the third highest point on the South Downs and a special place for a walk. You can see for miles. There is only one road up and you are almost certainly going to get stuck behind cyclists - only thing you can do is relax and enjoy the view.

Hidden below the more famous Ditchling Beacon is the village of Ditchling. It's very quaint and worth a visit, as well as the  couple of vineyards close by to try out.

Also, a windmill ..

 

But up at the top there is just miles and miles to stride out on. Choose your route ...

Shanks pony or real pony

Lots of sheep and such sweet lambs this time.  The first time I was here there were some really strange cattle with impressive horns. Not today though.

Brighton off in the distance

One of these days when I don't have to drive anywhere, I'll keep on walking here. For such a small, crowded island, there is a lot of open space ..

The Ramblers are so active in keeping paths open and accessible - absolutely worth the annual membership fee.

Being spied on here.

And then it was time to turn around and head on home.

Buchan Country Park 4 June 2017 - taking Bobby for a walk

There are so many places like this around, usually known well by locals but overshadowed by the bigger well known places of interest. It really does take visiting an area often or actually living there to find these hidden gems. Buchan Country Park qualifies.

Part of the park was owned by Lord Erskine who named the estate after his father - the Earl of Buchan. For South Africans, it's not pronounced like the Cederberg plant, Buchu, but rather 'buckan'. The area around Douster and Island Ponds was owned in Victorian times by a French businessman - Phillipe Saillard. 69 Hectares, just outside of Crawley, it's owned and managed by the West Sussex County Council.

Perfect for an afternoon walk.

Isn't this an entirely appropriate gate for the setting?

Meet Bobby. Isn't he the cutest dog?  He belongs to Judy, Dayne's mother-in-law, and we borrowed him for the afternoon. He is also a South African expat.

Down to the pond, with it's quaint stone boathouse.

And the Douster Pond, home to 21 recorded species of dragonfly - making it a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Into the woods ...

Where Bobby was able to connect up with many other canines just by sniffing the Doggy meeting post. Very exciting. Not forgetting to add his mark either.

I love the wooden sculptures sprinkled all around the park and particularly this bench.

Bluebells. I suppose technically it is still spring.

Doggy Dip! Bobby just plonked down into the water without hesitation and it was quite difficult to persuade him to move. Those little legs get tired.

But almost done now, just around another pond

past a totem pole

and that was it.

Cheers to the squirrel.

Valley Gardens 21 May 2017

Life is getting away from me at the moment.

At the end of July I will be moving down to Sussex. A big move involving changing job and home. I have been in Burnham for almost 2 years now.  The excitement of living in England has settled down to be my new normal and though I've met some really lovely people, I miss my family. So, what I'm getting at, it's been regular trips down to Sussex to set things up, fulltime work, trying to learn Italian - that's been going on a while, and just regular life have been filling up the time which means that the blog is the part of life that gets neglected.  It does require a commitment of time and sometimes there just isn't the energy. It is one of my favourite things to do though, so I'm not giving it up. I may just be a bit delayed in posting. Thanks for sticking with me.

So, back in May with Spring in full bloom it was back to the Windsor Great Park and the Valley Gardens. Part of the Crown Estates, they are 220 acres of botanical gardens and apparently have the largest planting of Rhododendrons - 50 acres - in the world. In 2006 there was a proposal to fence the Garden and charge entrance fees. There was outrage! King George V had granted free access to the public in 1930 - if you think back - this was between the great wars and a time of great austerity. Free entrance was a valuable gift to the man in the street. There was local, national and international protest and a petition to the Queen, whereupon the Crown Estate backed down and deferred the plans. Which probably means that sometime in the future, this will happen, but for the time being, it's still free.  For which I'm grateful.

Past the Obelisk

These dogs were having the best time.

Many routes, pick one ..

Past one of the more unusual features of the park, the Totem Pole

I had brought a book along with me, as you do, and parked off on this bench for a while.

Contemplating life for a while, it occurred to me that the rings on this bench represent an annual growing season for the tree it is made of - many, many years ..

Now for the Rhododendrons. They have such a short season, but they are spectacular. And the fragrance here was quite lovely.

 

 

 

Rhododendron Sappho - I'd never seen these before. Aren't they gorgeous?

These look like green bear claws.

  

Pheasants, you see them all over the place but they don't stay still long enough to get a decent shot .

The same goes for bees. There were lots on this bush, but elusive.

The Magic Far Away tree! Just as I'd always imagined

This is quite a strange one, I'm not sure what it is, but the flower seems to come first and then the leaves through the centre of the flower!

Red carpet.

Just as you're thinking - how far to the nearest tea room - voila! Perfect spot.

Acers, with their beautiful red foliage.

Rejuvenated - able to cope with the next week - time to head home.