Wandering: Arundel to Littlehampton (Part One)

Last Saturday the conditions were very similar to the previous Saturday (when my wife and I walked from Amberley to Arundel) when we returned to Arundel to continue our walk along the River Arun to Littlehampton on the West Sussex coast.

It was mostly overcast again, but there were probably a few more breaks in the cloud and it didn’t seem quite so cold as last week. There had been a little rain during the previous week but this had seemingly had little effect on the ground conditions, and the only wet patches were where the river was overflowing (this stretch of the river is tidal and it was high tide).

Technically our walk began at the railway station, but there is little of interest on the short walk into town, apart from the Arundel Lido, which proudly boasts the best value car park in Arundel.

Arundel Castle and Post Office

The real starting point was the bridge crossing the river into the centre of the town and although we were following the river we had to leave its banks almost immediately and make our way through residential streets. It has to be said that they were surprisingly nice streets with some lovely old buildings.

After about ten minutes we were out under the road bridge and back on the western bank of the river and heading out into open country. Ahead of us the countryside was mainly flat as we were heading away from the hills of the South Downs towards the sea.

The River Arun (heading south to Littlehampton)

For a long time the only real landmark ahead was the gas holder at Littlehampton, little more than a rectangle on the horizon. Behind us however was still Arundel with its rows of houses, church, cathedral and castle layered upon the side of the hill.

As we were walking away from Arundel we had to keep turning around to witness the town shrinking and disappearing into the greyness. The wonderful thing about the meandering course of the river is that every time we turned round Arundel was in a slightly different place.

Arundel and the River Arun

Occasionally the sun broke through the cloud, but these sunny spells were short-lived, although one break in the cloud did allow the sun to spotlight a row of houses in the town. Perhaps it would have been more spectacular if it had spotlighted the church or cathedral, but it was nevertheless an inspiring sight to witness.

Ford railway bridge

The midway point of our walk was the railway bridge at Ford, about 2¾ miles from Arundel. After a couple of miles of near solitude on the banks of the river Ford brought with it a flurry of activity. Although Ford does not have a particularly large railway station it is on the busy coastway line, with trains coming from the north (Arundel), south (Littlehampton), east (Brighton) and west (Chichester) and beyond.

Copyright © 2012 John Gasson.

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Out with the old, in with the new

It is a sad day when I have to say goodbye to a pair of walking boots, and that day came a step closer today with the purchase of a new pair of replacement boots.

My present boots are reaching the end of their life, one of the lace loops has broken on one of them and one of them has a squeak, although to be honest it has had that squeak for a while now.

The soles are just about intact, but getting pretty thin, this became particularly obvious when I put on the new pair and found myself walking taller, or was that just my imagination.

These boots have had a good life. I am not sure how long ago I bought them, although knowing me I probably still have the receipt for them tucked away somewhere. It must be over two years ago now because they have accompanied me along the South Downs Way twice now.

They hold the memories of many days of walking, not just the South Downs Way but some of the North Downs Way, the Capital Ring and many other walks. And not just walking, they are my footwear of choice for just going out, whether to the shops or the record office. They have been to work with me on a few occasions and even accompanied me to Who Do You Think You Are? Live.

I am not quite ready to dispose of them yet, the new pair needs a bit of time to be broken in, so I probably have a few more weeks use of the old pair before I finally wave goodbye to them.

Copyright © 2012 John Gasson.

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Wandering: Amberley to Arundel (Part Two)

After visiting North Stoke Church we walked back up the road and continued on the footpath south to rejoin the River Arun at South Stoke. The reason for leaving the river bank in the first place was so that I could cross the Gurka Suspension Bridge (as it is named on the OS map) between North and South Stoke.

The name suspension bridge conjures up images of mightly road or railway bridges, but this is a smaller version, crossing a tributry of the river, which after the recent dry weather didn’t really warrant such an elaborate bridge, but I am sure in wetter years it is essential.

Gurkha Bridge

The bridge was constructed in 2009 by The Queen’s Gurkha Engineers (which explains how it got its name) to replace the previous structure which had been damaged by a falling tree. It’s not really the sort of thing you would expect to come across during a walk in the Sussex countryside, but it is a wonderful piece of engineering nevertheless.

I was particularly pleased to cross it because it was the absence of a bridge here a few years ago that forced me to take a diversion which seemingly added a couple of miles to my walk, although in truth it probably wasn’t that much further.

South Stoke Bridge

After crossing the bridge the footpath lead us back to the river bank near South Stoke and another reasonably new bridge, and much more functional than the Gurkha bridge, as witnessed by the herd of cattle that were driven over it shortly after we had crossed it.

South Stoke Church

We were now of the western side of the river and had a pretty much clear run to the town of Arundel now. We didn’t stop at South Stoke Church, it is a lovely church, with a fantastic steeple, but one that I visited last time I was walking here.

River and Railway

It was now just a case of following the river as it flowed towards Arundel, the railway line was also following the river and our walk was often interrupted by passing trains. As a lover of trains (both old and new) this wasn’t a problem for me, but some may not be so keen on these intruders disturbing the tranquil natural landscape.

Arundel Castle

Eventually the bulky outline of Arundel Castle appeared on the skyline, rising above the surrounding countryside and the town itself which was still mostly hidden behind trees. We were still some way off the town, with still a couple of miles to go along the river (although probably nearer a mile if we had taken the road directly into town).

When we arrived in the town it was lunchtime and despite the fact that we had only been walking for a couple of hours it seemed a long time since breakfast and we were only too pleased to find a pub and take the weight off our feet and relax over lunch.

Arundel is a great town for antique shops (and a rather good bookshop) and in general has a diverse selection of shops, although due to the presence of the castle it is probably more geared towards the tourist these days.

Copyright © 2012 John Gasson.

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Wandering: Amberley to Arundel (Part One)

The route from Amberley, West Sussex to Arundel, West Sussex is not a particularly challenging route, it is only about five or six miles and is largely flat following the meandering course of the River Arun.

In contrast to the preceding week the weather on Saturday was quite gloomy. The weather forecast had warned that the warm and sunny weather wouldn’t last until Saturday, and it was right. We saw the sun on a couple of occasions, but most of the time we were blanketed in cloud. If the sun had been shining we would have been pleased with the gentle breeze, but as it was it did nothing to help the situation.

Houghton Bridge

We (my wife and I) began at Amberley railway station, alighting with several other walkers, but whilst they were probably off to join the South Downs Way we followed the road along to Houghton Bridge and headed roughly south along the eastern bank of the river.

It was good to leave the road behind and head into the countryside, we couldn’t leave the railway behind however as the line also follows the river south. Before long we left the river bank and followed a narrow twisting path enclosed on both sides by hedges. Eventually this emerged onto a road, a narrow country road that lead us into North Stoke.

I had never been to the village of North Stoke before, although from the map I knew that it was not really a village, but more a small collection of farmhouses. What I hadn’t realised from the map (I am terrible at noticing the contour lines) was that it was perched on a hill, not that great a hill but enough to raise it above the river’s flood plain.

North Stoke Church

The only public building in the village appeared to be the church. I was glad we decided to make a slight detour down the road to visit the church. It is a real gem, surrounded by a small churchyard and dwarfed by a large yew tree. The church is no longer used as a place of worship and is cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust.

Stepping inside the church for the first time was truly like stepping back in time, so many of the churches I have visited have been “restored” modernised, with the trappings of modern-day worship such as under-floor heating and modern seating, but this was just a plain and simple unadulterated church.

Inside the Church

To my knowledge I have no family connections with North Stoke, but I really felt that this was the closest I have ever come to seeing where and how my ancestors worshipped. This probably over simplifies things, because my ancestry spans four hundred years of evolving religious worship, and ranged from large London churches to small rural churches like this.

North Stoke Font

The first thing that greets you as enter through the south door is the wonderful font. It is a superb example and is perfectly at home in this church. It is so simple in its bulbous shape, with no frills or elaborate carving or decoration, just plain and simple stone. It has obviously seen better days and has been patched up many times, but has no doubt served the purpose for which it was designed with the minimum of fuss.

Copyright © 2012 John Gasson.

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Wandering: Over Seaford Head

I have been looking forward to this walk for a couple of weeks, no I tell a lie, I have been looked forward to repeating this walk since June 2010 when I last did it (although it was the other way round last time).

The weather conditions were much better back then, a little under two years ago it was a little hazy to start, but soon the sun came out and the conditions were glorious. Today we began with fog and rain and only much later did the weather begin to improve, but by then it was too late and we were on our way home.

Today’s walk was quite a short walk really, less than five miles, but conditions underfoot were less than ideal (yes, I did end up sitting in the mud on more than one occasion) which surprised me because we have been short of rain recently.

The walk started at Exceat Bridge in East Sussex (between Seaford and Eastbourne) and my wife and I followed the course of the Cuckmere River to the sea (this was the muddiest part of the walk) and we then headed west towards the town of Seaford. Because the tide was out the first part of this was along the foot of the cliffs, before ascending the steps at Hope Gap and continuing across the top of the cliffs and over Seaford Head, before descending into the town of Seaford.

The Seven Sisters, near Eastbourne, East Sussex (3rd March 2012)

The coastline in this part of the world is a truly incredible place to explore, even in the less than perfect conditions like today. We slowly picked our way along the foot of the cliffs (although not too close) and marvelled not just at the immense chalk cliffs, but also the variety of shells and stone scattered across the shore. From huge boulders of chalk with layers of flint running through them to the tiny little shells that litter the shore, it is a scene that must change every day as the tides work their magic.

Seagulls over the cliffs (3rd March 2012)

The cliffs are impressive in their scale, but once the sun comes out they take on an extra magic when their greyness is replaced by a dazzling whiteness, as seen below when we were descending into Seaford.

Seaford, East Sussex (3rd March 2012)

We spent a while in Seaford, perhaps an hour or so, certainly longer than I have spent before. I have ancestors from Seaford and of course Patrick Vaughan and his Canadian comrades were at Seaford during the First World War, so it is a place that I ought to explore further. However that wasn’t to be today, as the museum (in the wonderful Martello Tower) wasn’t open and the library is currently in temporary accommodation whilst a new one is being built.

Copyright © 2012 John Gasson.

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