First taste of the South Downs

Day 3 (Sunday).

Down to business. At last Michele and Jackie get their first taste of the South Downs. On the agenda today: 38 km along the first section of the trail from Queen Elizabeth Country Park to Amberley. Given that we had only done a maximum of 25 km up till now, this was going to be quite a test. We started at 8 am. The rain, which had been falling earlier in the morning, finally stopped and Michele’s rain dances throughout the walk helped keep it at bay! (A missed photo opportunity, if ever there was one!). Our two warm up walks had stretched our legs and now we were feeling fit and strong ...

and able to really start putting the pace on. Armed with our walking poles we made good progress, reaching the first checkpoint in under 2 hours. We stopped for lunch just before the second checkpoint and then stopped again at the third checkpoint to drink tea and eat delicious cakes at the farm shop in Cocking. The farmer told us only 11 miles to go to Amberley. Which seemed nothing. It meant we were more than half way, but in reality it seemed so much further and was definitely the hardest half of the walk.

Paula trailed behind us tweeting and texting to the world. 

Michele marvelled at ever more trees and Jackie complained about her knee! Philippe put up with us all magnificently, as we walked over hills, through woods and across fields of flowering rape! 

We were encouraged on our way by the mating calls of hundreds of pheasants and the first cuckoo of the year.

Finally we were in the final straight around 5 pm and with one last push up Bignor Hill, 

it was all downhill from there. Unusually, our walk through this part deserted Sussex countryside was accompanied by deafeningly loud music, apparently from a rave party going on in a copse close by! We arrived in Amberley at 6pm – completing this section in 10 hours, which is pretty much bang on target!

Jim, Paula’s husband, and half of our support team was waiting to ferry us back to Godalming. Thank you Jim! To say we were tired at the end would be an understatement! But at least we have all managed to complete the distance. Onwards and upwards (although not too many upwards bits) with the training!