Day two - Birling Gap to Alfriston

Day two – Birling Gap to Alfriston 

“Just around the river bend”

Totally different weather today; it's very misty.  

Once up on the cliff tops I found myself feeling a little disoriented and maybe a bit unnerved!  There was no distinct path and initially I don't think I twigged that I was up there as the edge wasn't really that distinct and you couldn't see the sea.  Some of the slopes you walk down were so steep it feels like you are walking off the cliff edge.  I didn't think of it before hand, but it did occur to me that going up onto cliffs on a day where vision is inhibited is not such a wise thing to do and clearly many people felt the same as I met very few up there!  A slight niggle in the back of my mind was the news reports where walkers go up mountains, the weather closes in on them quick sharp and before they know it they are in trouble.  That type of scenario thankfully never manifested!  I did however make a mental note not to walk on while looking down at my phone.  At the second gate I came across a no falling sign, and then every gate thereafter.  I didn't notice one at the first (maybe I missed it) so I mused about how the warnings had come just a tad too late.     

On some of the slopes the chalk scree can make it a little slippy getting down and the inclines seem to get progressively steeper as you progress along the cliffs, not to mention the optical illusions the mist presumably caused whereby the cliffs ahead seemed to create a vertical image into the sky.  The wall of cliff looks pretty impressive towering over ahead of you. 

In this weather you tend to hear things before you are aware of them.  A couple of seabirds were making a noise as I passed and a herd of horses nickered in the adjacent field.  The crows, in their many numbers, filled the air with their cawing.    

I came across a war memorial.  It was an obelisk stating that Michel Dene had been bequeathed to the National Trust in memory of the man’s brothers who had died in WW1.  A couple of rabbits hopped around behind it in the morning mist. 

I was rather pleased when the final signpost of the clifftop section came into view.  It was just by chance that it was in my pathway, there being no real pathway to speak of, so it saved a lot of trouble.    

Turning right and Cuckmere Haven came into view.   As I descended the mist disappeared and the people did the opposite!  Beside the riverside it was very busy and I met what looked like a school trip as I joined the main path. 

Up and over a hill and the sound of fun wafted up on the air.   Looking down I saw a string of kayaks stretched out across part of the river with their owners attempting to run the full length of them without falling in, with little to no success!  Next up, a traffic jam when another group of kayaks came along and faced this bottle neck in the river.  

As I descended my attention was grabbed by a bird of prey above my head, swooping and hovering to locate is prey.  At a guess, I'd say it was a kestrel. 

Once over the road a signpost pointed seemingly to a building and the only available footpath said it was for the Vanguard Way.  After contemplating taking the back alley down the side of the building, I opted for exploring the footpath first, thank goodness.  Looking on the back of the post it confirmed walkers of the South Downs Way coming from the other direction would be using this path.      

Soon after, I entered a gate which faced a wall.  For a split second I thought the gate led to nowhere, but then noticed the stones on the ground indicating it was a stile. Once out of this small enclosure, I started descending a long steep flight of steps.  There was a path which crossed this route at the top and as I trudged down, pitying those having to trudge up, I suddenly had doubt this was the route and I would be joining them in their climb pretty soon.      

Fortunately I was on the right path and the bottom rewarded with beautiful houses that reminded me of a Helen Allingham picture. 

It was now time for a change of scene and the walk entered a wooded section, along with more steps. 

Up a hill now and I was caught by surprise to see a white horse on the hillside to my left.  I knew of its existence on the way, but hadn't been aware it would be here.  Looking back at the hills I had come from, they were still clothed in mist, yet the view of this chalk image was clear as day. 

As I walked down to the village of Litlington I passed a sign forbidding many things, but ending with an insistence: “Emergency phone number for horses only”.  My thought following reading this was, since when did horses start using phones?   

The village was stunning and it was lovely to pass through, but then I reached the most beautiful part of the walk so far, in my opinion.  A walk beside a winding river, with cows the colour of burnt sienna and tan just the other side munching on gorse and stooping down to the river for a drink.  The path becomes lined with buttercups and leads to a quaint church in the distance, where the sea birds have now been replaced with wetland birds.   

You cross the white bridge and enter into Alfriston at the market cross.  It’s a very picturesque and historic village.