Duncton to Charlton

The weather forecast the night before did not look good

but on the day itself, we start the walk an hour later than usual with a blue sky and a wind which was to prove most welcome.

Taking up where we left off at The Cricketers,

we leave the main road via Dyehouse Lane and very quickly reach a lovely 18thC farm house and Duncton Mill Trout Fishery incorporating four beautiful lakes.

This must be an angler's paradise offering as it does, such excellent trout fishing in the most spectacular countryside.

Here too can be found holiday lets and a  residential centre where courses in craniosacral therapy are offered as well as conferences and suchlike.

People come here not only to fish but also to get hitched, and we were able to see a group of yurts being pitched ready for some happy couple's big day. 

Passing the lakes, we begin the uphill climb

where we have far reaching views over Duncton Down and Seaford College Public School which was once part of the estate of the Buchanan family, of Black and White whisky fame. A bit of trivia relating to the school - in the grounds can be found the grave of 19thC Cardinal Manning's wife, Caroline. You may be thinking 'but Cardinals don't have wives", however, Manning was a C of E curate here in 1833 when the school chapel was Woolavington village church. He married the rector's daughter and when the rector died, Manning took over his job! Caroline died four years after marrying and in 1851 Manning converted to Catholicism becoming Archbishop of Westminster and later a cardinal. It is worth quoting here a very fitting tribute Manning made to this area:

"... the Downs seem to be only less beautiful than Heaven."

Cardinal Edward Henry Manning

At a hairpin bend in the A285, the trail climbs steadily through trees and passes the now disused Duncton Hill limekiln which is built into the scarp face. The bridle path to the kiln from the road is the original track used to transport the lime. Since the Middle Ages chalk from the Downs was burned to make lime for building mortar. This one is probably dating from the mid 19th century.

Partially bricked up entrance to the kiln

We spot butterflies and fungi but in the old deciduous woods we notice there is little birdsong, something which was mentioned by a warden from RSPB Pulborough Brooks in "All About Horsham' this month, as being typical in August when birds hide away to moult.

Any botanists know the name of these fungi?

Hilaire Belloc, the Sussex Poet Laureate was briefly mentioned in section 2 of this blog but he has travelled alongside us in spirit the whole length of the Literary Trail. In one of his poems, entitled 'Duncton Hill',  he expresses his deep and abiding love for this area of Sussex.

He does not die that can bequeathe

Some influence to the land he knows,

Or dares, persistent, interwreathe

Love permanent with the wild hedgerows;

He does not die, but still remains

Substantiate with his darling plains.

The spring's superb adventure calls

His dust athwart the woods to flame;

His boundary river's secret falls

Perpetuate and repeat his name.

He rides his loud October sky:

He does not die. He does not die.

The beeches know the accustomed head

Which loved them, and a peopled air

Beneath their benediction spread

Comforts the silence everywhere;

For native ghosts return and these

Perfect the mystery in the trees.

So, therefore, though myself be crosst

The shuddering of that dreadful day

When friend and fire and home are lost,

And even children drawn away --

The passer-by shall hear me still

A boy that sings on Duncton Hill.

Belloc was perhaps best known for his 'Cautionary Verses' but in fact he wrote more than 150 books covering a wide range of subjects. His love of Sussex began when at the age of eight his family moved to Slindon and although he ventured abroad at various times in his life, it was this county he always returned to. He was a staunch Roman Catholic and he and his wife Elodie are buried in the RC Church in West Grinstead.

A young Hilaire Belloc and his beloved wife Elodie

Belloc in old age wearing his characteristic cloak and wide-brimmed hat

Our path continues zigzagging uphill until, puffing and panting, we emerge from the trees once again. It was exhilarating then to traverse a field of ripe corn with the gusty wind cooling us down after our steady climb.

Crossing the A285 again we take the approach road to Duncton Minerals Quarry before continuing along a straight road skirting the quarry, once again uphill.
We are thankful when we finally reach a high point on the South Downs Way at Tegleaze and can stop to catch our breath, take in the views and have a bite to eat.

From here there are views northwards over Blackdown, the highest point in Sussex where Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1809-1892 made his home. He succeeded William Wordsworth as Poet Laureate in 1850 and with the writing of The Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854, his fame knew no bounds. In a bid to gain some privacy from the gaping and grasping of his fans he moved to West Sussex.

Tennyson, another poet with a penchant for cloaks and big hats!

Continuing west from here, the trail leads slightly downhill into an open section where suddenly we spot a young deer which, startled by our close proximity, heads straight to the boundary fence where there is no escape. We swiftly move away and the poor animal realises it can reach safety by moving sideways instead of forwards.

A profusion of wildflowers where the deer was trapped. Marjoram?

Now we take the parallel path through Graffham Down Reserve.

Later, the remains of two barrows (burial mounds) and a cross dyke (a linear earthwork believed to be a prehistoric land boundary) are to be found. These could easily be missed as we are anxious not to miss the signs for the WSLT and we are constantly referring to the map.

In Charlton Forest further west it is easy to lose one's way, the trees being a tangled maze with fallen branches blocking our path and no horizon to orientate ourselves. Unsurprisingly therefore, we take the wrong turning and end up committing to walking to East Dean. Sadly this means we miss out on the views of Levin Down and a mile of the trail as our pick up transport is waiting for us now at East Dean!

In days of old this area was a haunt of smugglers including the notorious Hawkhurst Gang and also the fashionable fox hunting grounds of the King Charles II's son, the Duke of Monmouth, in the 1600s. In 1697 another of the King's sons, the Duke of Richmond, bought Goodwood  known internationally nowadays for its motorsports and horse racing.  Money being no object, and in order to improve the view from his Goodwood residence, the Duke had the road from Chichester to Petworth moved further east!

At the edge of the woods we walk another kilometre under blue skies with fluffy white clouds, thankful that we have managed to evade the rains and heavy winds forecast yesterday.  We continue down the narrow shady path to reach East Dean, a tiny village that nestles comfortably into the crook of the South Downs. This is where playwright Christopher Fry 1906-2005 once lived. You can read The Guardian's obituary here , in which it is says he deserves to be remembered as something more than the inspiration for Margaret Thatcher's remark "The lady's not for turning".

Christopher Fry

However, our final destination is The Fox Goes Free, in the village of Charlton. Originally named the Pig and Whistle, the Duke of Richmond is said to have renamed it when the area became popular for hunting. It is a 'free house' hence the latter part of the pub's name.
Singleton and East Dean WI, the first group to be formed in England, was established here in 1915 to help with the war effort and it is still going strong!
This is a great pub at which to end today's walk. We sit and rest our feet in the popular rear garden with its fabulous pastoral views

Katharine reads from our guidebook about Hilaire Belloc and his interesting life and we enjoy some of the best chips we have tasted anywhere along the route so far. Highly recommended by us all!