07.30 I'm on the train on my way to Eastbourne. Today I will be doing my last really serious training walk - 24 miles from Eastbourne to Lewes. My route will take me from Eastbourne over Beachy Head and the Seven Sisters (read - very hilly) to Cuckmere Haven. From there I'll continue to follow the coast to Seaford before cutting inland along the river Ouse to Lewes. My pack is now fully loaded with all the kit I'll be carrying for my challenge and weighing in at just over 15kg (about 3kg more than I've been training with so far. I've got a slight cold hanging around and the weather forecast ... heavy rain all day :-(
I left Eastbourne Station at 8.20 am and the first mile and a half were an easy stroll along Eastbourne Sea front in light drizzle before heading up a steep incline onto the South Downs Way. As I approached Beachy Head I noticed a search and rescue helicopter doing sweeps of the coast line. After dropping down to Burling Gap I head up and over the Seven Sisters, probably the toughest part of my walk. At points it felt as if I was climbing and descending near verticals. It was quite tough going and worth it when I made it to the top of the last Sister and got a stunning view of Cuckmere Haven. I was now 8 miles in and it was time for a tea break.
Now this is where things start to take a turn for the worse! The Newhaven end of Seaford is less that salubrious to say the least. I managed to find a bit of shelter from the wind in the ruins of the old tide mill amongst all the dumped rubbish (nice). So after setting up my stove, and surviving a rather hyperactive dog nearly sending all my stuff flying, I had a very tasty boil in the bag chicken dupiaza and a cup of tea. After refilling my thermos I was running low on water so made a mental note to buy some water as I passed through Newhaven.
After packing up and coming out of the shelter of the wind I noticed that my body temperature had dropped and I felt cold through to the bone. The path in to Newhaven was a mission in avoiding dog poo and then could I find any where to buy a bottle of water? After about 10 minutes of walking around I found a supermarket. The path out of Newhaven was once again a mission in avoiding dog poo. I thing it's safe to say the Newhaven isn't on my list of favourite place in the UK! By this point my moral was feeling pretty low.
I though that joining the Ouse Valley path would help boost my moral a little, but that was before I felt the cold bite of the northerly wind blowing down the valley. It was cutting and seamed to penetrate all my layers. 20 miles in and with my moral at a low I found shelter behind the only bush in about 500 yards and had a cup of tea and a chocolate bar. I donned and extra layer and feeling a a bit better headed out for the last four mile push into Lewes.
The last few miles passed without much incident and I made it to the station having completed 24 miles at just 6pm!
Physically I felt alright. My feet held up pretty well, I'm trying to toughen up my feet and it seams to be paying off! My old friend chaffing started to show some signed of appearing but not too badly. It was mentally that I struggled on this walk. I thing it was a combination of the cold wind (thankfully the rain held off) and the cold I had hanging around. So here's hoping that the weather improves by the end of May!
Total miles walked 24. Total time walking 8 hours.
After my tea break I followed the river Cuck to Exceat, crossed the river at the bridge and then followed the the river Cuck back down sea. Now three miles, and one hour, later I was about 200 yards from where I had my tea break!
After the welcome break of flat terrain offered by Cuckmere, I started to climb again as a crossed Seaford Head before dropping down into Seaford. The start of Seaford promenade marked the halfway point in my walk and I was feeling good. I followed Seaford promenade for it's two mile length before stopping for lunch.
After the welcome break of flat terrain offered by Cuckmere, I started to climb again as a crossed Seaford Head before dropping down into Seaford. The start of Seaford promenade marked the halfway point in my walk and I was feeling good. I followed Seaford promenade for it's two mile length before stopping for lunch.
After packing up and coming out of the shelter of the wind I noticed that my body temperature had dropped and I felt cold through to the bone. The path in to Newhaven was a mission in avoiding dog poo and then could I find any where to buy a bottle of water? After about 10 minutes of walking around I found a supermarket. The path out of Newhaven was once again a mission in avoiding dog poo. I thing it's safe to say the Newhaven isn't on my list of favourite place in the UK! By this point my moral was feeling pretty low.
The last few miles passed without much incident and I made it to the station having completed 24 miles at just 6pm!
Physically I felt alright. My feet held up pretty well, I'm trying to toughen up my feet and it seams to be paying off! My old friend chaffing started to show some signed of appearing but not too badly. It was mentally that I struggled on this walk. I thing it was a combination of the cold wind (thankfully the rain held off) and the cold I had hanging around. So here's hoping that the weather improves by the end of May!
Total miles walked 24. Total time walking 8 hours.
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