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Sussex & West SussexWalk Details: Top details: |
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The Walk:Our final stop of the day caused us a bit of difficulty – we couldn’t find the car park! We drove along the narrow winding road to the south of Black Down looking for the car park marked on the orange OS map at SU 922 290, but could find absolutely no sign of it whatsoever. As time was pressing on and we wanted to be back in time for the delicious post-walk dinner that my loving wife always prepares for us, we decided not to waste too much time searching for it and instead head to the northern car parks via more tiny winding roads. Although this would mean a slightly longer walk, it would save us a significant ascent. The northern car parks were almost as tricky to find. In fact, on our first attempt we ended up on the driveway of Aldworth House (which looked a nice place to live if you ever got the chance). Fortunately, on leaving the end of their long driveway we spotted the car park and were able to start walking.
We soon joined the main path running north south along the top of the down, and left a leaf-and-rock marker to show us how to get back to the car. We were disappointed (although we’d expected it from looking at the map) to find that hill was so heavily forested that – apart from that initial fleeting glimpse – there were no views at all. The trig point (and thus the county top) was even deeper into the woods, off the main path. I was determined to see this one before Jim – he was winning 3-1 today on seeing trig points first! I had therefore been sneaking surreptitious looks at the GPS, and when I saw that the trig was 500 metres ahead and to the right into the woods, I made a sudden break for it up a steep bank into the woods, catching Jim completely by surprise. By the time he’d managed to start running as well, I had a good 30-metre head start. I’d made my break too soon though – 500 metres through rough undergrowth and uneven terrain was a long way. Jim called for a break from behind me and, after ensuring that I couldn’t see the trig, I agreed. So, there we are, desperately gulping water and trying to get our breath back, when Jim suddenly squats down, squints and then calmly says, “There it is”. I had trouble making it out at first, but did eventually discern the merest glimpse of white paint through the trees, which upon further investigation did indeed turn out to be our trig. I just don’t know how he does it! This wasn’t the end of our walk though. At the southern end of Black Down was a round feature marked on the OS map as the Temple of the Winds. After the beautiful Temple of the Winds at the Manchester county top, we were eager for more of the same, but with such expectations we were always bound to be disappointed. Returning to the main path we followed the map down to the marked point to find nothing more than a circular platform with a curved seat and a basic toposcope with reasonable (but not spectacular) views. Whilst the toposcope did show that we could indeed see Ditchling Beacon, which we’d visited earlier in the day, we couldn’t believe that such a basic structure merited such a grandiose title. We continued to explore the southern tip of the Down, looking for something more befitting the Temple moniker, but eventually a grid reference reading confirmed that the bench was the only place it could be. Disappointed we stomped back to the car at high speed and headed back
to mine for dinner. On the way home a sobering thought occurred –
although we’d now bagged 16 marilyns, this only just took us over
1% of the total.
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The car park was on a bluff jutting out from the
main backbone of Black Down. As we made a slight ascent on the bluff to
join Black Down itself, there were a couple of benches set at the edge
of the escarpment with grand views out of the edge of the woodland southward
towards the South Downs – we wondered how many of the tops we’d
climbed earlier today we were able to see.