Despite waking with a headache, I vowed not to let it beat me, took some pills, got ready at leisure and chose another walk from my 50 walks in Sussex book. Based on distance to drive and that it was gone 2:00pm before I even left the house, I chose Burwash, about 30 miles away, the other side of Lewes from me.
It was a delicious, bright clear sunny day when I arrived at my starting point not long after 3 o'clock.
With my walking stick in one hand and an apple in the other I strode down the hill into the valley in which I would find Rudyard Kipling's Sussex home "Bateman's". I'm only slightly disturbed by the fact that all the other people I saw with sticks were somewhat senior to me in years.
You don't have to be a Nobel literature prize winner to see why Kipling enjoyed this area so much. Stunning rolling hills, traditional farm buildings and oast houses all around.
This time, I took care to make sure I followed the walk in the right direction… except I got horribly lost not far into the route. I could see where I had to get back to though, so no big deal, just a question of picking to route up somewhere further along. I think I must have walked an extra couple of miles or more in the end, but it did mean I got to see another one of John "Mad Jack" Fuller's follies. This is Brightling Needle and sadly, as there is no public access, this is as close as I got.
I'd already seen a few of them when I did a walk around the village of Brightling in 2007. Wonderful story of a rich, eccentric Englishman of the most traditional kind.
I managed to pick the footpath up again after a few miles and when I was confident I was back on track I took a break in this staggeringly pretty little valley.
The route ended with a second pass by Bateman's. Here's a shot with the sun setting. Nice gaff Rudyard.
So, a rather longer walk than I had anticipated, but fantastically tranquil and exactly what the doctor ordered on a bright Spring afternoon.
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