SOUTH DOWNS WAY Jun 2010
A longer than expected trip away with work coupled with having to deal with some utter triv from NATOs pettiest small man on my return meant that the big chunk of leave I'd secured got whittled away to not much leave instead. This wouldn't give me enough time to do the Pennine Way as planned (sorry parents/support team!) meaning I had to plump for one of the shorter trails.
The South Downs Way is a very gentile stroll along the South Coast with just the odd steep climb every now and then to get the heart rate going. I was very lucky with the weather throughout and managed to repeat the now traditional sunburnt ears problem.
The trail is obviously very accessible from the local area so at weekends sections of it get very busy but for the most part I walked the trail in blissful solitude! At one point I came across a small memorial to a German pilot shot down during the Battle of Britain followed an hour later by a low level pass from a Spitfire (on his way into Shoreham I guess). All very evocative stuff, 60 years on.
