And did those feet, in an ancient time, walk upon England’s mountains green?

Jerusalem – William Blake (1988)

This walk was chosen because it was my old stomping ground of West Sussex. It also had links to a famous poem. The idea that William Blake trod part of this route felt that this was definitely an English pilgrimage.

The route 25.4 miles takes you through the wooded hills of Blakdown and extends through to the rolling South Downs National Park. The first part of the route is Hazelmere to Midhurst, which is 11.4 miles. Then, it’s Midhurst to Chichester, covering 14 miles.

We got off the train in Hazelmere and headed towards the start of the route. As we walked along the road, you see that Haselmere benefits from being on the train line to London. Large houses with big gardens line the road.

As soon as we had left the road, we started to climb through dense woodland. It felt that there was a real sense of history. It seemed a perfect place to camp in the forest and carve spoons! A plaque dedicated for Mr Farquharson demonstrated that he felt the same about this woodland,

The focus point is the Temple of the Winds. It is a bronze age circular bank. This bank is the highest point in the south Downs National Park.

from here the views over the Sussex Downs was amazing. The views even out to Chichester our final destination. We stumbled upon a few wild campers. They were just setting off on the serpent trail. A route which winds itself around West Sussex.

As we walk on we pick up a green highway a route walked by Tennyson. A very straight drivers pathway with high banks. We eventually find ourselves at Cowdry Castle. Then on to our accommodation for the evening in Midhurst.

Next day he first village we came across was Charlton. It plays a significant part in the story of Blake’s Jerusalem. At the Fox goes free, the name highlights the time when the pub became a free house. A plaque in the back states that the room hosted the first women’s Institute meeting in England. This meeting occurred on the 9th of November 1915. The organisation adopted the hymn as its anthem in 1924.

We head to the trundle Saint Roche‘s Hill. This is the heart of William Blake country. The view of the place from Levant to the south inspired Blake to write the poem which became Jerusalem. The trundle offers a view akin to that from the temple of the winds. The villages of East and Mid Lavant guide you toward Chichester. There, the slender Cathedral spire serves as an elegant finishing post.

Luck would have it there is an ice cream van, much appreciated on this hot day . We make our final descent to Chichester. We take the Sustran’s cycle walking route, which is the old railway route.

We walked through Chichester but Sadly as we reached the cathedral we found it closed at 4 it was 4.15.

Creative Practice.

My walks always promote my creativity. I decided to use some of the sticks I’d picked up as paint brushes. I wanted to create a woodland painting.