And did those feet, in an ancient time, walk upon England’s mountains green- William Blake (1988)
West Sussex was my old stomping ground, and I was intrigued to visit the area again this time with links to a famous poem. The idea that William Blake trod part of this route made the walk feel historic.
The South Downs National Park
The 25.4-mile route takes you through the wooded hills of Blackdown 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, it was obvious that Haselmere benefits from being on the train line to London. Large houses with big gardens line the road. The smell of burning smoke from both garden fires and wood burners filled the air.
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 to 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 were 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 drovers’ pathway with high banks. We eventually find ourselves at Cowdry Castle. Then on to our accommodation for the evening in Midhurst.
The first WI meeting
Next day the 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 that there is an ice cream van, much appreciated on this hot day. We make our final descent to Chichester. We take the Sustrans 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 paintbrushes. I wanted to create a woodland painting.
