From the Southern Downs to the Northern Mountains
Last weekend I finally completed the last leg of the South Downs Way, arriving in torrential rain and wind through a non-descript housing estate outside Winchester to bemused looks from the throngs of Sunday shoppers. (the South Downs Way’s ending must rival the West Highland Way’s in terms of anti-climax).
In contrast to my Cape Wrath expedition, this path has been spread over a couple of years. Doing a Long Distance Path in one go is a real treat, but the bite size approach has been just as rewarding.
The South Downs Way has also been a path that I’ve consistently underestimated, the rolling chalk tracks reminding me time and time again that hills demand absolute respect wherever they are. Alongside golden dappled sunshine outside Petersfield, I’ve contended with hail the size of a baby’s fist and fought along the Seven Sisters into a Force Nine gale.
The landscape may seem benign with civilisation close at hand, but in thick mist on the downs outside Shoreham-By-Sea it felt ethereal and totally isolated.
As I straggled through the outskirts of Winchester, a tweed clad gent noticed my large rucksack and stopped to chat. On hearing of my completion of the Way, he smiled broadly, shaking my hand firmly and saying, “Good effort, old boy - onto the next challenge then?”.
The next challenge indeed. In just 7 weeks I’ll be setting off on the Cape Wrath Trail and I’m counting the days.
