The South Downs Way Charity Ride for
BASICS in 2004
A Diary by Janet Corbett
Chilcomb famous for it’s Crop Circles
Our ride began at Chilcomb, 2 miles east of Winchester. We dropped the ponies off on the Sunday lunchtime and then had to take the lorry to it’s ‘stable’ for the week – a racing yard, which was also our B&B booked for evening 5 of the ride, some 80 miles away. Matthew (Porter) met us at the racing yard and drove us the 18 miles to our final B&B to drop off the electric fencing which we would need to make a corral for the ponies as there wasn’t a paddock suitable at this venue. Then he took us back to Chilcomb, with a dinner stop on the way. Poor Matthew got back to Rowney Green at about 10.30 that night, after a 12-hour day driving around for us!
Day 1 Chilcomb to East Meon
dawned somewhat overcast and breezy, with the promise of showers, possibly heavy. The paddock that the ponies had stayed in belonged to a neighbour of our B&B hosts, and as we were getting them ready she rode past. She asked if we had ‘pooh picking equipment’ with us and if we could clean the paddock before we left? I think our rather amazed expressions answered her question and she quickly said not to worry, as she didn’t mind doing it!!
Saddling up and Ordinance Survey Maps
We continued saddling up - this was our first ‘real life’ attempt at saddling up complete with saddlebags and horse rugs so we were a little slow and our departure was later than we had intended. However we set off up an initially gentle slope into pleasant woodland that was good underfoot. Our first road crossing was the A272, which we had been warned, was fast, but that the visibility going east was better. We got off the ponies on the approach and the 
crossing proved to be not too bad at all. The Rangers had told us that the way was very well signed and that we could probably do it without the use of maps, so they were stashed away in our kit. There were many other paths crossing the South Downs Way and somewhere in the woods, an hour or so on in pouring rain, we took the wrong path and thus eventually found ourselves approaching a small village with no SDW signs! We retraced our steps about half a mile or so but were concerned that we could get wildly lost and badly behind time, so we dug out the maps (OS and the special South Downs Way one) and had a ‘reccy’ to identify quite where we were, and then I realised that John had limited experience in reading OS maps! After much uncharitable scowling from me we identified the village as Cheriton. It looked like we had missed a turning possibly a mile and a half back. The roads were relatively quiet though, so we decided to follow them to pick up the SDW a little further on. Having dismounted I decided to use a garden wall as a mounting block – stood on it, put foot in stirrup, and the wall collapsed! John kindly suppressed a giggle and Sossy looked very embarrassed as I hurried her away. This detour added possibly 3 miles in total and put us behind time, so the maps became our number one ally and stayed at our fingertips from there on, with John learning as we went, because 2 ‘readers’ are better than 1! However this detour meant that we had avoided the second crossing of the A272 at Holden Farm, which was reported to be a little less friendly than the first. The rain stopped and we had intermittent sunshine to dry us. The signs at the earlier part of the ride were not as clear as they might have been, but by using the maps we followed the rest of the route without mishap. The afternoon produced alternate bouts of showers and sun, and some lovely riding with a mixture of good ground, muddy patches and stony tracks taking us high up into the hills onto open down-land then back down into the valleys.
Crossing the A32 at the ancient village of Warnford
The next major road crossing was the A32 at Warnford, reported to be the nastiest crossing of all. Warnford had a small river running through it with shallow banks and we took time to water the horses there, as there had been few troughs on the way. They paddled too and cooled their feet. The road crossing was indeed fast, with poor visibility both sides due to bends and hills, but we waited for a lull in the traffic, which didn’t take too long, and led them across. We walked with the horses at regular intervals to both give them a rest from carrying us and to flex our muscles. Drinking troughs for the horses were almost none existent on this stretch of the ride. High up on the downs, watching the birds flying, John commented that we were riding above their flight paths! It was quite fascinating watching the birds from above. Our late departure and route deviation meant we were arriving at our B&B later than planned, and the final mile or so, off the SDW onto roads, was at dusk, so we were glad we had bought the cyclist helmet lights! I rode in front with my light to the fore, and John followed with his light to the rear and flashing. However riding at dusk meant we got to see wild deer playing in the fields – a sight to treasure. We finished day 1 at East Meon and after grooming and feeding the horses was dropped at the pub a mile away by our B&B host who, unfortunately, could not collect us. We had forgotten our headlights so had to walk back in the pitch dark – thus our headlights became our number 2 ally!
Day 2 East Meon to Houghton
promised better weather, blue skies, sun and wind, which we soon found became a gale on the top of the open downs, however generally the wind was behind us. This was the day we were travelling the furthest, 27 miles, so we made sure we 
got an early start. We almost missed the track off the road onto the downs but soon corrected ourselves. The tracks were stonier and steeper and the going was slow, with us getting off to walk with the horses more frequently. The signs were better though. The A3 crossing was by way of an underpass and the entry into the Queen Elizabeth Country Park was lovely, if steep, with soft woodland tracks. Views from the top of the hills were stunning. The tracks soon became flinty again but in places the path was less eroded and there were some good grassy tracks, which we made, use of to speed up and gain time. The B2141/B2146 roads were also fast, but a bit of patience produced another lull in the traffic and we led the ponies across easily enough.
Rough riding
About 12 miles into the day, somewhere around Didling Hill, the tracks became very rutted, strangely with 3 ruts, and neither the ruts nor the higher ridges of the tracks were wide enough for the horses to walk in or on. The ridges were crumbly and generally it was very flinty indeed. At about 13 miles into the ride Sossy stumbled and fell, resulting in 2 small cuts to her knee and slicing a ‘V’ shaped cut into her face just above her nose; and I was launched ungracefully over her head! We spent a while cleaning her wounds and to keep her noseband from irritating her wound I tied a lace from her noseband to her brow-band. We then continued on foot to the next road, the A286, leading the horses and watching Sossy’s movements carefully to assess for possible lameness, but fortunately she seemed absolutely fine. We were half a mile or so outside Cocking and knew we had about 10 miles to go to our B&B at Houghton, and it was 4.00pm! Concerned about Sossy’s knee and not wanting to put it under undue stress we were reluctant to ride her so we tried to find someone to transport us but after half an hour of phone calls were unsuccessful.
Accommodation and Chinook
The local farms couldn’t offer any advice as to any B&Bs that could accommodate the 2 horses as well. Had Sossy been uncomfortable we’d have despatched John by taxi to fetch our lorry, leaving me to look after the horses, but she was not and there was no heat in her knee or leg, so we decided to continue on foot leading the horses. The farmer’s wife assured us that the next few miles were of reasonable going. Once back up on the downs we heard the deep regular ‘shrub, shrub, shrub’ of a Chinook and were surprised when it appeared apparently out of the trees below us! The ponies took no notice what so ever, although earlier a few game birds taking flight out of some scrub had caused them to spook. We met the A285 at about 6.00pm and, as there had been no water troughs accessible to us we stopped at the farm at the road junction to ask for a bucket of water for the horses. Refreshed, we set off again, this time back on to harder, slower going. The Chinook appeared twice more – making its final appearance in the dark, as we crossed farmer’s fields in the lowlands just before we reached Houghton. We finally arrived at Houghton at about 9.10pm, covering the last miles in the dark, including crossing the A29! I think drivers on the A29 were so shocked at seeing us with all our fluorescent gear and our headlights in the dark that they stopped out of fright. Once again our headlights proved their worth. We spent half an hour sorting tack and horses before we got to the local pub, but were too late for food, so our meal for that evening was crisps with 2 bits of bread which the bar staff managed to find as the kitchen staff had all gone to the pub in the next village!!
Day 3 Houghton to Poynings started bright but the wind persisted. Sossy seemed absolutely fine, no heat in her knee and no signs of discomfort. We had only 21 miles to cover that day, but set off early wary of the pitfalls and with a desire to arrive early enough to eat! I marked the maps so that we knew where we should be mid morning, lunchtime and mid afternoon. This was the first time I had done this and it proved to be worthwhile and a good, quick guide as to our progress. It was a very gentle start over the River Arun, alongside the lowland cattle paddocks, over the railway to the B2139, which had excellent verges separated from the road by hedges and although the road was fast there was reasonable visibility at the crossing point.
Onwards and upwards
Then the climb started. This part of the downs had less woodland cover than the earlier parts, and the views were outstanding. At Barnsfarm Hill we took the Horse & Rider diversion to benefit from the bridge crossing of the A24 at Washington, but the diversions signs at Rowdell were missing, so we missed the path. In Rowdell a lady was doing some gardening so we stopped to ask her the way. We couldn’t have picked a less likely advisor. As she turned we realised she could have been nearing her centenary year, she was somewhat hard of hearing and had a patch over one eye. She couldn’t read our map and hadn’t heard of a bridge, but her son could have helped us, had he been there! We reassured her that we would be fine and set off back along the track when a man appeared, one of her neighbours we think, and pointed out the general direction that we needed to go in, although he wasn’t sure of where the correct path was either. We backtracked a little to try to identify the correct path, which we thought we found. Part of a very narrow track here was peppered with rabbit holes.
Rabbit holes and passing Chanctonbury Ring
Johan’s foot went straight through the apparently firm ground as the rabbit burrow underneath it caved in, so we got off and led them, tentatively testing the ground ourselves before permitting them to walk on it. Unfortunately we were still a little adrift and ended up on a private drive which led to the bridge anyway, and this added perhaps a mile to our journey. Once we were back on track the bridge proved to be very beneficial as the A24 is a very fast dual carriageway and we would have been concerned crossing it directly even with our very calm horses. We were soon back on top of the downs where we passed Chanctonbury Ring, which looked a little overgrown and really deserved exploration but we were concerned about time. Then we had a gentle downhill ride to cross the wider part of the River Adur where we met three lads on bicycles who declared we had ‘smart horses’ – praise indeed from the youth of today!
Crossing near River Ardur
We led the horses over the long bridge and on to the A283. This was a very fast and busy road with lots of larger vehicles. We had to travel along its’ verges for about 100 yards. I used my specially made flag – 2 sides of fluorescent A4 paper with PLEASE STOP printed on either side, all housed in a plastic case, which simply slipped onto the end of my crop. I held this up as we approached the verge – and they all stopped! Perfect result! A steep climb up Beeding Hill was rewarded by views down the extremely steep drops of the cultivation terraces to our left. Here a bi-plane appeared and swooped and soared around us. We waved at the pilot but, though it was low, we couldn’t see if he waved back. Truleigh Hill got the ‘Truly Scrumptious’ song from the film ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ firmly in my head, and poor Sossy had to endure my singing this to her for the rest of the day. Poynings came into view as we rode along the incredibly steep side of the hill that reached down to Fulking, and then disappeared again, and we rode into Devils Dyke. At Saddlescombe we took the bridlepath into Poynings. An early arrival time meant the ponies could have a good groom before tea, and we had a pleasant stroll to the pub for a delicious minted lamb dinner.
Day 4 Poynings to Telscombe was only 18 miles! Our previous nights’ B&B hostess was a rider and warned us to be cautious of rabbit holes on the next section of our ride – which proved to be a good warning. We retraced our path back up Saddlescombe, a steep climb up West Hill then another steep drop towards Pyecombe and the easy bridge crossing over the A23, closely followed by the more awkward A273 which was another ‘patience required’ crossing. The path then went through a golf club which had a shop where I bought a bottle of Coke Cola (a blissful relief from plain water!) each and met the man who held the record in the Guinness Book of Records for the number of ‘crossings of the South Downs Way’ – a golfing instructor who, in the normal course of his job, crossed the path of the South Downs Way a multitude of times!
Jack and Jill Windmills
Then we were back onto the open downs again. We passed the windmills known as Jack and Jill, standing complete and splendid near the viewpoint above Clayton. Ditchling Beacon was our mid morning point where we arrived just 15 minutes late of our planned time, and to our delight found and ice cream van parked in the rather remote car park! Two 99’s were ordered – Sossy gazed at the view but Johan’s interest was the coil on the cone. John showed it to him and it disappeared in an instant, much to the amusement of the ice cream vendor! John declined a replacement and we set off again, out on to an exposed and bleaker section of the downs. The wind was colder than on previous days and my makeshift hi-viz material scarf was welcome under my shower jacket, although John, being made of sterner stuff, chose not to use his. We stopped for lunch (our first proper lunch stop!) at Buckland Bank still roughly 15 minutes after time, then had a pleasant and gentle ride downhill towards the bridge crossing of the A27 at Housedean Farm and under the railway line. Our 
mid afternoon point was Swanborough Hill and we arrived on time. A cow followed us - much to Sossy’s disgust - she is not keen on nosey cows! Then we rode along the crest of the downs before dropping down Mill Hill and the bridlepath through the farm. This was an experience in itself! The personnel resembled ‘hill-billies’ and there was a variety of loose animals and a grain dryer blowing noisily with electrical extension cables stretched across the track lying in the soggy mud puddles! Finally we reached the lane into Telscombe, and our B&B at the racing yard. Another good arrival time permitted much grooming and an amount of ‘quality time’ with the ponies in a sheep compound in the middle of the somewhat run down yard.
Grazing with cows
They were to spend their evening in a field, behind the beautiful and ancient church and graveyard, with six young calves, which considering Sossy’s reluctance to be with cows seemed a good ‘conditioning’ move. The field next door had a 3 year old and a yearling newly turned out into it, and the field on the other side had a ‘herd’ of about 20 assorted race stock in it, all separated by electric fencing and a ‘Canadian Gate’ at the entrance. The ‘Canadian Gate’ was a new one to us – some sheep netting with a strand of barbed wire above it hooked onto gate posts either side; we were not sure the Canadians would have been too pleased to have this strange arrangement named after them! Anyway, our host dropped us at the pub in the village, strangely named the Abergavenny Arms and run by Czechoslovakians, and we were to call him when we were ready to be collected. On our return to the B&B we decided to check the horses, as we were not too comfortable with their arrangement. It was just as well we did because all the horses from the adjoining fields were in with ours, the fences down, and it was obvious ours were not going to get a rest with the melee that was going on! A panic discussion with the yard owner, who assured us that everyone would be ok in together, resulted in us hauling our 2 out through the Canadian Gate and back to the yard into the sheep compound. As this was also the venue our lorry had been parked up for the week we were able to give them some of the hay we had taken for them, as the sheep compound had little grazing. We checked them over and, although they had seemed to be a little confused by the sudden intrusion of the large and fast race horses, they were soon settling well, cooling off and munching their hay.
Day 5 Telscombe to Filching
our final riding day, was to be 21 miles. We set off early again and opted to follow the road back to the South Downs Way, avoiding the farm. Over the very wide River Ouse to the railway line that had notices suggesting we needed to raise the bollards for which a key was required. Closer inspection revealed gates and, mindful of the notices that warned ‘Keep Off The Live Track’ we gingerly but hurriedly crossed. After a further bit of flatland we arrived at Itford Farm and the A26, the main road out of Newhaven with its ferry port, a fast and busy road with plenty of HGV’s hurtling past. The wide verges afforded us space to wait for a suitable gap, and we progressed to the final stages of the ride.
Crest of the South Downs
More steep climbs followed, then out again onto the crest of the downs and more fabulous views. Red Lion Pond appeared to be a perfect circle! White Lion Pond was less discernable as it was further away from us. Here we met a glider, gracefully and silently riding on the thermals, it’s wings glinting in the sunlight. The descent into Alfriston was gentle and reasonable underfoot for the most part, finishing in a steep loose flinty track that led us into a pleasant though modern housing estate before reaching the very old and picturesque village. Here I bought chocolate and Ribena (to flavour our water – we have learned that one’s taste buds can not live on water for five days!) and we found a rather super spot near the pretty meandering Cuckmere River to stop and have a lunch break. That is, until the flies arrived! Nevertheless, refreshed we continued on our way, leaving the flies by the river. The South Downs Way splits near Alfriston with walkers being routed along the chalk cliffs beyond East Dean. Horse riders have to stay inland, so we followed our permitted route and, just before Eastbourne, backtracked to find the Weald Way that would take us to our final B&B at Filching. A permissive bridlepath off the Weald Way led us to a private path up the steep hill, peppered with rabbit holes and a very warm welcome, accompanied by the local press! As we approached Ash Farm I was overcome with emotion at having completed it all successfully and burst into tears! After a photo shoot, we set up the corral for the ponies and they enjoyed another good groom before their tea. We took a taxi back to the race yard and collected our lorry ready for an early departure the following morning – we had to collect the belongings we had left behind at each of the 4 earlier B&Bs on the way home, so it was set to be a long day! We enjoyed a very pleasant meal with the other guests cooked by our hostess, after which we re-arranged the ponies corral slightly to give them a little fresh grazing then retired for the night.
Homeward bound!
Saturday dawned with a promise of heavy rain – well at least we were only going to be travelling in the lorry! The journey home took an incredible 9 plus hours because of the need to collect our belongings on the way, and it was hampered by the bad weather and poor visibility, but the ponies travelled very well, munching happily through their huge net of hay, and they arrived home calm and relaxed, delighted to see their friends again and to be grazing on home ground. A quick check with the weigh tape indicated that Sossy had lost some weight, which I was expecting as her girth had gone further and further up the billets until we had run out of holes! Johan showed no weight loss, and when I got on the scales the following morning neither did I! We set about cleaning out the lorry, sorting out the maps and other bits and pieces, cleaning tack, and doing mounds of washing - our clothes, horse travel boots, numnahs .
Special notes:
The South Downs Way is a route along the rolling chalk downs of East Hampshire and Sussex, in an area of outstanding natural beauty. It takes you in to deep wooded valleys and up over the bleaker high chalk downlands where you can enjoy stunning views, including, in the East, views over the English Channel. The route follows prehistoric droveways that have been in use for some 5,000 years, and numerous Bronze Age round barrows decorate the trail, along with a few ancient dewponds. It is crossed by numerous other trails; all in all there are over 2000 miles of them, with some junctions being better signed than others! The hills rise more than 800 feet above sea level with ascents and descents being as much as 4-500 feet at a time, often over very steep and rough terrain with a good deal of lose stone underfoot. Such unstable going can make it difficult to keep your footing. Farming of such land is difficult and on the higher land much of the agriculture is given to virtually free-range sheep and cattle grazing. Our horses became masters at spotting water troughs and at making their own diversionary routes to get to them!
We have since found out that we are only the second team of horse riders to complete the whole route – and the other team did it over a 2- week period!