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| Amberley Village |
We woke to a bright sunny day and after breakfast and picking up our packed lunches the groups met outside the entrance to the hotel for the 9.20am start. The Discovery Tours group had their own agenda, leader and transport and went off first. The rest of us filed down to the waiting coach and we drove through the countryside to Amberley. Our group and the medium walkers (about 9 miles) got off here, about a quarter of a mile from the village while the hard walkers (about 12 miles) were driven off elsewhere. Today's walk was entitled South Downs and Sussex Villages.
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| Thatched cottages |
The two groups split and off we went towards Amberley, the most pretty village I think all of us had ever seen. The lanes were a mass of thatched cottages and houses. First stop was Amberley Church which was very pretty. We then went to see the back of Amberley Castle which is actually now a luxury hotel which would set you back between £400 and £600 per night and a three course meal around £65 per head! We also saw where the flood line was, coming up against a wall probably four feet or more and we were told that all the fields had been flooded. We then walked back into the village for an early refreshment stop because it was one place we could use the loos (if we bought something!). That's the thing on long walks, lack of WC's! There is, of course, plenty of natural foliage which is fine for the men but I would have to be desperate to us it!
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| Painted wall, Amberley Church |
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| Some unusual decorative stonework |
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| Amberley Church |
The tea room was pretty and unique. Most of us had a drink to enable us to use the toilet and one of our six party group bought some Lavender shortbread to share. It was delicious. The shop was full of pretty crockery hanging from the ceiling and even the menus were decorated on the cover with colourful buttons. It was very tempting to stay there! The sun was warm and people were stripping off top layers. We left just as the medium walkers arrived!
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| The back of Amberley Castle |
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| Our party in the corn field. |
The path took us through a mobile home park and we met a lady cutting lavender. She told us she was making lavender bags to sell at the Oxfam shop where she was deputy manageress. She also said that the lady in the Tea Rooms brought some of the crockery from the shop!
We headed along roads and down footpaths and across a wonderful field of corn to
Parham House. The house has existed since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It looks beautiful but sadly we did not have time to visit. However, we did visit the little church to the side, known as St Peters which had a unique stone roof and a private pew with its own fireplace! After viewing the church we stopped to have our lunch. There were benches by the church overlooking fields and we could see deer in the distance.
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| The Dovecot at Parham House |
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| Parham House |
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| St Peter's Church, Parham House |
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| Posh pew with its own fireplace |
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| St Peter's with its stone roof. Also our picnic spot! |
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| Parham House |
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| Info board |
The walk back to Abingworth Hall took us over stiles and through fields of corn. It was idyllic. We arrived mid afternoon which gave us time to relax. My friend went to try out the swimming pool (which she said was nice) and I went down to the conservatory to read. The house was silent (I think they were all in the pool!) and I had the room to myself.
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| The oat field |
Before dinner that evening we had our briefings for the next days walks and being mindful of the weather (which was predicted as heavy rain) no one opted for a hard walk and we felt the easy walk lent more chance of somewhere to shelter from the rain. Oh! little did we know what was coming!
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