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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3055 |
5th May 2018 Mt. Biking: Bignor Hill to Halnaker Mill Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: Distance Covered: 12 miles (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Saturday 5th May – bike ***** Bignor Hill to Halnaker Mill – sunny and warm Top night on Bignor Hill on the South Downs Way, we woke to clear blue skies and it was surprisingly quiet considering it was a Bank holiday weekend with most of the walkers arriving from about ten. Mag and I both managed to do our exercises in the warm sunshine with great views of the Downs before breakfast. Not in a big hurry as we will stay up here to avoid the coastal crowds so relaxed reading until midday. Mag had already packed a yummy pasta salad so at 12 we were ready to set off on the bikes. We never tire of going along the Roman Road here, full of sheep with lambs and stunning views down to the coast. Our original plan was to head along the Roman road (Staine Street) to the 7 ways cross road in the woods, turn left and go and see the fantastic bluebells down towards Slindon but we spotted a windmill high on a hill a few miles ahead and decided to go there. So, at 7 ways we go straight over for the first time and go in search of the mill. The path deteriorates into a narrow, overgrown footpath with lots of tree roots, I even manage to nearly crash into a bush, ripping my t-shirt and getting several cuts:( We come to the busy A285 with lots of crazy cars and motorcycles doing their best to kill us! We can see the mill high on a hill but can’t find a way up so continue towards Halnaker and soon spot a lay-by and a lane heading back up to the mill. A sign says no bikes so we push them up, past a beautiful old cottage, lifting the bikes over several stiles! Sadly, the mill is in the middle of being restored so there is a fence around it but the 360-degree views are well worth pushing our bikes up here, we even see a Red Kite circling:) We sit in the long grass by the mill for our picnic surrounded by pretty yellow Cow Slips and check our OS map for a way back? There are no marked footpaths apart from the way we had come up and didn’t fancy the stiles but found an overgrown path which looked like it headed back down to the A285. We ended up going down the side of farmers fields, past pheasant rearing enclosures through farms along what looked like private roads and were relieved in the end to find a footpath sign! This did, however, save us going on the dreadful busy road again :) We ended up in a big carpark for Eartham Woods and knew roughly which way to go but the OS map was no help as no tracks/footpaths were marked in the forest! We biked in the direction we thought we should go and eventually ended up back at 7 ways after a lot of up and down! We didn’t want to cycle the Roman Road again so headed North up a steep woodland path which was long and hard going and we were knackered by the time we reached the top. It was then a nice slightly downhill path towards the radio masts and we were glad to reach the van after 4 knackering hours in the heat covering approx... 12 miles but what hard miles they were! I washed the dried blood off my cuts, we had a cuppa and relaxed reading in the sun. Then Mag made a delicious omelette for tea which we ate outside, with the deer crossing the field again and the last of the walkers/mountain bikers heading for home. We are sharing the carpark with one other VW camper and a few cars whose owners are camping out for the night. Fingers crossed for another day like today and perhaps we can bike to see the bluebells this time? Photo Gallery Here |
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