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squiz
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Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3055
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18th April 2019
Hiking - Walking: Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: Distance Covered:
Wednesday 17th April – Walk ***** Sayers Croft – sunny and warm :).
Good night in the van in the car park at Sayers Croft, then breakfast with
Rob, Hannah and Arlo before heading over to Horsham for Arlo’s swimming
lesson. Mag, Rob and I have a walk around the park spotting a heron in the
pond before watching Hannah and Arlo having fun in the pool. Then it’s
over to a large garden centre where we are treated to yummy cake and a
cuppa sitting outside, after which we explore having fun with Arlo while
Mag and Hannah look at the plants. Back to Rob’s for lunch, Arlo has a
nap before we have a lovely walk around the woods where Rob works at Sayers
Croft Outdoor Centre. The woods are full of bluebells again. As they were
kitted out in their wellies Hannah and Arlo walk along a stream getting
covered in mud. Great fun. Back for tea and play with Arlo who is a real
pleasure and as bright as a button, full of energy and non-stop chatter:)
With Arlo in bed we watch a couple of episodes of Ricky Gervais’
‘Extras’ before retiring to the van absolutely knackered!
Thursday 18th April – walk **** Pulborough Brooks Nature Reserve –
sunny and warm :)
Our third and last night at Sayers Croft. Breakfast with the family before
going our separate ways, Rob, Hannah and Arlo head to Portsmouth to see
some friends while we go to an old favourite Bignor Hill intending to stop
off at the rspb reserve at Pulborough. We find it easily using Mags mobile
phone and after a quick stop at Sainsburys we find a spot in the crowded
car park. I check out the visitor centre while Mag makes a salad and
discover it is £6 to enter the bird reserve but there are public footpaths
around the outside, we can use for nothing! I collect a map and return to
the van for Mag. The warm weather has arrived so shorts and t-shirts are
the order of the day! We leave the van at 11.45 walking through the wood to
the visitor centre which offers great views across the flood meadows
towards Pulborough. We soon find the path that leads to the quaint little
church at Wiggonholt then its through the reserve to Little Hanger Hide
passing a large group of bird watchers on a guided tour. Leaving the
reserve behind we walk to the River Arun and head towards Pulborough on the
river wall. We spot a canoe paddling downstream. We have to walk along the
road for a short section looking in an estate agents window where the
cheapest property is £450,000 with many well over a million, not a good
place for first time buyers! Back on the footpath again we find a nice spot
by a small stream for our picnic which we enjoy in the hot sunshine.
Continuing past a lovely holiday cottage and over a stile into a field
containing several shaggy, long horned highland cattle (Aberdeen Angus?)
which looked very impressive and were very well behaved much to Mags relief
as although she loves to see them, she is not too keen on joining them in
their field! Then it was back to the church and van, definitely with our
six-mile legs even though we had only done 4 miles! It was only a short
drive along lovely narrow winding lanes, up the steep hill road to park at
one of our favourite’s spots on Bignor Hill in the South Downs. The trees
lining this steep and narrow road have been completely decimated and looked
very sad after their de-forestation!! :( A cuppa and scone followed by
reading and dozing watching the world go by. Yummy Lidl lasagne for tea and
a quick walk up to the dew pond to sit on the seat and watch some dozy
sheep grazing with several on their knees – very strange. We also
watched a buzzard squaring up to a crow and a kestrel on a fence post with
a huge full moon in the sky above:) Unusually I think we might even have
some company here for a night as another van arrived late but we should
have a quiet night apart from the odd plane flying into Gatwick!
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