Following a very good day of walking on the previous day, the spirits are high as I arrive at Southease train station - having stayed overnight in Lewes - and from here it is a short walk down to the bridge across the River Ouse, where I have to wait for a team of workers to finish replacing a board.
Rather the close the bridge, the workers are replacing the sleepers that make up the core of the bridge one by one, and re-opening the bridge between each replacement - and so whilst I have a bit of a wait to get across, I'm at least thankful that they are going to a lot of effort in order to keep the bridge open.
And as I wait I am able to do my good dead for the day, redirecting a lady who is trying to find a meeting point, where she will find her friend, which is in fact on the opposite side of the trains station - and otherwise do my best impression of a patient person as I wait for the workers to reopen the bridge.
But it is not too long before the bridge does indeed reopen - and soon I head across, and into the village of Southease - which is a very small village where houses have very large gardens - and where you can find an old looking church (and the next drinking tap).
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| St Peter's Church |
The church itself dates back to the first half of the 12th century - and is a pretty church to have a look at.
From here there is a fairly busy road to cross, and then a short and slightly awkward bit of path to clear - before the route turns to head along a farm track, and into a very pretty valley.
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| On the path before the farm track |
At the farm, we turn right and head up to the top of Mid Hill - with great views looking back towards the farm.
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| Looking back to the farm |
Continuing on, the path heads between woods and houses - before we once again find ourselves walking across rolling open grassland.
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| Back into open countryside |
Soon we join up with a farm track, and as is common on the
South Downs Way, we are walking on a very solid section of path (you definitely need comfortable shoes for this trail).
And here we get a rare glimpse out towards the sea - and as we are steadily heading further north, the sea views are set to be less frequent today.
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| Following a track |
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| Looking out towards the sea |
But in many ways Lewes was the perfect overnight stop - because for the next section of path we are doing a loop around the town - with views out towards it from the ridge we are walking along.
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| Views out towards Lewes |
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| And from further round |
But it is as we pass Kingston near Lewes that we enter the best section of path - as we loop around a valley that sits between us and the A27, which we will cross further along the path.
And here for the football fans, we also get our first views of the Amex Stadium, where Brighton play there football (I decided not to include a photo of the stadium).
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| Some cows with the coast behind |
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| A path running down to the coast |
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| Starting to go round the valley |
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| From the far side |
We are soon on the far side of this valley, and from here we drop down until we meet up with the A27 - then we run along side it, and cross over via a bridge to the farm on the far side (where should also be another drinking tap).
From the farm we turn back and head in the opposite direction (very briefly), before turning left, to head up the ridge on the far side of this road.
And here we are crossing agricultural land, with fields rather than open grassland.
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| Looking back at the ridge we were previously on |
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| Heading past fields |
Before long though, we make it through the smaller fields, and arrive at a new ridgeline (just shy of the village of Pumpton), where we once again have the open grassland that we have been most used to walking through.
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| Looking back while walking across more open countryside |
Here the area to the north is Open Access land, and with there having been a shortage of places to stop and rest, I decide to cut into the fields to the north, to sit down on one of the larger structures that can be found.
But I'm soon back on my feet, and as we continue on we start to close in on Ditchling Beacon.
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| Back on the move |
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| Ditchling Beacon comes into sight |
Ditchling Beacon is the highest point in East Sussex - and the third highest point on the South Downs - with great views out across the surrounding area.
And this made it the perfect location for an Iron Age hill fort - which is just about still visible - and later this was the site of one of the beacons installed after the Norman conquest - with a beacon here supposedly being one of those used to warn of the approaching Spanish Armada in 1588.
These days though, the site is most notable for a car park - which we head through, and then out into the open grassland on the far side.
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| On the far side of Ditchling Beacon |
From here our path heads along the ridge - before it starts to drop down, as we get ready to cross the A23 in the valley below.
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| A dew pond |
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| Starting to drop down |
But here you do have a decision to make - for very slightly off route sit two windmills known as Jack and Jill (or less commonly, as Clayton Windmills).
The now mostly demolished Duncton Mill was built in 1765, Jill in 1821, and Jack in 1866 - with both seeing their last use in the early 1900s.
The structures do, however, remain - and they have been kept in good condition (with a bit of restoration work required along the way).
This is enough to tempt me to visit - and in the end, the temptation to go take a look at them wins out over the goal of not adding unnecessary distance - and so now we head off course in their direction.
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| This is Jill |
In the end the amount you can see is quite limited, particularly since Jack is hidden behind scaffolding - and the mills are only open on Sunday's - but it is not a long trip down, and there is a nice bench by the car park as well.
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| The view from the bench |
After having a rest at the bench, I turn back on myself, and get back up to the
South Downs Way - from which I make the journey down towards the A23.
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| The church at Pyecombe before reaching the A27 |
Sometimes these crossings can be quite back, but here you barely notice the road - and having made it across a bridge, it is time to head back up the ridge on the far side (you get used to climbing up and down ridges).
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| Back up on the far side |
From here we head over West Hill, and onto Saddlescombe - where the next drinking tap can be found - and where I do indeed choose to fill up my drinks bottle.
And from here there is once again a climb coming up, as we head up towards Devil's Dyke.
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| Up another climb |
The route taken by the
South Downs Way past Devil's Dyke is not a particularly good one (the path is of a high quality, but it very much bypasses Devil's Dyke) - and here you may prefer to turn off and follow the footpath through the valley of Devil's Dyke itself.
But here I find out too late how limited the views are from the path for that, and instead turn off near the top of Devil's Dyke - to cut across and get some views looking down the steep valley (the area around Devil's Dyke is open access land).
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| Here off route taking a look at Devil's Dyke |
Here you find an usual features, for Devil's Dyke is a steep valley - but with no river. And here the valley was formed by rivers that no longer exist.
During the Ice Age, this area was too far south for any meaningful glaciers to form - but rather than grasslands you had snowfields, and when those melted they cut out the valley that can be seen today.
In addition, this was also the site of an Iron Age hill fort (just to the north of Devil's Dyke) - and it also became a major tourist attraction during Victorian times - with OS Maps showing the location of a branch line that used to run up to Dyke railway station (from the south).
Alongside this railway, Devil's Dyke also had a cable car that ran across the valley during Victorian times - in addition to a funicular railway that ran up from Poynings to the northern edge of the hillfort (the fort is marked on OS Maps, but I can see no indications of the funicular).
But from here, we start to leave the crowds behind, as we continue on along the next run of hills.
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| Path across the hills |
Here the great scenery continues as we continue to walk along the ridgeline - and we now back to mostly having long distance walkers for company.
Here I meet one guy who has made it here from Winchester with his dog, and as we meet I ask how the dog deals with the distance - and he explains that the dog is doing okay, but very tired (just as it excitedly rolls round on my feet, giving every indication of having endless energy).
Here I decide to ignore the dog's efforts to discredit it's owner, and move onto a new topic - commenting that the dog and a nearby cow look unusually curious of each other (dogs and cows aren't after all known for being friends).
But here the owner sees a chance to restore my confidence in his ability to understand his dog, and corrects me - explaining that she's actually pretty nervous of the cows - just as the dog rolls on it's back, and gives every indication of being the most relaxed dog in the world.
With this, the owner gives up trying to explain the behavior of his dog, and we continue on our walks.
By this point it has been a fairly long day of walking - but ever so slowly we start to tick off hills along the ridge - and by the time we pass another set of radio towers at Truleigh Hill, we start to begin a slow descent down to Beeding Hill.
As you pass the youth hostel you also pass another of the drinking taps (there is also a cafe, and obviously accommodation, here).
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| Closing in on the radio towers |
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| Having made it down to Beeding Hill |
And from Beeding Hill it is a short run down the hill to the valley below, where the path meets up with the A283 - and where I meet up with the bus stop that ends my walk for the day.
From here I am head off to Brighton to see what the fuss is all about, and finding that it's not quite as exciting a town as I had expected, head off for bed.
Total Distance: 22.3 miles
Total Ascent: 2,976 feet
Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 198 OS Landranger map - while there is also a South Downs Way guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in very well way-marked 
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