To Lewes

Lewes, a very pretty town nestling in a gap in the South Downs, is an almost perfect walking destination.  More interesting than Arundel, its more staid west Sussex cousin, Lewis has a defiant radical history.  The famous revolutionary Tom Paine wrote his first pamphlet in Lewis and 19 Protestant martyrs, refusing to accept Mary's Catholic restoration, were burnt there at the stake.  The spirit of non-conformism (and burning) is sustained with a unique annual firework display, claimed as the largest of its kind in the world, when the Guy Fawkes effigy is updated with more modern villains.   Perhaps more importantly, if you've just finished a long walk, is the excellent selection of pubs and restaurants, including those serving 'bitter' from the oldest independent brewery in Sussex, Harveys, located right in the centre of the town. With a direct train route from London and Brighton and buses back to Brighton every 10 mins, it's also very accessible.

South Downs Way

Every year around May, a bunch of us get together and go for a walk and in various configurations; have been doing this for last 18 years.  Essentially it's a good opportunity to moan on about the state of things, catch up with each other and drink large quantities of beer.  Key requirements are good countryside, good pubs and good accommodation.

Generally speaking all the trips take place in the UK (we went to Belgium once when the UK countryside was closed down with foot and mouth) and after years of getting soaked in the north and west there has been a shift in sentiment towards the south-east.  I live in Brighton, love walking on the South Downs and pushed the idea of the South Downs Way (SDW).  Because it was my idea and because I had always managed to avoid doing it in the past, this year the task of planning the walk fell on my shoulders.

Walks for 2012

Definitely getting “stir crazy” and ready for another big walk. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not looking for another six month trip like last year’s walk along the E4, but I need some more adventures.  So, as well as tidying up E4 notes and photographs, doing a bit of baby minding,  I’ve spent the winter putting on weight and planning trips for next year.  I now have a schedule that takes me from the end of February through to October.

The first trip takes me back to Andalucia and four days hard walking along the GR48 Sendero de Sierra Morena. The GR48 goes west to east from Barancos, just inside Portugal, and through to Santa Elena on the eastern side of Andalucia. The total distance is 581 kilometres and over four days I’ll be doing the first 160 or so, starting at Encinsola, the first “stop” inside Spain, and finishing at Cazalla de la Sierra. I’ll be walking with Juan Holgado, the No 1 Spanish walking expert, and the mad 40 kilometre a day schedule has been set by him - just hope I can keep up.

If I have any energy left at the end of each day I’ll try and blog but will definitely be writing the trip up when I get back.  In the meantime, if you’re interested in the walk than go and have a look at the GR48 Sendero de Sierra Morena website, really good, lots of detailed information including a GPS trail and everything you need to plan your own trip.  Really nice people as well. I left a comment on their Facebook page and they came straight back offering to send me English language versions of their Topoguides.