Ditchling sans beacon

The chairs on the sunlit deck this morning were damp with dew, so I opted to sup my quadspresso in the tea-house and took the opportunity to read a bunch of articles ahead of tomorrow.  It was warm on the deck, but the tea-house sits against the tall north hedge and it was thus a little chilly, especially with both the door and the side window open.  I didn’t realise how cold until I picked up my empty coffee cup for a refill… it might as well have just had iced-coffee in it!

 

I was in ten minds about where to run this morning so in the end I just set out and followed my feet.  After a little gardening yesterday and the inevitable subsequent hay-fever attack from cutting the lawn and the grass on the green, I felt somewhat leaden-footed so I quickly realised my feet weren’t going to take me as far as the Beacon.  Or, more to the point, back again.

I cut through behind Folders Lane,  crossed onto the the common and headed down towards Ditchling behind all the garden centres.  It was firmer going than I had imagined, but still a little icky in places.

I ran down through the middle of Ditchling… it really is a very pretty place!

There’s an old house for sale at the south end of the High Street which always piques my interest as I drive past.  The length of time that it’s been on the market suggests that the price is set too high (and way out of my price bracket!) but I thought I would take the path round behind it to see if there was more to see… apparently not!

I have occasionally stopped to chat with one of the friendly locals and I bumped into her here, walking her dogs.  Bizarrely she also has a tea-house and a Japanese-influence to her garden… I reckon we’re probably in a real minority around here, but you never know!

I chose the direct accent of Lodge Hill and was rewarded with the glorious view to the south.

Then it was back past Oldlands Mill (passing one of my most favourite houses in the area) and on towards Burgess Hill.

Rather than take the road back into town, I took the detour that Daren & I used to use, passing the water tower and then running along the side of the railway.

Things have changed!  What used to be a very muddy track is now cinder & tarmac.  Whilst it was lovely to run along, it’s not as hairy as it used to be… I remember some really slip-slidey mornings!

Overall the 6.75 miles took me 1:28, though this time includes the conversation about Japan & Japanese gardens so I might have been slightly faster than the 4.6mph average that this suggests!