Walkies

Sometimes when the city starts closing in on you the only remedy is getting the hell outta there!

Lately the noise and the sheer amount of people here in London has been starting to grate on me (I'm coming up to my 2 year anniversary), so armed with my trusty Time Out Country Walks Outside of London guide, I headed off to Haslemere on the Surrey/Sussex border to do a round walk along Marley Woods and Black Down. As I made my way to Marley Woods from the train station I looked enviously at the big houses and gardens and was lulled by the gentle roar of 3 chainsaws. Yes, 3 of them, hacking down a tree, an event that seemed to have bought the entire neighbourhood out to supervise. 'Great', I thought, 'Just what I need to hear in the background, 3 ruddy great chainsaws. This does not bode well'. I'm such an Eeyore.

Fortunately within minutes of entering the forest, it was just me, the animals and the trees. Peace and quiet. Bliss. You've no idea how smug I felt. I was positively hugging myself with glee at finding such tranquility. The whole way I met maybe 5 people. Otherwise I felt like I had the whole forest to myself, bravely hacking my way through the nicely cleared paths (thank you National Trust and Sussex County Council), boldly going where no Angela had gone before. There were probably loads of other people thundering about like me, as there were tons of trails to follow, but it felt like I was the only person on the planet.

I saw lots of wildlife - deer, rabbits and squirrels, and even a friendly farmhouse cat, who had a lucky escape from being brought home with me in my backpack.

The English countryside worked it's magic and I am completely in love with the place again. The trail took me through miles of farmland and woodlands, past cute stone cottages, a great pub (they always have a recommended pub lunch break in these books!), a cricket match, pine forest, and I walked uphill along some wet and rocky track for several kilometres and was rewarded with a stunning view of a Sussex vale and hillsides carpeted with purple rhododendrons. It was just so beautiful I'm afraid the only thing I was able to utter was "Shiiiiiiit". Not my most eloquent moment. I wish my photos could do it justice, they never do capture the colours properly.

Be warned, I shall be turning into David Attenborough or Bill Oddie if I carry on this way. My blog will soon be filled with me waxing lyrically about the Lesser Spotted Green Warbler, or treatises on the protection of fungi.