Somewhere Along the South Coast

Coming from London, we nearly took a detour to the south west coast before finally arriving at Southease, a lilliputian village on the south east coast. We actually planned to walk from Southease to the town of Rottingdean, but as we had arrived a little later than scheduled, we cheated and drove instead.

[River Ouse in Sussex]

[The shingle beach at Rottingdean]

[Seagull posing in front of the Brighton Pier]

White Cliffs of Dover

We took a day trip to Dover, a major ferry port in south-east London which faces France. We left London early in the morning, and arrived in Dover 2 hours later to have breakfast.

Route:
Dover Town > Dover Castle > Fox Hill Down > Upper Road > 'Gateway to the White Cliffs' visitors centre > Langdon Hole > along the cliffs to South Foreland Lighthouse > Lighthouse Bay > St Margaret's Bay > returning back to the visitors centre > Eastern Docks of Dover >Dover Town.

Length: approximately 11.2-miles (18.0-km)

It was a nice walk with varying terrain i.e. concrete; chalk rock and grassland; fields. On the Cliffs, there are naturally uneven and undulating surfaces with some steep slopes and a height gain of 107 metres.

Unfortunately it was a hazy day, so we weren't able to see the French coast. We were definitely close enough though, as we were able to pick French signals on our mobile phones. From the nearest point in England, South Foreland is just 21 miles from Cap Gris Nez in France, so swimming across the English Channel to France is a popular route.

The price of sight-seeing is extortionary in Dover. We ended up not going to any tourist attractions that require fees. It cost £30 (currently HK$383.757) per adult to enter Dover Castle!

[Eastern Docks and White Cliffs, reminds of Tsing Yi Peak]

[South Foreland Lighthouse]

[A big ladybird, haven't seen one of those small ones for a long time.]

At Last, A Walk

Deadlines and uni are over, so I went for a long-awaited walk. The journey was about 12-miles from Tottenham to Greenwich, where we mainly followed the River Lea to the Thames.

Route:
Tottenham Hale Station > Warwick Reservoir > Walthamstow Marshes > along the aqueduct to the Middlesex Filter Beds > pass Hackney Marshes > through Hackney Wick, and branching off down the Grand Canal >pass Victoria Park > Mile End Park > Limehouse > Westferry > Mudchute Park > Greenwich (under river) Foot Tunnel > Cutty Sark.

The route winds through the more rural parts of London, where we got to appreciate the fresh air, open spaces, and English greenery that bloomed with flowers and overgrown with wild grass.

Slow Down London: Highgate to Angel

As part of the Slow Down London Campaign, one of the walks that The Ramblers organised was the Highgate tube station to Angel tube station walk. The walk discovers some of the greener parts of North London, following a disused railway line, the Capital Ring and the New River to Angel.

The walk was 6 miles long, and is (unfortunately) completely flat terrain, but it is so close to home! I didn't realise that there is so much greenery in the area!

Post pic: Under the bridge graffiti.

South West London

Did a 22 mile (35.4km) flat walk from Kingston to Richmond, via the Thames river bank, royal parks, woods, roads and Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. This took about 8 hours.

One of the parks was Bushy Park, and it was filled with deer... that were waiting to be culled. Apparently, the deer were over-breeding and damaging trees.

The walk was just suppose to be 20 miles, but with the Thames's water level rising, paths were cut off, and there was no other option but to detour around it. Quite strange, considering the fact that for the past week, we haven't had anything but the occasional drizzle here in London.

Post pic: Sunset at the Thames river bank, near Richmond.

Autumn Walk

The route was from Guildford to Haslemere, via North Downs and Greensand Hills. It was 14 miles long, and passed though lots of scenic countryside, filled with autumnal colours, lots and lots
of trees, commons, and heathland. Most of the time it was raining, and with the rain glistening on the Autumn leaves, it really was quite magical. Around 5pm, it was almost pitch black, so dark in fact that we couldn't make out the squishy mud on the ground, and everybodys' faces were ghostly blurs... spooky!

Lewes

Route: Lewes to Lewes, via Glyne, Denton, Newhaven, Telscombe, and Piddington.
Distance: 20 miles
Speed: 3-4 miles per hour
Terrain: Hilly

Comments: It was very foggy in the morning, but that soon dissipated as the sun came up. There were great views as we walked on the chalk hills of the South Downs. Rolling hills, covered with fields and grass, but unfortunately because of the pace we were going at, I wasn't able to take all the photos I wanted ;( The hills we walked up were steep and long, not as steep as Hong Kong's though, and elevation was only about 200m.

After about 14 miles, I started to feel the strain, and started lagging behind. Within the last 3 miles, I couldn't see any one in front, so I had to jog over a ploughed field to get them within sight. I went over a stile, and after walking for a few minutes, I suddenly noticed that my camera was missing. I started to panic then, and the sun was starting to set. I ran ahead to get some people to wait for me, before I ran back along where I came, thinking for the worst that I had dropped my camera while running across the field.

I was so relieved when I found it. There was my camera, dangling on the branch of a tree, hanging over the stile. Phew!

Nearly being left behind and nearly losing my camera was a bit traumatic, but overall it was a nice walk with some lovely scenery. Stamina and pace-wise, I've improved since last week! :)

Post pics (mouseover): Fields on Hills; Fog in the Hills.

Rains in the South

Yesterday, I hiked with a group called the LDWA (Long Distance Walking Association), and I can tell you now that today, I walk around with aching muscles.

The most I've ever hiked before was about 12 miles, yesterday I attempted 20 miles. By the second half, I was already feeling the strain in my legs, but managed to push myself to keep pace with everyone else. It also started raining, which made things a little muddier than preferred! After the one hour and 20 minute train journey back into London, my legs had stiffened up, and I had to hobble home! The rest of the group were amazing. I was the youngest there, everyone else were middle-aged or over, and there were these 60-70 old grandads who were always in the lead!

It seems that I've become a bit of a masochist, because I'm thinking of doing some more 20-milers... the pain will go away once my legs get use to it... some hills would be nice...

Route: A circular walk from Uckfield, via the South Wealdway
Terrain: Flat, but mostly uneven ground
Distance: 20 miles in 7 hours

Hever in Kent

Route: Hever to Cowden, via Crippenden Manor and Marsh Green

Distance: 19.3km

Comments:
Hiking in England is very different from hiking in Hong Kong. This hike was completely flat, and involved walking through fields of grass and ploughed soil, as well as climbing over lots of stiles! Blue sky, green grass, woods, pretty villages, a field of sunflowers, rows of trees, and Autumn fruits... it really is a lovely route! We even saw a deer running to hide in the trees!

Post pic (mouseover): Redcurrants, and a sunflower.