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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 3688 |
13th April 2016 Mt. Biking: Bignor Hill to Arundel Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny and warm Max Speed: 30.90 (knots - unless stated otherwise) Distance Covered: 18.21 (Nautical Miles - unless stated otherwise) Wednesday 13th April – Cycling ***** Bignor Hill to Arundel 18.21 nautical miles (30.90 max speed) – sunny and warm. Rob has been visiting for a long weekend so as I managed to work two days and get the rest of the week off we decided to take him home and have a few days ‘down south’. We drove down after tea last night, getting to Sayers croft about 10. We woke up at 7 and at 8 Rob and Hannah came to see us. We waved Hannah off and Rob took us on a brilliant walk in the woods – the bluebells are absolutely spectacular. We made a quick loo stop at the flat and he gave us some maps because he has recommended a place for us to go and stay tonight. We left there about 9.15 and travelled the 25 miles to Bignor Hill. The countryside and villages are lovely around here. The car park Rob had told us about is a bit difficult to find as you have to drive through a farm yard to access the road it is on but we found it and were lucky to spot a little owl:) We parked up packed a picnic and got the bikes off. We set off up the hill past sheep with gorgeous lambs, following the South Downs Way. It is a very up and down path so it was pushing up hill and freewheeling, mixed with quite a bit of walking most of the day! We headed to a village called Houghton where we could join the river Arun but made a bit of a wrong turn and ended up in a village called Bury which was very quaint with a beautiful, unusual church. It is an unbelievably hot and sunny day so we filled our water bottle from their tap and headed to the river which was very picturesque with a beautiful house complete with stone staircase leading up from the garden, weir and weeping willow:) Sat on the seat there for a while watching the river which was really fast flowing towards the sea as it is tidal. We biked along the river, lifting the bikes over a few styles and reached Houghton. The footpath here was closed so we biked up the road (a bit further than we needed!) and joined the Monarch’s way (over 600 miles long and apparently used by Charles II to escape – we don’t know what from – roundheads??!) This path was very muddy in places but we soon got to firmer ground and were able to stop for our lunch on the river bank with the added attraction of a rope swing which I couldn’t resist. The rope was hung from a tree with the most amazing roots! As I was swinging I spotted a barn owl! We haven’t seen one for at least 3 years so were thrilled to watch this one giving a fine display of hunting on the opposite river bank, backwards and forwards so we could see him for a long time :) We eventually moved on following the path to Arundel. It was hard work at times but well worth it, especially when we biked down a very steep lane to find a pub called the Black Rabbit at the bottom – on the river bank with the most amazing view of the huge Arundel castle in the background! We had our trusty flask so didn’t stop at the pub. Biked on and right into the castle grounds. Didn’t go any further as a whole tour (which really isn’t our thing) would be £18 each !!! We had a break and cuppa on a seat overlooking the river one way and the castle the other. We knew the return journey was going to be really tough going as it is nearly all up hill so tried to find the best route on Rob’s map. We decided to go along the side of Swanbourne lake in the grounds of Arundel park. The water was crystal clear! The big push up started from here! Lots of lambs made it a real pleasure to push our bikes up the first steep slope!! We had a sit down at the top and looked down over the Downs pointing out all the places along the river we had cycled through this morning and being happy we didn’t have to bike down there again – planning to go across the top to reach our destination. Hmmm that didn’t go according to plan! We cycled a short way before being met by a Private sign about 100 metres short of the road we needed! We tried another direction only to find that we were still within the Arundel Park walls with no way out other than to go back to Arundel or go down and join the path we had come on this morning! In the end we headed down, carried out bikes up the longest flight of wooden steps up the side of the cliffs behind our rope swing, cycled along the hellish road from Houghton to Arundel and finally found the Monarch’s way again which would take us ‘home’. It was a long slog with lots of walking but we made it around 7 p.m. – having been away from the van for nearly 8 hours – cycling 20 miles!!! Exhausted is hardly a good enough word to explain how we felt but we had had a brilliant day, lots of great sights, animals and birds – our favourite kind of bike ride but with a few too many hills for comfort! We had a chat on the phone with Rob, resorted to good old spam and eggs for tea and were in bed asleep by 9.30! Photo Gallery here |
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