In the land that lies between the Downs
Posted on Wednesday 2 June 2010 by Thomas James
Seventeen cyclists set out from Haywards Heath on 16 May, to see what lay to the west.
The morning ride took us through the High Weald. After a first busy section we took in a succession of small hills though villages, past ponds, farms and woods. The group maintained a strong pace and we arrived at the Black Horse at Nuthurst before opening time.
Entering the village at Slaugham
A slight drizzle kept most of us indoors for lunch, but the rain soon stopped and the afternoon stayed clear. The afternoon took us into the Low Weald, with fewer slopes now and a distant view of the Downs to the South. Against my on-road principles, I took the group for a few km off the tarmac on a bridleway near the River Adur, before following back roads to Hassocks and tea, amid the statuary and old machinery at the South Downs Garden and Heritage Centre.
In the woods near Staplefield
Then a final ride through Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath back to the railway. We returned to London just in time to be soaked through by a cloudburst on leaving the station, but this didn’t matter as it was too late to spoil the ride.
We did 69km, all in West Sussex. A map of the ride is here.