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Peter, Barbara and John led a very pleasant local walk from the car park on the Elsted road to Chithurst. We passed through Iping and Trotton Common, a sad scene where a week before the local Wildlife Trust had accidentally set fire to the common. Heather was burnt but many trees were unaffected. Then on to Chithurst and Iping church for a coffee stop. We then followed the River Rother down to Stedham Bridge before tracking back to the car park. Lunch was very good at The Elsted Inn. The walk was about 4.1/2 miles.
Jean's Morning Walk started from The Grange car park and found a few old and new paths over Midhurst Commom before crosssing over the road to the fields above Woolbeding House and Estate. Now owned by the National Trust, Woolbeding House sits in “the prettiest river and nicest valley in England” - as described by Disraeli. We followed the route downstream to the Millbridge before heading for the Causeway (the bridge was home to hundreds of spawning frogs) and a climb up to St Ann's Hill, once probably the site of an iron-age fort. The recent stonework on the hill was placed on the site of a 12th century building which had been abandoned in the 15th century. Lunch was in The Royal Oak and the walk was about 5 miles. Thanks to Paul for additional photos.
The forecast for Wednesday afternoon was for wet with blustery winds and being high above Harting seemed undesirable, so Jennifer wisely reduced her walk so that it ended at lunchtime. Even so, the wind and rain came early so we eventually reached The Royal Oak somewhat damp. The log fires were very helpful in drying wet legs. However, with a good lunch and a rest, we felt it was more of an achievement than an ordeal. Lovely countryside, hopefully to be admired in better conditions later in the year.
The Barley Mow hosted another enjoyable skittles match and served up some very nice food to keep us going. The chips were particularly highly rated. The highest individual scorer was Stuart F and he was lucky to win only a small bottle of Uzo. Raffle prizes were plentiful and the evening gave the club £60 to put in the funds. Many thanks to Isabel, Marian and Jane for for doing all the organizing, raffling and scoring during the evening.
Jeff once again led an excellent short walk from The Three Moles in Selham. It was a fairly cold morning but with bright blue sunshine all morning. The route of the old Pulborough to Midhurst railway showed itself on several occasions, but the last trains stopped running between Petworth and Midhurst even before the Beeching era, opening in 1866 and closing completely 98 years later. Some paths on Graffham Common were a little challenging but it was a very pleasant route back to The Three Moles for lunch. The walk was 4.1/2 miles with about 320 feet gained.