James Hope Lang puts in some serious ultra-marathon miles to be the first to bag all 9 sites. Ed Bewley walks from Newhaven to Devils Dyke.
18th July - James Hope-Lang (Newhaven to Truleigh)
My flying skills are still limited and the weather was looking crap for another few days so I decided to see how far I could hike it.
I borrowed a light weight harness from Fly Sussex, stuffed it with my Mojo 3, my helmet, a dozen energy bars and gels, and a 2l Camelbak bladder (total weight 12.7kg plus 2kg water). On the outside I had my flight computer (attached by its lanyard) and my phone.
[Editor's commentary: Almost 15kg (including water)? That bag is a real strain - pulling far away and down behind the hips. This just increases my respect for James' tenacity - it must have been absolutely gruelling doing 78km ground track with that setup]
Dressed in running gear I was at Newhaven waypoint for a 5:30 start on Wednesday 18th July.
From there I headed straight down to Newhaven, followed the back of the railway, picked up the Vanguard Way and headed to Seaford. From there I decided not to chance a Cuckmere wading and followed the A259 towards Friston. It was around here I realised the 6.5km to waypoint on my flight computer was for Bo Peep and not the actual 9.5km to Beachy. Bit of a mental set-back but explained why it was taking so long!
At this point I was trying to walk 7 minutes and run 3 minutes in every 10 having re-adjusted immediately from a planned 25 run/5 walk! I also drank every 15mins and ate every hour (as per my Ultra's routine).
Beachy was blustery but at least still dry. Bagged the waypoint, picked up a bridleway back to East Dean that must have been 30min quicker, and headed out to the forest. In West Dean used someones lawn hose to refill the Camelbak, paused in Litlington to use the loo at the pub and then walked up High and Over. Still dry but windier, crossed the road and jogged most of Bo Peep borstal. Waypoint was further from the car park than I remembered.
Turned round and set off for Firle. Had the aerials in sight all the time so when the computer registered the waypoint it came as a complete surprise! Like Ed the walk down the hill was more painful than up it. Had a welcome break at Fly Sussex for tea, apricot tart, refill of water and a couple of energy bars.
For Caburn I'd already decided to take the footpath from middle of Glynde that heads round the back of the hill. This worked out fine, gentle slope up and only a 100m or so from the waypoint. By time I got to at 14:52 the cloud and drizzle settled in.
[Caburn: where are all the SHGC members?]
Stayed like that to Lewes but cleared on the initial climb out towards the old race course. What you forget though is that the climb goes on steadily all the way up Blackcaps, back onto the South Downs Way, and doesn't stop until Ditchling.
Now the weather really settled in, heavy rain, 50m visibility, so I had to get my waterproof top on, and even pull the hood (I hate hoods!). Ditchling to the Dyke passed in a daze. I can remember following the road through Pyecombe as it was so wet I was basically walking in a stream. My wife had spotted my location online and texted to see if I was stopping at the M&S shop. A timely reminder - hadn't eaten for two hours so must have been deep into fatigue having been going 13 hours by then. Forced myself to down a couple of gels and plodded on to the Dyke.
Got there around 7:30pm and was ready to throw the towel in. Frieds wasn't there to meet me and turned out she'd already decided I'd make it to Truleigh, so had no choice but to go back out and finish off. Flight computer though decided to play up in the wet and wouldn't restart so luckily had my back up GPS watch for the final 4.5km (3.6 straightline). This still took 45 minutes, but finally finished at the Truleigh YHA at 20:30 - 15 hours after the start.
[Finished James]
28th July - Ed Bewley (Newhaven to Dyke)
Last Long Walk of July?
With an "Epic" (quote from official Flybubble forecasters) outlook for Saturday 28 July, I thought that a good start would be the only section of the course uncontaminated by my feet, namely Newhaven to the Dyke. I set the alarm for 0420, but need not have bothered, as some local adolescent female had been out on an Olympic party expedition and returned at 4 am to find herself locked out. Her attempts to get her mother's attention "Mum, open the door; I'm cold!" got my attention and I felt like shouting at her "Die of exposure, but do it quietly!". But I had more time for breakfast now, and was soon on the way to the coast and leaving Newhaven at 0521, estimating 4 hours to the Dyke.
It was quite breezy, but I only needed a fleece for the first half mile. Not many people were stirring in Peacehaven apart from the odd early dog walker, and despite the heavy overcast, walking conditions were pleasant enough, and Saltdean came up quicker than I expected. I passed David Webb Residential in Rottingdean and soon the Marina was in sight: nearly half way. Brighton was starting to wake up, and I was delighted to find Caffe Nero in Bond Street open for an energising espresso and snack.
Straight up Dyke Road, and as I reached the outer fringes of the town, Rob Chisholm stopped to offer me a lift, which I obviously had to graciously decline. Approaching the roundabout, someone else stopped to offer transport, and beyond the roundabout Crispin and Grita offers encouragement for the last bit as they passed. A mile short of the Dyke, Nigel was the last would-be Good Samaritan, but I stomped on, arriving in 4 hours and 3 minutes, at a trot in case Greg was watching. He wasn't.
The sky to the north beyond the frontal overcast looked promising, and people were starting to straggle along the Truleigh run, so I got ready without too much delay and set off to get the Truleigh turnpoint, closely followed and overtaken by Greg and Crispin on the tandem. I had to hang about a bit to cross the cables on the way back, but was soon back at the Dyke, feeling optimistic about the chances of heading east once the layer cloud cleared.
When it did, the air was soon full of gliders, but though there were some good climbs to be had, they were not as strong as the conditions promised, and the thermals seemed to change direction quite dramatically with height. Lots of going round in circles did not quite get me high enough to get away, and it was small consolation that some more skilled pilots were also finding it difficult. In the end I landed before the sea breeze came in, and had one last attempt to climb out over the manure heap in the bottom landing field, which was obviously doomed.
Nancy kindly came down and picked up John Porter and me. So only 3 sites bagged, but an enjoyable day despite the lack of air miles. The late afternoon and evening proved as enjoyable, with restorative Harvey's at the Trevor, tea and football at The Lay (thanks to Greg and Tracy for once again taking me to Newhaven to recover my car), and dinner at The Cricketers, where Carlo. Grita and Tefal told us of their exploits in pursuit of the R11s. Greg was not envious at all (well, not much). So no more FoF for me this year: unless I get up early on the 31st and decide to walk the 9 sites. Be afraid, James Hope-Lang, be very afraid!
Some photos of the day here