Joy and sorrow
08th August 2015
8th August
South Downs
I was experiencing a journey of contrasts as today day would be full of memories filled with sadness, whilst at the same time I would be traversing through a sublimely beautiful part of the country. I was on my annual visit to the South Downs to pay my respects to a lost loved one.
This is an area we walked for many years and we knew it very well. I therefore headed over the chalk high ground of Cocking Down, passing places with evocative names like, Diddling, Monkton, Pilswood and Hooksway. These names are from a language and dialect special to this part of the world and on hearing the names you hear an echo from a long gone era. Each word holding a piece of the rural past, and immersing you, as if you had traveled through time, to the life, sounds and understanding of people past.
Nearly every route to the top of the South Downs requires negotiating steep, rough chalky paths that pass through, old and thick woodlands. These woodlands are made up of broad leaf trees, that stand as sentinels to the wide breezy ridge above. The character of the ridge, that runs from Winchester to Eastbourne, changes with the seasons. One day wild, windy and wet, or covered in mist and as disorientating as any mountain, to the next being arid and dusty. Good days offer long views over the adjoining countryside. The wild, wide and beautiful vistas extend along the south English coast, to inland, over the rural flatland of the Weald and onwards to the Surrey Hills. Everywhere are little hills of sandstone and chalk, standing erect and proud, peppering the landscape and adding perspective. The main ridge is remarkable, as along the verges and throughout the grasslands areas there is an amazing array of Wild flowers. This time of year there are marjoram, lady bedstraw and wild basil.
The marjoram was 'loaded' with bees, highlighting how important this area is to the environment and its humble contribution to the overall environmental health of the country. It is places like the South Downs that are now becoming environmental islands, due to their varied and densely filled nature, contributing to the sustainability of many types of wildlife.
With this last point in mind, my reverie was suddenly broken by the plaintive cry of a Buzzard. Their sad lament feels ancient, even primal, especially as the sound waves bounce off the surrounding chalk cliffs. Their call emphasises the wild nature of this landscape; it cuts through the wind, and seems to stretch across eons.
Wonderfully there have been a lot more buzzards seen high above the Downs in recent years. Their presence reflect the health of the ecosystems and wildlife below. To have Buzzards, you need small mammals, who need insects, who need a variety of plant life, who need protected areas (untouched, guarded by trees, shrubs without over grazing or sprayed by chemicals).
The South Downs is a very unique landscape, and one that has been better described and more poetically captured than I can achieve. For me, when I walk through this landscape, I have a huge feeling of space, whilst being surrounded by wildlife........... A unique environment that I cannot find elsewhere and despite it now being an area that has an accompanying sadness, it also offers an appropriate space to reflect and better understand the loss, especially when I see so much life.
South Downs
I was experiencing a journey of contrasts as today day would be full of memories filled with sadness, whilst at the same time I would be traversing through a sublimely beautiful part of the country. I was on my annual visit to the South Downs to pay my respects to a lost loved one.
This is an area we walked for many years and we knew it very well. I therefore headed over the chalk high ground of Cocking Down, passing places with evocative names like, Diddling, Monkton, Pilswood and Hooksway. These names are from a language and dialect special to this part of the world and on hearing the names you hear an echo from a long gone era. Each word holding a piece of the rural past, and immersing you, as if you had traveled through time, to the life, sounds and understanding of people past.
Nearly every route to the top of the South Downs requires negotiating steep, rough chalky paths that pass through, old and thick woodlands. These woodlands are made up of broad leaf trees, that stand as sentinels to the wide breezy ridge above. The character of the ridge, that runs from Winchester to Eastbourne, changes with the seasons. One day wild, windy and wet, or covered in mist and as disorientating as any mountain, to the next being arid and dusty. Good days offer long views over the adjoining countryside. The wild, wide and beautiful vistas extend along the south English coast, to inland, over the rural flatland of the Weald and onwards to the Surrey Hills. Everywhere are little hills of sandstone and chalk, standing erect and proud, peppering the landscape and adding perspective. The main ridge is remarkable, as along the verges and throughout the grasslands areas there is an amazing array of Wild flowers. This time of year there are marjoram, lady bedstraw and wild basil.
The marjoram was 'loaded' with bees, highlighting how important this area is to the environment and its humble contribution to the overall environmental health of the country. It is places like the South Downs that are now becoming environmental islands, due to their varied and densely filled nature, contributing to the sustainability of many types of wildlife.
With this last point in mind, my reverie was suddenly broken by the plaintive cry of a Buzzard. Their sad lament feels ancient, even primal, especially as the sound waves bounce off the surrounding chalk cliffs. Their call emphasises the wild nature of this landscape; it cuts through the wind, and seems to stretch across eons.
Wonderfully there have been a lot more buzzards seen high above the Downs in recent years. Their presence reflect the health of the ecosystems and wildlife below. To have Buzzards, you need small mammals, who need insects, who need a variety of plant life, who need protected areas (untouched, guarded by trees, shrubs without over grazing or sprayed by chemicals).
The South Downs is a very unique landscape, and one that has been better described and more poetically captured than I can achieve. For me, when I walk through this landscape, I have a huge feeling of space, whilst being surrounded by wildlife........... A unique environment that I cannot find elsewhere and despite it now being an area that has an accompanying sadness, it also offers an appropriate space to reflect and better understand the loss, especially when I see so much life.