Home is Your Castle
HAILSHAM LOOP VIA HERSTMONCEUX CASTLE, MAGHAM DOWN, PARK WOOD, HELLINGLY AND UPPER HORSEBRIDGE The planning was hasty and the castle visit awkwardly timed but I knew I wanted some bluebells on my first walk back on home soil after Easter. They are, in fact, difficult to avoid in the woods of Sussex, this time of year but they are in their prime characteristically early. There is room for a level of unease in these changing times, despite and because of these pleasant walking conditions. It is April and you might have expected showers and cold starts but here we have a warm day, butterflies and cracked earth where it could have been wet underfoot. There was a lot to like but much to disrupt this otherwise mild and atttractive route. The fact that my endeavours meant a whole rejigging of the final leg, opportunities came and went and that I came up against human obstruction of my plans should not deter you from this varied and gentle walk. It is well to recount the good bits to lift...
