Haven't done this for a while. Pitched my tent at a campsite near Hassocks at the foot of the South Downs. Just an overnighter on Thursday/Friday to do a couple of walks in the area. The tag was still attached to the tent from the last time I went camping- on a site in Dorset back in September 2019!

 I brewed a tea on my stove, heated some soup then headed off in the direction of the Devil's Dyke. By the time I got there it was gone six and the sun was starting to fade in the west. The days are long as we approach midsummer so there was time enough to circle back to the tent before it got dark. 

 I slept soundly, packed my gear in the morning then went back up on the Downs heading eastwards to Lewes. The South Downs Way is a simple route to follow; the path is well trodden and sections are gravel tracks. It was easy walking along the Way itself but getting onto it was a steep hike uphill carrying my pack on what proved to be the hottest day of the year so far- about 30℃.

 Having said that I reflected it was only a few years ago that I was tackling much tougher terrain than this. For example when I hiked from Castle Crags to Mount Eddy in California July 2018 it was three days continuously uphill in 40º heat with a considerably heavier pack. I seem to have lost some of my marching pace since then, will need to work on that.