"Our blunt, bow-headed, whale-backed Downs" is how Kipling referred to the South Downs in his poem "Sussex". Brilliant sun was forecast all day (and no work on this week, hurrah!) so I took the train from London Victoria to Hassocks and from there walked up onto the Downs.
 My first thought was to head out to Devil's Dyke and back but following my nose I decided to do a circular walk over and around Wolstonbury Hill. It's too early in the year for flower hunting but the pockets of broad leaved woodland on the lower levels will be full of Bluebells in spring. Similarly the grassy slopes are noted for very fine displays of orchids into the summer months.
 This was my first strenuous walk of 2019 and it was good to get the legs moving and the heart pumping though my body was a little reluctant to be honest.

 In fact there were some flowers to be seen- on the very top of the hill exposed to the worst the weather can throw at them. As plants go Gorse must be the toughest of the tough with its viciously prickly spines and luminous yellow blooms through winter that no wind or rain can dislodge.
 The highest point of Wolstonbury has splendid 360 degree views for miles upon miles into Sussex and towards the coast.

 I can see the sea! Descending the other side of the hill there are vistas across to Brighton and the Channel beyond. This is a small island and really we're never that far from the sea but somehow I always feel like I've traveled a long way when I catch a glimpse of it on the horizon.