27TH JULY 2024 BUXTED PARK, HURSTWOOD, BLACKBOYS WALK 10.5 MILES
Thank you, Jon, for Saturday's walk, a beautiful day with a fresh breeze, perfect for another interesting walk.
A willing group of eight met up in Blackboys already eager to complete our journey to enjoy a visit to the popular hostelry known as The Blackboys Inn, famously offering a ‘Beer Menu’.
But to begin with, news of the walk …. We firstly negotiated the challenge of crossing a train line, then on to Buxted Park hotel, where apparently, ‘Georgian styling meets modern comfort’. It is said that guests including William Wordsworth, Winston Churchill and Marlon Brando had all ‘enjoyed the lush acres. We decided against a visit to the hotel to forge ahead towards one of the three parish churches of Buxted and Hadlow Down, the Church of St Margaret. Jon gave an interesting talk about a number of colourful characters, including Nantucket, an old woman accused of witchcraft in the 1600s who fled into the woods. Apparently, Nantucket now haunts the spot where no trees will grow.
George Watson, an illiterate village idiot of the late 1700s, was nevertheless able to do complex mathematics. Watson was also able to recall details of everyday life, including the state of the weather. This incredible achievement is impossible to fathom for those of us who cannot remember what happened yesterday!
We passed yet another beautiful church displaying a lovely prayer tree, decorated in ribbons representing gratitude and love. We traversed stunning fields of crops gently ‘blowing free’.
Jon was a great guide throughout and despite the additional unplanned mile or so, we can boast that we have all met the challenge of a half marathon!
Well done, Jon, for a lovely walk and for also leading us to a welcoming watering hole, The Blackboys, to celebrate our accomplishment.
Julie Rattigan
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