Keymer

Looking down on the village from Keymer Cross on the ridge of the Downs between Clayton and Ditchling Beacon.

Autumn avenue

Another pond

But this one is really just a big puddle in the corner of a field.

Water hazard

Right at the furthest point from the Pyecombe Golf Club clubhouse is this sneaky water trap.

Rain

We only just missed being caught by the rain sweeping in across Wolstonbury Hill when we were up that way last week.

Beech tree

Beech trees, with their shallow roots, are particularly suited to the South Downs where there is often just a thin layer of soil but it can be difficult to photograph one single tree as they are usually found in clusters. This one is in Withdean Park.

The road to London

The main road from Brighton to London (or London to Brighton) runs through the gap in the Downs between Newtimber Hill on the left and Wolstonbury Hill on the right. In the background are the Surrey Hills, part of the North Downs.

Jack and Jill again

Walking on from the Chattri, we reach a spot where we get just a glimpse of Jack and Jill on the horizon.

The Chattri

The memorial to the Indian soldiers who died in hospital in Brighton during World War I. It is built on the place where the funeral pyres were lit for those whose religion called for cremation. Their names have only recently been discovered and a stone listing them was dedicated last month.

Standean

This is the view up the Standean valley on our way to the Chattri, which we will see tomorrow.

Windhover

The kestrel, sometimes called the windhover, is the most common bird of prey on the Downs and is often to be seen motionless in the sky as it searches for prey.

Wind-blown

You can see that these hawthorn trees are growing in an exposed spot just near the ridge of the Downs.

Slow down

What about dogs? Don't we count?

The South Downs Way

The South Downs Way is a long-distance footpath running, for the most part, along the ridge of the Downs from end to end. The path turns a sharp dog-leg here, which is why Ditchling Beacon and the Devils Dyke both appear to be in the same direction although the Beacon is east of this point and the Dyke is to the west.

Tree pruning

This used to be a wellingtonia tree in the garden of Stanmer House. Some of the branches were broken by the weight of the snow last winter and presumably others were so weakened they had to be pruned.

Up the garden path

The Boss says he would love to have a garden path made of old bricks like this one at the Upper Lodges. Me - I couldn't care less.

The Upper Lodges

One of the lodges at the upper entrance to Stanmer Park. These lodges are a lot different from the Lower Lodges.

The top entrance

These gates are at the top entrance to Stanmer Park. They are permanently open, but there is another, locked gate to which only residents have the key. The general public have to use the bottom entrance when driving into the park.

Study in silver and grey

The ship has just left Shoreham harbour, which lies to the west of Brighton.

Clayton

The village of Clayton nestles close to the northern slope of the Downs.

Lamb chops?

Some of the sheep grazing in the field beside the Clayton windmills are looking remarkably tubby for the time of year. Could they be due to lamb early?

Meet Jack

Jack sits right next door to Jill but is in private ownership and it is not possible to get a better view than this. You can see that Jack has not been looked after quite so lovingly as has Jill.

Jack and Jill

This is Jill, a post mill on the crest of the Downs above Clayton which has been restored to working order by the Jack and Jill Windmills Society.

The view from the hill

After entering Stanmer Park by the Lower Lodges, we park the car and climb the hill. Looking back we can see that the new stadium appears to be more or less finished on the outside.

The Chattri

From the Boss: Some 6 or 8 weeks back, I looked out of the bedroom window one morning and noticed a strange, white blob in the grounds of the Chattri, the memorial on the Downs behind Brighton to the Indian soldiers who died in hospital in Brighton during the First World War. I was unable to make out what this newcomer was and it was only in the middle of last month, when it was dedicated, that I learned it is a memorial stone with the names of those soldiers engraved in it. Apparently, those names were lost after the war and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has only recently discovered them. So now they are recorded for posterity - albeit almost 100 years late.

The Lower Lodges

Stanmer Park has two vehicular entrances, each guarded by a pair of cottages known as the Upper Lodges and the Lower Lodges. It is only the lower entrance that is open to the general public. This is one of the Lower Lodges.

After the rain

Just recently it has seemed as though 'after the rain' has quite quickly changed into 'before the rain' which in turn hasn't lasted long before changing to 'in the rain'.

More colours

Brighton & Hove City Council have all their parks department vehicles painted in this rather off-putting shade of green. Other vehicles such as dust carts are painted a deeper green (Brunswick green?) on the bottom half and this shade on the top.

And still more

One tree seems to have gone the whole hog already.

More autumn colours

Some trees have started changing colour.

Autumn colours