Walk Report

Bliss from Liss, Saturday 4th July 2015
12 walkers, 18.5 miles - leader Jerome Ripp
12 of us made the pilgrimage across the West Sussex section of the South Downs National Park. From leaving Liss station at 9.05 until 18.5 miles later at 16.10 when we arrived at Haslemere station we did not pass a single shop or cafe or pub and very few houses; real wilderness walking. The hot summer relented slightly, we had some cloud, a cooling breeze sometimes and lots of shady woodland. The morning was mainly on the Serpent trail with picnic lunch on Woolbeding Common. As this was a pilgrimage, we made a church stop at the isolated St. Luke's at Woodmansgreen, the large edifice with a stained glass from Cologne in 1340 suggesting a much larger community in earlier times. A blocked path just after was the only hazard of the day but some agile gate climbing and GPS technology dealt with the problem. Thereafter we headed up to the Sussex Border Path and more hilly woodlands for the return via Hammer Bottom. A blissful day out!

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