30 Kilometers of the South Downs Way

Introduction

You have to guard against sore toe nails. I should have remember this after my last long hike across Hong Kong island when I did 50km. After a couple of years back in the UK I thought I would challenge myself to a longer walk then my normal 10km stroll on Sunday. The perfect nexus of events threw up the opportunity over the Christmas break 2015. In life these come about rarely so grab them with both hands. So I set off early and drive to Birling Gap on the south coast of England.

Birling Gap is an impressive place locked close to sea level between Beachy head to the east and the Seven Sisters hike to the west. Its the perfect place for the indecisive hiker to park and choose a direction. From my experience the most scenic routes are along the coast so you'll be back tracking on yourself. The circular routes on the various websites did not appeal to me.

My walk took my over Beachy Head down into Eastbourne and then along the coastal path to Pevensey Bay where I turned around and walked back. As with all long walks your mind wants to give up much earlier than your body so I had to put up significant resistance to getting the bus back along the coast from Eastbourne to Birling Gap car park. But apparently one does run along the coast should you get weak at the knees or the though of a hot cup of tea is more appealing than the leg stiffening ascent over Beachy head

Birling Gap

I went on a grey miserable day but you can imagine how beautiful this would be on a clear, blue sky day. This view is looking south across the sea out from Birling Gap

Looking east from Birling Gap

Looking down toward Birling Gap and over the Sisters

The hike up from Birling Gap

The South Downs Way is a well marked route

Beachy Head Light house

Beachy Head light house

Looking down into Eastbourne

Beaches of Eastbourne

Pevensey Bay Shingle beach

Wild Ponies on Beachy Head

Pony on Beachy Head - busy grazing

The route and my timings

I took a fairly easy walk and took my time to stop to eat, admire and drink tea. My route and timings are below.

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Cambridge for the day

Introduction

No chance for a break in the cold winter months in the UK, well with out first Chinese New Year out of HK we decided to make sure we had a short break. This timed perfectly for the family and we drove out to Cambridge an academic town to the north east of London. For us the journey was a quick 90 minutes from the southern tip of London.

The day

The colleges of the university dominate Cambridge centre with a nice shopping center to take you mind of the academia and onto more mundane things like Primark! The university colleges line the river with some majestic buildings. The three main colleges of St. Johns, Trinity and Kings College are the main buildings with other smaller colleges sprinkled in between.

You'll be greeted by great buildings such as shown below. Each college has a chappel which are quite interesting to visit in their own right and in St.John's college you can see the placard of great scholars from Cambridge.

St.John's College

 Of particular interest was this Indian mathematician who has a great story behind him. Srinivasa Ramanujan was a genius mathematician from India and you can read his story here (wiki link). I learnt about him as a young reader of New Scientist and what a joy to see his name recognised along side greats such as Newton.

King College Chappel - external view

King College Chapel - Ceiling view

King College Chapel from the River

Apart from the colleges the other interesting thing to try is Punting, which is essentially going on a boat ride along the River Cam after which Cambridge is named. Punting along the river for a 45 mins tour is offered by a number of companies official as well as your normal "jack the lad" tout loitering along the main through fare where the colleges are situated.

I especially enjoyed going to the Wren Library which is open from 12-4pm and allows the visitor a sneak peek at some of the great works emanating from Cambridge. Above all for me the visit to Cambridge was work it just to cast my eye on the Principia Mathematica first edition by Issac Newton. Will there ever be a more influential piece of science for humanity.

Additionally the Library has works from Otto Frisch and A A Milne (Winnie the Pooh). The Wren library is probably something that's easily overlooked but something awe inspiring for any kids interested in science.

The colleges all charge an entrance fee for the grounds. I would pick a few of the major colleges to go to. A top time is to visit the evening prayer service at the Kings College Chapel. Its a 45 minute service but allows visitors free access to the chapel and for most part a lovely service.

Conclusion.

Cambridge is a fantastic city well worth a visit from London. I suggest going on a sunny day in summer as it will bring out the city at its best. Although if summer is too short its a great city for winter too. As long as you go you wont have missed out. Enjoy your visit to Cambridge we certainly did and it gave our kids a yardstick to aim at. Academically there is not better city in the world with the kind of history Cambridge has.

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