A trip to Worthing.

This last few weeks have been very tiring with two new student groups starting and therefore lots of admin bits to sort out. Knowing it would be busy John and I organised an overnight trip to Worthing at the beginning of the month. The reason for picking Worthing is that it allowed us the opportunity to visit Cissbury Ring, Pagham Harbour and a quilt shop.  I had to go into work on the Friday so we started our journey quite late which didn't leave us any time to stop and visit somewhere on route so once we had found our hotel we went for a walk along the sea front and found a restaurant for dinner. Looking out to sea we were fascinated by the off shore wind farm. Worthing also has a pier but we decided against a walk around the pier and stayed on the promenade. Quite a lot of folks were out walking.

We woke early on the Saturday morning and after a leisurely breakfast looked up the address of the quilt shop decided to walk to it. The shop, The Eclectic Maker, was fairly small but had a good range of fabrics.

There was a classroom at the rear of the shop and a class was in progress. I needed some wadding for my compass quilt and I was pleased to find they sold Warm and Natural at a very reasonable price

I wasn't particularly looking for fabric but I couldn't resist these two pieces.

I particularly love the bird fabric and I think orange is my favourite colour at the moment. John also bought me a fat quarter bundle to go in my Christmas stocking. He's very good at making his purchases without me being aware of the fabric, so it's a nice surprise when I open it on Christmas morning. We walked back to to the car collecting coffee on the way and headed out of Worthing for Cissbury Ring. 

Cissbury is a hill fort on the South Downs. It is the largest hill fort in Sussex and second largest in Britain, covering some 60 acres. The earthworks that form the fortifications were built around the beginning of the Middle Iron age which would be approximately 250 BC. It was abandoned at some time between 50 BC - 50 AD. The site of the fort also contains a Neolithic mine, one of the first flint mines in Britain. We walked around the inner wall of the fort which is about a mile round. The wind was blowing quite strongly so it made for a bracing walk. The view from the fort was good but the morning was quite misty and there was a fine drizzle of rain.

The path around the inner wall was easy to follow but in places rather uneven.

In the middle was this fabulous tree.

and of course a trig point at the high point.

There were a lot of ponies within the ring. These two took no notice of us as they went on munching away.

Back at the car we checked the map and set off for Pagham Harbour. This is a natural harbour or inlet in West Sussex. The harbour forms an area of saltmarsh and shallow lagoon. It is a site of special scientific interest and a local nature reserve. We followed one of the paths for quite a way and enjoyed the bird life and butterflies that were around. We then spent some time watching a variety of birds on the water and at the waters edge including an Avocet. By this time the light was fading and it was time to head back to London.

It was a short breathing space in a busy few weeks but it helped us recharge and relax before returning to work. It also gave us time to ourselves and space to enjoy each others company which is most important to any relationship. We are already planning the next away days.

Lyndsey