The Last Day 🐾

So we’re finally back at home — Sméagol all tuckered out and snoring loudly in his chair, and me about to relax tired muscles with a warm, scented-candle bubble-bath ☺

All that’s left to do is update with a final post on our last day of walking…

Almost left Wilson behind by mistake but thankfully remembered before we got too far. (Wilson is our wooden tent peg mallet with a cartoon face dawn on!)

Left Alfriston via the village shop where I left Sméagol outside with a welcoming group of women who were all cycling the South Downs Way together as a 50th birthday celebration.

The final day’s walk from Alfriston pretty much has two legs to it (no pun intended).

The first leg South along the Cuckmere river valley seemed like a condensed synopsis of all the different terrains we have walked through since Winchester.

We started on the grassy banks of the Cuckmere, before veering further east to cut first across the sheep bitten hills and then through the cool shade of the woods around Westdean.

A short break at a cafe to refill water bottles and have some Earl Grey and cake 🙂

Left the dog in the care of a girl who was serving drinks at an outside table, while I went off to tend to a bloody hand. The only injury of the whole trip! I had sliced it on a sharp edge of flint while lifting Sméagol over a low stone wall.

We briefly rejoined the river at the Seven Sisters country park, where it loops with slow, wide python coils down to meet the sea. But we didn’t stay with it for very long before the South Downs Way climbed away again Eastward, over grassy downland with blackberry fringed field edges.

Once at the top. We were finally rewarded with the real money shot: our first breathtaking views along the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters. I dropped my pack and hugged Sméagol’s body tightly to me as we sat taking in the view. I’m not ashamed to admit to more than a slight sob as I told him: “Sméagol we did it!”

It’s an emotional moment to reach this climax of the journey — though the real end of the SDW is still another 6 or 7 miles trudge over each of the Sisters’ steep backs and down again, all around the curve of the headland.

I allowed Sméagol a good long break to roll on the cool grass and take on more water, then we pushed on.

I’m afraid today has really sapped poor Sméagol’s energy. He’s done so well on this trip, but today was a real strain for him in the baking sun with no wind to cool him.

But he’s made it!

I said at the start that this was likely to be his last big adventure with me of this sort. But who knows. He’s done so well this time, he might still have another one left in him next year!

We met my father and a second brother at the Beachy Head pub, about a mile out from Eastbourne. Had another water break and let Sméagol rest in the shaded trunk of the car while we guys all chatted and laughed as we exchanged stories of the past few days, and my brother had a go at seeing if he could lift my pack!

But I couldn’t cheat by ending it there, not having walked so far.

I gave my dad directions down to the point at which the SDW finishes, and refused to make the last stretch easier by putting my pack in the car, or by letting the dog off this last leg by allowing him stay where he was… we’d come so far together, we needed to finish it as a pack!

I’m extremely proud that we were able to exceed the target I had set, and we have so far raised £285 for the Dog’s Trust.

So a big thank you to all who supported us. Whether through a donation to our Just Giving page, or even by simply ‘liking’ one of my Facebook updates — it all helped to motivate us on our way 🙂

It’s been a great 11 days. I only wish I could have taken longer away from work, so that I could have reached the end point, walk once around the post, turn back around, then spend the next ten days walking all the way back to Winchester!

Maybe that could be our next challenge!

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/andrew-chesney