Firle Hill Climb revival and painting "September Downs"

Bo Peep and Firle Hill Climb

September saw us jaunting off to watch the Firle Hill Climb. It's an event that used to take place between 1949 and1967 when it was ended due to an unfortunate accident. This is the second year of it's revival but now days the cars drive up the steep slopes of Bo Peep for fun rather than racing against each other.  It's a really good day out and great to be able to see a good selection of old and classic cars actually being driven.(The event is held to raise money for Chailey Heritage school.)

Firle Hill climb 2016

You can see more photos from the hill climb here https://www.facebook.com/paula.oakley1/media_set?set=a.10210109239225370.1073742124.1169430909&type=3
The weather was a bit cloudy at first but as the sun started to break through  the lure of the South Downs got the better of me and I wandered off to explore the route towards Alfriston .

The South Downs way, Bo Peep to Alfriston

It was a good walk and the views towards Cuckmere Haven were wonderful but impossible to photograph due to the direction of the sun .
 Looking north over the Sussex Weald saw a patchwork of freshly harvested fields .
 A short diversion off the South Downs Way took me down a chalk track where the view  just had to be painted! As the Summer draws to a close and Autumn enters in then so the colors of the landscapes change. Much more subdued with longer shadows cast by the early Autumn sun....

                                                 "September Downs"
                                     Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

"September Downs" acrylic on canvas

                              "Along the South Downs Way"
                                

Painting the South Downs Way

                                       One of the familiar sign posts along the South Downs Way where the wonderful views over the Sussex Weald fade off into the horizon.
Late Summer flowers put on their final display of colour among the wild and windswept grass. (The view between Firle Beacon and Alfriston)

"The Enchanted Place" Ashdown Forest and Winnie the Pooh

Ashdown Forest and "The Enchanted Place"

About 10 miles north of where I live is  Ashdown Forest  where the author A.A.Milne lived with his son Christopher Robin.
 Their walks took them over the forest landscape..
 “in single file threading the narrow paths that run through the heather”
  inspiring the delightful stories of Winnie the Pooh.
This Summer our grandchildren came to stay and we thought it would be fun to find some of the places in the books so they could see them for real.
Now we couldn't possibly go on a "Pooh Expotition" without a visit to Pooh bridge and indulge in a game of Pooh Sticks . Although the weather wasn't at it's best our six  year old granddaughter enjoyed it, just like Christopher Robin ...

Playing Pooh sticks

We then headed off to find the memorial plaque commemorating A.A.Mile and E.H. Shepard . From here you can see some wonderful views over the forest and beyond.
 Most of the year the landscape is a blaze of yellow from the gorse bushes but in Summer the heather carpets the forest in purples and pinks.

The A.A.Milne memorial

Next we passed "Rue's Sandy Pit" (Old quarry) and headed off to  "Galleons Lap" (Gill's Lap)....
in the words of A.A.Milne....

“Being enchanted, it’s floor was not like the floor of the Forest, gorse and bracken and heather, but close-set grass, quiet and smooth and green. It was the only place in the Forest where you could sit down carelessly, without getting up again almost at once and looking for somewhere else. Siting there they could see the whole world spread out until it reached the sky, and whatever there was all around the world over was with them in Galleons Lap.”

–  The House At Pooh Corner; A.A Milne

Here at "The Enchanted Place" you could see what so inspired Milne to write his stories. The beautiful views, the vast array of earthy colours and the endless places for a young Christopher Robin  to explore.
I have taken a small piece of his inspiration and have used it to inspire myself!
Thank you A.A.Milne......
                                           "The Enchanted Place"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"
 

"The Enchanted Place" Ashdown Forest , Acrylic on canvas

Painting the river at Fletching, Sussex

Painting the river at Fletching, Sussex

Sadly the Summer is fading away .
I didn't get to the seaside much this year due to the disputes of Southern rail. As a non driver I didn't fancy getting stuck miles away from home!
So instead I have concentrated more on the countryside which I enjoy just as much.
I took a stroll over to the village of Fletching the other day. It's only 2 miles away but I don't often go there. It's a picturesque village with a large church in the center.

Fletching church

It was all very quiet in the village so after a wander around in the sunshine I headed back to Newick . My route took me a short distance along te narrow country road and then a footpath across the fields.
I was almost at the footpath when I heard the sound of  babbling water coming from the other side of the undergrowth. Being curious....OK...being nosey  I couldn't resist crawling through the bushes to take a look.
To my delight the view that greeted me was just beautiful! The sun was shining through the trees and lighting up the leaves and ripples on the river as it flowed downstream.  I sat for a while mesmerized . This ......just had to be painted! ....

                                                   "Summer Ripples"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 182x 24"

"Summer Ripples" Painting the river at the end of Summer